The NHL Awards are tonight at 6:30 p.m. Central on Versus, and while I won’t be around for the later part of it (I’m hitting the ice again), I’m going to make my picks after the jump, so feel free to pick them apart and propose your own in the comments!
Calder Trophy (Top Rookie)
Matt Duchene and Jamie Howard were great, to be sure, but Tyler Myers carried the load for Buffalo, doing it all at a surprisingly early age, especially for a big defenseman (most take years to find their NHL legs).
Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman)
Mike Green will be the bridesmaid here for a long time, until he changes the perception that he’s a one-way player. Drew Doughty is young enough that I think voters will give the award to Duncan Keith, keeping the kid in mind for next year. That’s unfortunate, really, as Doughty was tremendous.
Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)
Martin Brodeur comes in a distant third here, and Ilya Bryzgalov loses out due to the higher profile and Olympic buzz of Ryan Miller in Buffalo. Miller is deserving, though, it’s a close race here.
Jack Adams Award (Best Coach)
It was nice to see Barry Trotz nominated, but Dave Tippet is the runaway winner here in Phoenix. Joe Sacco led a bunch of kids to the playoffs, but that was mostly due to Craig Anderson having an incredible year in goal. I would have put either Bruce Boudreau or Mike Babcock in the final three over Sacco…
Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward)
Ryan Kesler and Jordan Staal have both established solid reputations, but Pavel Datsyuk has a lock on this one, especially considering his perennial lead in the Takeaways stat, which, although being almost entirely fictitious, gives the voters something to point to. He’s a deserving winner, though.
Hart Trophy (MVP)
Henrik Sedin certainly had a career year for Vancouver, but I’m not willing to give him the nod over either Crosby or Ovechkin as pass rather than a goal-scorer. In terms of purely the Most Valuable Player to his team, I would give this one to Ovechkin. I’m guessing the voters, however, will go for Sidney Crosby:
