The halfway point of the NHL season is quickly approaching, so it’s a good time to take a look at the frontrunners for each NHL award.
Some of these trophies (Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng) are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, meaning I’ll have the honor of impacting the results in a small way.
Other trophies are awarded under the purview of other organizations, and some are simply based on statistics.
For the purposes of this list, I’ve included all top awards, not just the ones I’ll vote on with the PHWA.
Here are my top choices for each NHL award.
Art Ross Trophy — Most points
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the player with the most points.
Here are the top five point scorers so far this season:
1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche: 57 points
2. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers: 52 points
3. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche: 52 points
4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning: 50 points
5. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, 50 points
Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy — Most goals
Like the Art Ross, the Rocket Richard is not subject to voting.
Here are the NHL players leading the league in goals scored:
1. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers: 24 goals
2. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs: 23 goals
3. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild: 23 goals
4. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers: 22 goals
5. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning: 22 goals
Hart Trophy — MVP
The Hart Trophy is one of the highest individual honors a player can receive.
There’s a key distinction between this award and the Ted Lindsay Award — and it’s more than simply who votes for it. The Hart is awarded “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team,” while the Ted Lindsay is for the “most outstanding player.”
So, my frame of reference for the Hart is this: If the player were to be removed from the team, would the team be significantly worse? With that in mind, here’s what my ballot would look like if the season were to end today:
1. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
3. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
4. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Ted Lindsay Award
As mentioned above, the Ted Lindsay award is for the most outstanding player.
The players themselves vote on this one, so I don’t get a vote. But here’s who I’d select if I could.
1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
2. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
4. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
5. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
Norris Trophy — Best defenseman
The Norris Trophy is one of my favorite awards because it recognizes a relatively thankless position: defense.
Everyone watches the highlight reels of highly talented offensive players, but nobody watches them for top defenders. Some guys are simply good at keeping the puck out of the net and deserve praise for it.
Here’s what my ballot would look like at this point:
1. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
2. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
3. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
4. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
5. Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers
Vezina Trophy — Best goalie
The Vezina Trophy is voted on by the 32 general managers in the league, so I won’t have a say in it.
But here’s who I would vote for if I did:
1. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
2. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild
4. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators
5. Karel Vejmelka, Utah Hockey Club
Calder Trophy — Rookie of the year
Here’s who I’d vote for to win the Calder Trophy this year:
1. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
2. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers
3. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens
4. Logan Stankoven, Dallas Stars
5. Maxim Tsyplakov, New York Islanders
Selke Trophy — Best two-way forward
The Selke Trophy is unique in that only a small group of players have a shot at winning it.
The award recognizes the best defensive forward in the league, and the group of players who deserve it doesn’t change much from year to year.
Here’s who I’d vote for at this point in the season:
1. Alexsander Barkov, Florida Panthers
2. Anže Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
3. Logan Cooley, Utah Hockey Club
4. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
5. Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
Lady Byng Trophy — Most sportsmanlike player
One year during my minor hockey days, I won the “most sportsmanlike player” award in our local peewee league. It was my mom’s proudest moment as a hockey parent because she despises the physical aspect of hockey. She told everyone about it for weeks.
NHL players tend to care a lot less about the Lady Byng than other awards, but I wonder if their mothers care about it as much as mine did. It’s worth noting that unlike in my league, there’s a qualifier in the NHL that the most sportsmanlike player has to maintain “a high standard of playing ability” — something I definitely didn’t do.
Here’s who would get my vote at this point:
1. Anže Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
2. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
3. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
4. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights
5. Ross Colton, Colorado Avalanche
Jack Adams Award — Coach of the year
Last but far from least, we have the Jack Adams. The unwritten formula for this award is pretty consistent: It almost always goes to a coach whose team exceeded the public’s expectations. Coaches of teams that were always expected to be good are rarely considered for it.
This award is selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, and I am not a part of that group. Here’s who I think the broadcasters should consider:
1. Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals
2. Scott Arniel, Winnipeg Jets
3. John Hynes, Minnesota Wild
4. Sheldon Keefe, New Jersey Devils
5. Jim Hiller, Los Angeles Kings
Thoughts?
Do you agree with these choices? If not, who would you select instead?
Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section of this article or under the article on social media.