2011-12 NHL Awards Predictions

The 2011-12 NHL season has come and gone, and of course as we all vividly remember, the Los Angeles Kings ran roughshod through the Western Conference and then massacred the New Jersey Devils in six games to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Tonight is not about the postseason however, as the NHL Awards Show will recognize the best of the best from the regular season. Here I’ll offer my predictions for these distinguished honors.

General Manager of the Year

Finalists:

- Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers)

- Doug Armstrong (St. Louis Blues)

- David Poile (Nashville Predators)

This award is given to the general manager whose work excels that of all others. It is decided upon by the other general managers in the league, as well as a panel of NHL executives, broadcast and print media. Last year the award went to Mike Gillis of the Vancouver Canucks, and this year there are three new candidates, who each have done an excellent job with what they have been given. Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues was recognized for his work with the St. Louis Blues who surprised much of the NHL after they were the second best team in the conference and won the Central Division. Armstrong bolstered the Blues in the offseason by signing veterans Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner, goalie Brian Elliot whose regular season numbers helped the Blues to the best goals against average in the league. David Poile of the Nashville Predators has been the General Manager of the Nashville-based team since their birth into the league in 1998 and has done amazing work in the market. This past season he made a couple of notably great moves. His deadline work to acquire Hal Gill from Montreal, and Andrei Kostitsyn were enough to make the Predators look formidable once again. But perhaps nobody could have topped what Dale Tallon did with the Florida Panthers. Tallon took the ragtag team from Sunrise, Florida and made them into a team that won the Southeast Division for the first time in their franchise’s history and made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. The acquisitions of Kris Versteeg and Brian Campbell helped turn this team into what people call “Blackhawks South,” and should be contending in the Southeast for the next few years.

My GM of the Year: Dale Tallon, unquestionably. With what he had to work with and what he did, and what occurred from there on has to be recognized. No doubt about it, he is the GM of the Year.

Ted Lindsay Award:

Finalists

- Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

- Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)

- Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)

The Ted Lindsay Award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL for the regular season. The members of the NHL Players Association cast their vote for this award. The nominees were all stellar, and similarly are they candidates for the Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player). Henrik Lundqvist put up stellar numbers this year and will probably walk away with the Vezina Memorial Trophy for best goaltender, and was one of the key reasons that the Rangers were the #1 team in the Eastern Conference for the regular season. Evgeni Malkin’s 109 points were tops in the league, netting 50 goals and picking up 59 assists on the season. Crosby’s absence surely helped out Malkin but there is no doubt that Malkin is one of the best players in the world and in the league. Meanwhile, Steven Stamkos put up a ridiculous 60-goal season on 303 shots, and finished with 97 points on the season.

My Ted Lindsay Award Winner: Evgeni Malkin, although I think that the award can just as easily go to Steven Stamkos. Lundqvist could just as easily win it also but it’s incredibly hard to win these sorts of awards (has not happened since ‘The Dominator’ won in 1998). I just think that overall, Malkin was more outstanding due to the fact that he put up 59 assists to go along with the 50 goals he scored. You can’t say that Malkin was helped out by the fact that he had such great goal scorers around him either because you had John Tavares on the Islanders put up 51 assists and the Islanders are, for lack of a better term, dreadful. To be fair though, Stamkos is a pure goal scorer and not someone who usually racks up assists but Malkin’s stats are just that more outstanding. Like I said though, I wouldn’t be surprised if Stamkos takes home the hardware here though.

Jack Adams Award:

Finalists:

- Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis Bluies)

- Paul Maclean (Ottawa Senators)
- John Tortorella (New York Rangers)

The Jack Adams Award is given to the coach who helped his team to the most success in the regular season. It is decided upon and presented by the National Hockey League Broadcasters’ Association. Now in my opinion there are plenty of guys who are deserving of being finalists, but I can’t complain about the three who are going to be dueling for the award tonight. Ken Hitchcock came into the St. Louis Blues after 13 games in the regular season and was one of the main reasons that the Blues were so great. (Fun Fact: I was actually at the first game that Hitchcock coached. The Blues shut out the Blackhawks, and the rest is history). Hitchcock’s work with a team that wasn’t flashy at all to say the very least, and was very defensive minded, was stellar and should be recognized as such. Paul Maclean of the Ottawa Senators took a team that was projected to be one of the absolute worst teams in hockey in the offseason (I personally thought they would finish last in the Eastern Conference) and helped them get the eighth seed in the East. It’s a remarkable thing considering the roster that Ottawa has (even though they may have the Norris Trophy winner) and he is definitely a probable choice. Meanwhile, John Tortorella of the Rangers cannot be talked about more. Even if he chooses, of course, to talk as little as he wants. Torts may be questionable off the ice but his coaching job on the ice is stellar. The Rangers were first in the East and he is one of the main proponents as to why that occurred. All three of these men could have reputable cases as to why they should win the Jack Adams Award.

My Jack Adams Award Winner: Ken Hitchcock, and frankly, even though all three have reputable cases, it should be an absolute runaway. Even though very few people had the Senators making the playoffs, nobody could have predicted that the Blues would finish as the second best team in the Western Conference, and that includes Blues fans. It’s a no brainer in my opinion and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t win it.

Frank J. Selke Trophy

Finalists:

- David Backes (St. Louis Blues)

- Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)

- Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)

The Frank J. Selke Trophy Is given to the best defensive forward in the NHL. The winner is decided upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association at the conclusion of the regular season. These three nominees were surely deserving thanks to their stellar work on the ice. David Backes of the St. Louis Blues was an integral player in the Blues’ system and helped them maintain the best goals against average during the regular season. His +/- of 15 also helped out as well, meaning good things were happening when he was on the ice in the Blues’ favor and rarely in the favor of their foes. Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins put up stellar numbers both offensively and defensively helping the Bruins have the highest goal differential in the league. Bergeron’s +/- of 36 was absolutely outstanding, and was the highest in the league amongst forwards (Coincidentally enough, the top four forwards in +/- were all Bruins). And there isn’t much that you need to say about Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk is one of the elite players in the league and for the sixth time in his career had a +/- of over 20 (21).

My Frank J. Selke Trophy Winner: Patrice Bergeron, and like the Jack Adams Award, I don’t think this should be relatively close. The +/- factor really puts him above the rest and this year he was really the star in a very good Bruins’ defensive system. Berge should definitely be walking home to Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, Canada from Las Vegas with the Selke for the first time in his career.

Calder Memorial Trophy:

Finalists:

- Adam Henrique (New Jersey Devils)

- Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)

- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers)

The Calder Memorial Trophy is given to the player who in his first year excels above the rest. It is selected upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association following the regular season’s conclusion. Let me preface by saying all three of these players are stars in the making and it shouldn’t take long for them to be making a big impact on the league. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers would have ran away with this award had he not suffered an injury and missed the final twenty games of the season. His 18 goals and 34 assists amounting to 52 points, still led the league, but again, it’s hard to give the award to someone who didn’t play the full season. So that leaves this down to Gabriel Landeskog and Adam Henrique. Henrique really found his form in the postseason with his incredible performances and two game winning goals to advance the Devils into the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and then later on the Stanley Cup Final. While he finished third in points among rookies, the thing is: he really did his work in the postseason. So that leaves Gabriel Landeskog and he was stellar. He played in all 82 games of the regular season, picked up 22 goals (second amongst rookies) and 30 assists (third amongst rookies). Also his +/- was at 20 which was second in the league amongst rookies only behind Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers.

My Pick to win the Calder Memorial Trophy: Gabriel Landeskog, for all the reasons above, if not for the “process of elimination” factor as well.

James Norris Memorial Trophy:

Finalists:

- Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)

- Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators)

- Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)

The Norris Memorial Trophy is given to the player who is the best all-around defenceman during the regular season. It is selected upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. The three nominees feature two familiar faces, and one newcomer who broke out in a big way in 2011. Zdeno Chara, the captain of the Boston Bruins, is most notably known for his large stature and for being an imposing force on the defensive side. Chara’s numbers in 2011 were excellent, with a +/- of 33, which led all defencemen. Chara also added 40 assists, which was fourth amongst his peers, and also scored 12 goals. Erik Karlsson broke out in a huge way in 2011 after some growing pains in his previous seasons. He had a league best 59 assists and picked up a not-too-shabby +/- of 16. He also amounted 19 goals to give him 78 points, overwhelmingly the most amongst his peers. Finally, Shea Weber, restricted free agent to be, proved in 2011 why he’s one of the best defencemen in the league. Weber’s +/- of 21, 30 assists, and 19 goals for 49 points were all what you would expect out of him at this point in his career.

My Pick for the James Norris Memorial Trophy: Erik Karlsson, due to the fact that the award in itself says the best all-around defenceman will retrieve this award. Karlsson’s goal-scoring efforts put him above Chara, but of course not Shea Weber for the reason being that he also scored 19 goals. Karlsson edged out Weber for 29 more assists and beat him out by 29 points. The only “flaw” in his argument is his +/- with it not being near Chara or Weber’s as he only had a +16. I just think that Karlsson is more worthy of it, but much like other awards, it could really go either way. I’ll stick with my convictions though.

Vezina Trophy:

Finalists:

- Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

- Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)

- Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)

The Vezina Trophy is given out to the goaltender that performed the best during the regular season. It is decided upon by the general managers of all of the NHL teams. The three finalists are all stellar, and much like some of the other awards there is no real runaway winner. Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, as it has already been said, was stellar in 2011-12. Lundqvist posted the second best GAA amongst his peers (1.97), picked up 39 wins, had a stellar SV% of .930 and eight shutouts. Pekka Rinne was paid big bucsk and showed that it was the right move in 2011. Pekka had a 2.39 GAA, a SV% of .923 and a league best 43 wins. And despite the fact that most of America found out who he was in the postseason, Jonathan Quick was perhaps at his best during the regular season. Quick had a league best 1.95 GAA, a SV% of .292, 35 wins and an incredible 10 shutouts. Given the fact that Quick’s team in front of him scored the second least amount of goals in the regular season (you wouldn’t know it if you watched the Playoffs) that is remarkable.

My Pick to Win the Vezina Trophy: Henrik Lundqvist, who I think will win this despite the fact that Quick was arguably better than he was in the regular season. I think that there will be some catering to the fact that Lundqvist plays in New York while Quick plays out in Los Angeles, but it’s not like Henrik isn’t an All-Universe goaltender. I think Quick is the arguable choice, but Lundqvist is the man to win it.

Hart Memorial Trophy

Finalists:

- Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)

- Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)

- Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)

The Hart Memorial Trophy is given to the player who is determined to be the most valuable to his team during the regular season. It is decided upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association in the 30 cities that the NHL teams play in after the regular season is over. I already discussed the three candidates back in the Ted Lindsay Award description. There really is not much else to say about these guys that hasn’t already been discussed, so let’s just get to my pick already, shall we?

My Pick for the Hart Memorial Trophy: Evgeni Malkin, who despite the fact that he has an assortment of great players around him, should probably be considered the “MVP” of the league. I don’t like using narratives at all so it’s hard for me to paint some sort of picture about why he is the player to be the winner of this award, but I think that there is no chance that Malkin doesn’t win this award. Of course, if he doesn’t, I can be laughed at by the ten people that will read this post, but hey, whatever floats your boats right?