Who Gets the Hardware? - 2011 NHL Awards Preview

With the NHL regular season coming to a close this week the hockey world is quickly turning their attention towards a highly anticipated playoff season.  The playoff races are all but wrapped up, excluding a flicker of hope in Carolina and a dash of desperation in Dallas, and the opening playoff rounds look to have some intriguing matchups coming to fruition.  However, one last piece of the regular season puzzle won't be finalized until June: the NHL awards.  In a game where no player or coach is above the concept of team, the NHL awards are the one time in the year where individuality is brought to the forefront and players and coaches alike are honoured for their individual accomplishments throughout the regular season.  Here's a look at who might have the inside track on some of the major awards this June.

Vezina Trophy - awarded to the best goaltender during the regular season.

I wanted to start with the Vezina because I believe it's the one award that could be given out right now without much debate.  Boston Bruins net minder Tim Thomas has regained his Vezina winning form of '08-'09 after losing his starting job last season to Tuukka Rask.  Thomas has dominated the NHL this season while backstopping the Bruins to the Northeast division crown and home ice through the first round of the playoffs at least.  Thomas should easily end the season as the NHL's leader in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage as well as finish top 3 in shutouts (he currently sits 2nd, 1 ahead of Carey Price and 2 behind Henrik Lundqvist).  Furthermore, despite playing only 56 games so far this season because of the aforementioned Rask, Thomas still sits just 3 wins behind league leader Roberto Luongo with 34 so far this season.  His numbers are reminiscent of his Vezina winning year two seasons ago as Thomas has posted a better GAA, Save % and 4 more shutouts this year then in '08-'09.  Not to demean the accomplishments of Price, Lundqvist or Pekka Rinne, but Thomas is the elite of the elite as far as NHL goaltenders are concerned this season.  The numbers speak for themselves; Thomas is the man in the Vezina race this year.

Winner: Tim Thomas
Runner-up: Pekka Rinne (Rinne sits tied for 2nd in GAA, 2nd in Save % and tied for 5th in shutouts while leading an average Nashville team to the playoffs this season)

Jack Adams Award - awarded to the best coach during the regular season.

The Jack Adams award, in my humble opinion, may be the most wide open race out of all the 2011 NHL awards.  There will ultimately only be 3 coaches nominated when June comes rolling around, but I believe this is actually a four horse race.  Dan Bylsma, Barry Trotz, Jacques Lemaire and Alain Vigneault can all make legitimate cases why they should be considered coach of the year this season.  Let's begin with Vigneault, the coach of the President trophy winning Vancouver Canucks.  I understand Vigneault was blessed with twin phenoms and a gold medal winning goaltender, but 113 points and counting can't be disputed.  If you're team is the only one in the NHL with 50 plus wins I think that gives you an automatic bid at coach of the year. 

To understand Jacques Lemaire's argument, just take a look at the New Jersey Devils pre- and post - Lemaire.  Since Lemaire took over a team that was 9-22-2 and sitting alone in the basement of the Eastern Conference, the Devils have gone 28-16-3 and made a legitimate run at a playoff spot.  Unfortunately, I think people will find it tough to give Lemaire this award based on just over half a season, but he deserves a look nonetheless.  Another coach who deserves a look (and frankly has deserved one for a few years now) is Nashville's Barry Trotz.  Nashville has once again clinched a spot in the playoffs and can reach 100 points this season if they can get 3 out of a possible 4 points.  The Predators, minus defenseman Shea Weber and goalie Pekka Rinne, are severely lacking in star power which shows in their numbers.  With two games remaining the Preds have only one player with 50 points and only one 20 goal scorer, yet sit 5th in a highly competitive Western Conference.  How?  Well, Trotz has created a system where all 19 players on any given night wearing a Nashville uniform buy into wholeheartedly, and for that, he should get strong consideration for the Jack Adams.

Finally, the Pittsburgh Penguins currently sit with 102 points (1 behind Philly) and a chance to finish second in the Eastern Conference.  This doesn't seem like such a great feat until you realize they have been without their two superstars, and arguably 2 of the top 5 players in hockey, for half of the season.  Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have played a combined 83 games this season and yet Pittsburgh finds themselves among the beasts of the east and are charging into the playoffs playing a fundamentally sound brand of hockey that Dan Bylsma has embedded in each Penguin. 

