R-E-S-P-E...k-k-a?

As Dirk reported, Pekka Rinne finished 4th in Calder Trophy voting. Being left out as a finalist, Pekka narrowly missed out on the opportunity to have a goofy picture of himself taken. Instead, Steve Mason, the Blue Jackets goaltender, won voting for the award by an overwhelming margin:

Wyshinski gave a brief and interesting take on the voting:

Again, an overwhelming choice. Interesting to see Pekka Rinne getting more support than Drew Doughty.

Really? Drew Doughty, who had all of 6 goals, is more deserving rookie-of-the-year than a goaltender who took over full-time duty on a defense-first team? He had 21 assists, but that's just as much a reflection of being a significant piece of a terrible offense, than his passing ability. Ok, the points aren't that important, he's a defenseman, and his defense had more to do with his standing than his offense. Still, what evidence is there that his contributions on defense were more important than a full-time goaltenders'?. His -17 +/- rating? (I don't think +/- is a very good statistic, nor do I think it's a terribly good reflection of Drew Doughty's talent, but it's worth noting)

I'm open the possibility I'm wrong here. It's hard to resolve comparisons of goaltenders to non-goaltenders. Still, the voters found a way when they elected Steve Mason over Ryan and Versteeg. So let's compare Mason and Rinne for the hundredth time:

.917>.916 SV%

Before you accuse me of cherry-picking, consider the other goaltending statistics. GAA is really just an imperfect reflection of SV%. It has too much to do with how many shots are taken in a game, which SV% subsumes. GAA is also skewed by partial games, of which Rinne played 3 and Mason none. Wins? A reflection of the team, not the player. (Besides Rinne has a much higher Win%). SO? Mason played more. For that reason, however, Mason probably should have won. Still, Rinne's story, overcoming Dan Ellis to keep the team in contention with several clutch performances, coupled with his favorable statistical profile, should have made him at least a finalist.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I love Peks.