The NHL is officially at the All-Star break, and we thought it would be a good time to predict winners for end of season individual awards! Here it goes…
Maurice “Rocket” Richard (Top Goal Scorer): Auston Matthews. I don’t think anybody is going to catch him. He currently leads Sam Reinhart by 3 goals heading into the break. Barring injuries, he will take this award and I wouldn’t be surprised if he notched 65-70 goals.
Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP): Nathan Mackinnon. Mackinnon and Kucherov are going back and forth for the points lead. However, in my opinion Mackinnon has simply been more valuable to his team. Mackinnon might be overlooked because of the talent he plays with (Rantanen, Makar, etc.) but I think this is the year Mackinnon finally wins it. By, the way I think he takes the Ted Lindsey award for Most Valuable Player voted by the players as well.
Ted Lindsay Award: See above
Norris Memorial Trophy (Top Defenseman): Cale Makar. Quinn Hughes has been excellent this year and is a solid runner up. Although Hughes leads Makar in points (62 to 58), Makar has played in 5 fewer games. If Makar stays healthy, I look for him to pass Hughes in points and take home his 2nd Norris trophy.
Frank J Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward): Anze Kopitar. Kopitar is still playing at an elite level despite getting up there in age. He is great defensively and should take home his 3rd Selke trophy.
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Connor Bedard. If Bedard returns from his injury anytime soon, he takes this award no questions asked. If for some reason, Bedard doesn’t return look for Brock Faber to take home the hardware.
Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender): This one has to be Connor Hellebuyck, right? He’s 3rd in the league in wins and top 10 in Save percentage despite playing twice the number of games of those ahead of him. He is also posting a 2.20 GAA. Adin Hill is ahead of him in both save percentage and GAA but has only played 17 games compared to Hellebuyck’s 35.
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly Conduct): Auston Matthews. As mentioned above, Matthews is leading the league in goals. At the same time, he only has 4 penalty minutes for the entire season. That should earn him his first Lady Byng award.
Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year): Rick Tocchet. In my opinion, this one is a no-brainer. Nobody expected the Canucks to be anywhere near the playoffs this season. In fact, most expected the club to be making a lottery selection at the upcoming draft. Instead, the Canucks are leading their division and tied at the top of league standings.
Jim Gregory GM of the Year: Chris McFarland. McFarland made several moves this offseason that helped completely reshape the makeup of the Colorado Avalanche. He acquired Miles Wood, traded for Ross Colton, and took some chances with Jonathan Drouin and Zach Parise. Drouin has impressed this season and if Parise fits in nicely, McFarland should win this award.
Coming up tomorrow – we predict who will win each division!
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