The Half-Way Mark And Your NHL Awards

By Trevor Shackles | Jan 14, 2015

This time of year is roughly half-way through the season, although many teams have already played around 42-43 games. Still, it’s close enough, and today is a day where I actually had time to write this post. Just like predictions, I love to give out awards during and at the end of the season. I find that it’s something different, and people reading can get opinionated about it.

Anyways, here are the main NHL awards that I would give for the season so far:

– Hart Trophy (MVP): Tyler Seguin DAL, 42 GP, 48 pts

This pick may be a bit off for some people, as Jakub Voracek may seem like a popular choice. However, despite the 4 fewer points than Voracek (in one less game), I think Seguin has been more impressive. In this day and age, scoring 26 goals at the half-way mark of the season is extremely impressive.

Right now only him and Rick Nash are on pace for 50 goals. Seguin has the ability to dominate and take control of a game, and I am more willing to give the MVP to a centre who most likely is involved in the team’s success than a winger.

I’m not trying to take anything away from Voracek, but Seguin has just been a machine this season. I would bet that Voracek slows down a tad in the second half, and that Seguin passes him in scoring. It’s certainly tough, because Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux, and Patrick Kane are valid candidates, but I feel like Seguin is the right choice here.

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– Lady Byng Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike): Patrick Kane CHI, 43 GP, 47 pts, 2 PIMs

Most years, a lot of people guessing the Lady Byng trophy don’t actually know who should get it. It’s an odd award, but I think it’s good to recognize players that play the game the right way. It seems strange to have Kane winning this award, but he’s been extremely disciplined with only one penalty to his name.

I’m not sure how else the voters decide on the eventual winner, but Kane has been having a fantastic season and he isn’t taking penalties. He’s amongst the leagues best in discipline, while also scoring at a pace of over a point a game. He’s very deserving of this award.

– Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie): Pekka Rinne NSH, .931 SV%, 1.91 GAA

It’s hard to pick anyone else but Rinne, and if you did I think you’re just plain wrong. He (along with an amazing blueline and Filip Forsberg) has brought Nashville back into relevancy, and he’s playing like he was a few years ago. The only starting goalies that come close to Rinne’s save percentage is Carey Price and Craig Anderson, who both sit at .928.

Although goalie wins and goals against average are not great tools, Rinne has won 29 out of 37 games played, and his GAA is substantially lower than any other goalie. Sitting at a GAA below 2.00 is just insane, even if it is a by-product of a good defensive team. He is piggy-backing the Predators right now, and no goalie has made a bigger impact than he has.

Apr 8, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35) faces the Dallas Stars attack during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Predators 3-2 in the overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

– Calder Trophy (Best Rookie): Filip Forsberg NSH, 42 GP, 39 pts

The Predators take back to back spots here, and both of these players have had amazing seasons so far. Forsberg is a player that Nashville has never really had, as they are usually a team of third line players that don’t score a whole lot. However, Forsberg is a legitimate scoring threat, and he should be a first line player for years to come.

That trade for Martin Erat was awful the day the Washington Capitals made that deal, and it looks even worse now. The Predators have something special with this kid.

He leads rookies with 39 points, 7 more than Johnny Gaudreau, and he’s also tied with Mike Hoffman with 15 goals. The only other player that could possibly get more recognition in the Calder vote would be Aaron Ekblad who has been very solid down in Florida. However, Forsberg’s impact has been much larger, given that he rejuvenated an entire offense.

He is the straw that stirs the drink for Calgary

– James Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman): Mark Giordano CGY, 43 GP, 36 pts

The typical names for the Norris like Zdeno Chara, Shea Weber, Erik Karlsson, PK Subban, Drew Doughty, and Duncan Keith haven’t showed up too much in Norris discussions, and there was no real standout besides Giordano (and perhaps Kevin Shattenkirk). Giordano is second in points for defenseman with 36 and despite having only a 47.1% corsi, he actually has good possession numbers.

That’s because his corsi relative sits at a very solid +4.9%. That means that without Giordano on the ice, Calgary loses 4.9% in possession. He is the straw that stirs the drink for Calgary, and he and TJ Brodie have formed one of the leagues best pairings. The only other player I would have considered for this is Shattenkirk, but Giordano simply does so much out on the ice, and he’s only just being recognized at the age of 31.

– Jack Adams Award (Best Coach): Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators

As you can see, the Predators seem to be sweeping the board here. I was really giving consideration to Jack Capuano of the Islanders and Jon Cooper of the Lightning, but I went with Laviolette for a certain reason. The Lightning were expected to be a top team this year, and they are loaded with talent. I love Cooper as a coach, but he hasn’t had to improve a team that had low expectations.

Capuano and the Islanders had low expectations, but in reality most of the work was done by GM Garth Snow (more on that in a bit). That’s why Laviolette is the perfect choice, because hardly anyone picked the Predators to make the playoffs in the extremely hard Central division.

Not only that, they are first in the entire league. It’s not as if they are a paper tiger like the Avalanche last year either, as their success is legitimate. Laviolette has done an exceptional job.

– General Manager of the Year: Garth Snow, New York Islanders

I cannot believe that the previous sentence actually exists. But yes it’s true, Garth Snow has done a miraculous job of turning the Islanders around. In the past he has made some horrendous mistakes (handling of Matt Moulson/Thomas Vanek), but he made up for it this past season.

He brought in Jaroslav Halak to get a solid number one goalie. He traded for top-4 defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. He also signed linemates Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski.

It’s shocking, but the Islanders are a very good team right now

Kulemin and Grabovski haven’t been as great as they thought they would be, but still Snow made the perfect moves this past off-season. He also has some key young players contributing like Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson, and he has quietly established a very solid lineup.

– In Summary

It’s shocking, but the Islanders are a very good team right now, and they have the potential to go deep in the playoffs, and a lot of it is due to Garth Snow.

Besides these seven awards handed out, there are two that would be self-explanatory right now, which are the Art Ross Trophy (most points) and the Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals). Those awards are determined once the season ends of course, and Jakub Voracek and Tyler Seguin/Rick Nash would win those respectively.

There are also a few other awards like the Bill Masterton Trophy (perseverance) and King Clancy Trophy (leadership) that aren’t really predictable, and it’s pointless to put them in an article like this. Also the Frank J. Selke for the best defensive forward is a hard one to give out, as most of the time the actual recipient wins it because of reputation from the media.

It’s odd not seeing the typical players from the Penguins, Bruins, Blackhawks, etc. getting awards, as this year it could be pretty spread out to new teams that rarely get awards. Anyways, there are my NHL awards at the half-way mark of the season. What do you think, agree or disagree? Let me know!

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