Winner: Dan Bylsma (You lose Crosby and Malkin for half a season and still have 100 plus points - good on you)
Runner-up: Barry Trotz (How they keep winning year in and year out is a mystery to everyone but Trotz)

Calder Trophy - awarded to the player who had the best rookie season.

Ok Leaf fans, let's get the honourable mention out of the way early.  If James Reimer had 10 more games we may be talking about him winning this award instead of someone else.  But sadly, he did not, so we give Reimer a tip of the cap and look forward to many years of strong play out of the young net minder, but he is not going to claim the Calder this year.  Instead, another young tender might have a shot at rookie of the year this season.  In a season where the Chicago Blackhawks came in with a lot of questions and concerns, one major one being in net after not re-signing Antti Niemi, rookie Corey Crawford leads the Blackhawks back to the playoffs hoping to be the second Hawk tender in as many years to surprise people come playoff time.  Crawford seemingly came out of nowhere to steal the starting job from veteran Marty Turco and has posted 32 wins in just 53 starts alongside 4 shutouts and a 2.27 GAA.  Even though team success isn't really criteria in the Calder vote, you can't ignore what Crawford has meant to the Blackhawks which should give him an opportunity to win this award. 

Winner: Corey Crawford
Runner-up: Jeff Skinner (Skinner leads all rookies in points and has been a huge asset in Carolina's playoff chase)

Norris Trophy - awarded to the best defenseman during the regular season.

Six of the last nine times this award was handed out it was given to the ageless wonder, Nicklas Lidstrom.  The Red Wings defenseman probably put together another season this year where a Norris trophy nomination is in the cards, but I'm not sure a win is in store.  The smooth skating Swede who ranks second in points and first in power play points among defenseman has posted a minus 3 thus far, which doesn't really scream Norris trophy does it?  Well, not with the numbers Lubomir Visnovsky is putting up out in Anaheim.  Visnovsky has been a force on the Ducks defense all season as he ranks 2nd in goals, while leading all defenseman in assists and points.  His 30 power play point's rank 2nd only to Lidstrom and he boasts 4 game winning goals as well.  The offensive numbers clearly are impressive, but what seems to set Visnovsky apart this year is the plus 17 he maintains.  I've always felt the best defenseman are those who keep the puck out of their own net, while having the ability to put the puck in the opposing net (I realize that seems straightforward but it isn't as easy as it seems).  Visnovsky encompasses all the necessary assets a great defenseman should have and has put together a stellar campaign deserving of a Norris trophy nod.

Winner: Lubomir Visnovsky
Runner-up: Nicklas Lidstrom (Don't worry he's only 40, he still has at least a decade to rack up some more hardware)

Hart Trophy - awarded to the player deemed most valuable to his team throughout the regular season.

Arguably the most anticipated award, the Hart trophy epitomizes the term Most Valuable Player.  One flaw in this award is it doesn't usually recognize goaltenders, mostly because they have their own category.  In fact, only 7 times in the history of the Hart trophy has a tender come away with the prestigious award (most recently Jose Theodore in 2002).  So for this reason, I will mention Tim Thomas here but will not really consider him for the Hart unfortunately.  With Thomas on ice, I think we've narrowed it down to a twin and a Duck.  Daniel Sedin and Corey Perry should both get great consideration for the Hart as they've both put together masterful seasons.  The comparison between the two is astounding: Sedin should win the Art Ross trophy for most points in a season with Perry currently sitting second.  Perry will win the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in a season with Sedin currently sitting fourth.  Both players have double digit game winning goals with Perry leading Sedin by 1.  Sedin is tied for first in power play points and ranks top 10 in plus/minus while Perry is top 10 in power play points and boasts a solid plus 9 for the season.  Either way you look at it, both these players are deserving of at least a nomination.

Winner: Corey Perry (because he doesn't have twin mindreading abilities with Ryan Getzlaf or Bobby Ryan and still managed to put up the numbers)
Runner-up: Daniel Sedin (Has all the numbers but I think having his brother all season will actually hurt his cause as it helped Henrik's last season)


We will see how it all turns out in June I guess.  For now, let's just be thankful the Stanley Cup Playoffs are but a week away from starting.  Any good Canadian can feel the intensity building and can't wait for the meaningful games to start!