With the NHL regular season set to begin in five days, yes just five days, I've decided to use the remaining time before the season gets underway to post season previews and predictions.
In today's post I am going to predict the winner of each major award winner for the upcoming season. Hopefully I fare better than I did with my picks last year.
Art Ross - awarded to the NHL's leading point getter
This is a tough award for me to predict as I feel there are five or six players who will be battling it out all season, but I'm going to go with
Sidney Crosby. For my money, he's the best player in the world when he's on. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to win the scoring title.
Honorable mentions: Alexander Ovechkin (WSH), Claude Giroux (PHI)
Hart Memorial Trophy - awarded to the NHL's most valuable player
Like with the Art Ross, I'm going to go with
Sidney Crosby. The Penguins will be one of the top seeded teams in the NHL and Crosby's the best player on the team.
Honorable mentions: Evgeni Malkin (PIT) Alexander Ovechkin (WSH)
Vezina Trophy - awarded to the top goaltender in the NHL
I tried this last year and it didn't work, but if at first you don't succeed you have to try again - so I will. My pick for the Vezina trophy:
Jonas Hiller. He was absolutely fantastic two seasons ago and was definitely in the Vezina conversation before going down with vertigo. He didn't have a great season last year because the Ducks team in front of him really struggled both offensively and defensively. That said, the Ducks shored up their blue line and they still have Teemu Selanne and one of the best lines in hockey up front. Hiller will benefit from that and carry the Ducks back into the playoffs while posting elite numbers.
Honorable mentions: Henrik Lundqvist (NYR), Jonathan Quick (LAK)
Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy - awarded to the NHL's leading goal scorer
The leading goal scorer in the league this year will be...
Alexander Ovechkin. I really believe he's going to get back on track this season with Adam Oates leading the helm as the Capitals new head coach.
Honorable mentions: Steven Stamkos (TB), Ilya Kovalchuk (NJ)
Calder Memorial Trophy - awarded to the NHL's best rookie
Going to go with a bit of a homer pick here so I'm taking one of my favorites in
Mikael Granlund. The guy is an absolute stud and will be given top-6 minutes this year in Minnesota. He'll take advantage of the opportunity.
Honorable mentions: Justin Schultz (EDM), Brendan Smith (DET)
James Norris Memorial Trophy - awarded to the NHL's top defenseman
St. Louis Blues defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo is going to steal the Norris Trophy away from Erik Karlsson this year. I think Karlsson will put up a few more points, but Pietrangelo is going to stay in the ballpark and take the Norris. The guy is a horse for the Blues and does everything you want a defenseman to do. He'll block a lot of shots, log huge minutes while playing in all situations and put up a lot of points. Karlsson is arguably my favorite player, but this is Pietrangelo's year.
Honorable mentions: Erik Karlsson (OTT), Shea Weber (NSH)
Frank J. Selke award - awarded to the NHL's best defensive forward
This is always a tough one, but I'll go with a perennial contender for the award in
Pavel Datsyuk. The guy is just so good at both ends of the ice. I think I can safely predict that if he doesn't win the award, he'll still be in the mix and make me look good.
Honorable mentions: Patrice Bergeron (BOS), Jonathan Toews (CHI)
Jack Adams award - awarded to the NHL's best coach
I think Detroit is going to surprise some people and remain one of the top-4 teams in the Western Conference despite losing Nicklas Lidstrom. If the Wings can do that, which I think they can,
Mike Babcock will likely come away with some hardware.
Honorable mentions: Dan Bylsma (PIT), Bruce Boudreau (ANA)
NHL General Manager of the Year award - awarded to the NHL's best GM
Based on
Jim Rutherford's offseason in acquiring Jordan Staal, Alex Semin and company, I think he'll win the award as the Hurricanes will go from a non-playoff team to a team that can contend and perhaps win the Southeast division.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's post with my Western Conference playoff predictions.
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