NHL quarter horses: Any Boston Bruins in the mix for awards?
Hart Trophy
The Hart Trophy is given out to the person voted most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Many times there is overlap between the Hart winner and the winner of the Ted Lindsay Trophy (person voted Most Outstanding by the NHL players). However, that is not always the case. This is a season where I think there could be a split, and for good reason. My current pick for the Hart Trophy is: Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikita Kucherov has been absolutely dominant this season, and dominant may be an understatement. In 20 games, Kucherov has 17 goals, 16 assists, and a +11 rating. He and linemate Steven Stamkos are proving to be the most dynamic duo in the NHL. In fact, Stamkos is the reason I could see a split in the Hart/Ted Lindsay voting, because each is going to deserve an award by the end of the season.
Now, Kucherov currently sports a 21.5% shooting percentage (17 goals on 79 shots), an unsustainable number for a full season. At least, one would think so. But last season he bagged 40 goals on a 16.8% shooting percentage. Kuch finds himself on pace for a 68 goal, 64 assist, 132 point season, which would be absolutely unreal numbers. No one in the NHL has topped 120 points since Sidney Crosby in 2006-2007.
I don’t see him getting 60 goals because eventually Stamkos will start scoring more and Kucherov’s shooting percentage will come back to earth. But if Stamkos starts scoring more, expect Kucherov’s assist total to grow, since they don’t touch the ice without each other. Pencil Kucherov in for 110+ points this season, and a Hart Trophy on his shelf.
Honorable Mention: Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay Lightning, 20 games, 10 goals, 25 assists, +12 rating. This could literally end up being a toss-up between these two come the end of the season.
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is given to the goaltender of the year as determined by the NHL general managers. The NHL has attempted over the past few seasons to increase goal scoring by making goalie pads smaller and changing rules to favor offense. However, some goalies have stood tall in the face of the NHL’s attempts. No one has won back-to-back Vezina Trophies since Martin Brodeur in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. That could change this year, because my favorite for the Vezina this year is: Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Columbus Blue Jackets.
Bobrovsky is picking up right where he left off last season. The goaltender who the Blue Jackets literally stole from the Philadelphia Flyers is the backbone of the team in Columbus. He has brought hockey in Ohio into relevance, and the team has finally rewarded him with a solid supporting cast.
Bob-o sports a cool 11-4-1 record with two shutouts in 16 games started, with an incredible 2.02 GAA and a .933 save percentage. As you can see, he is currently better than his numbers last season, and last season he walked away with the hardware. If Bobrovsky can keep his numbers even reasonably close to where he is now, he’ll probably set a career high in wins, and MAY get into the Hart Trophy chase. He did finish 3rd in Hart voting last season…
Honorable Mention: Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning, 17 games, 14-2-1 record, 2.34 GAA, .928 save percentage. Playing on Tampa Bay, if he stays healthy, Vasilevskiy could surpass 50 wins this season and set an NHL record. Currently Martin Brodeur (’06-’07) and Braden Holtby (’15-’16) have that record at 48 wins.
Norris Trophy
The Norris Trophy is designed to reward the NHL defenseman who demonstrates the best all-around ability at the position. Recently, that has usually been the NHL defenseman that had the most points in the season, so long as they had a respectable plus/minus rating. The last defenseman to win the Norris with a negative plus/minus was Nicklas Lidstrom in 2010-2011.
That’s not always the case, though. For example, in 2015-2016, Drew Doughty beat out Erik Karlsson, even though Karlsson had an 82 point season and Doughty only had 51 points. The difference? Karlsson had a -2 rating, and Doughty was +24. That being said, my pick for the Norris at this point in the season is: Alex Pietrangelo, D, St. Louis Blues.
The captain of the team, Pietrangelo has set the pace for the Western Conference leading St. Louis Blues. Through 21 games, Pietrangelo has racked up 7 goals, 12 assists, and a +9 rating. Extrapolated out for a full season, he is on pace for 27 goals and 47 assists, an incredible 74 point season.
Pietrangelo has never surpassed 51 points in a season (’11-’12 and ’13-’14). He finished in the top-5 in Norris voting both those seasons. It is yet to be seen whether Pietangelo can keep up his scoring pace. But with Vladimir Tarrasenko and Jaden Schwartz dominating up front, and not having to worry about Kevin Shattenkirk steal blueline points, the sky is the limit for Pietrangelo.
Honorable Mention: Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets. The young Werenski has 6 goals, 6 assists, and a +8 rating this season. His 12 points in 20 games aren’t tops in the league. But his consistent play in both ends of the ice is impressive given his short tenure in the NHL. Last season, he finished 3rd in the Calder voting, and 18th in the Norris voting.
Selke Trophy
The Frank J. Selke Trophy is given out each season to the forward who best demonstrates proficiency in the defensive aspect of the game. There are two players in NHL history who have won the award 4 times: Bob Gainey, who won the award the first 4 times it was awarded, and Patrice Bergeron. I’d like to hope that in 50 years, when my grandkids and I are watching the NHL Awards show, the NHL will give out the award named after my pick: Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins.
When all is said and done, and his skates are hung up, I think Patrice Bergeron will go down as one of the best all-around hockey players to play the game. He is a leader on and off the ice. Bergeron can score and distribute when called upon. And most importantly for this award, his defensive prowess is unrivaled in the game today.
The Bruins were pretty much garbage defensively when he was out at the beginning of the season. In 14 games, Bergeron has 4 goals, 8 assists, and a +7 rating. He has a 57% faceoff percentage, and spends 2:04 of each game killing penalties. Bergeron will do what he does each year: score 50+ points, win about 60% of his faceoffs, and kill penalties all day. And with that, he’s on pace to put a 5th Selke in his trophy case.
Honorable Mention: Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles Kings. The Los Angeles Kings are back, and Kopitar is one of the driving forces behind the renaissance. The Kings captain has amassed 9 goals, 14 assists and a +4 rating in 20 games. While he’s been more offensively potent this season, he loses the edge to Bergeron in plus/minus and faceoff percentage (54.7%), the stats that really matter for the Selke.
Calder Trophy
The Calder Trophy (not to be confused with the Calder Cup, the AHL Championship trophy) is given to the NHL’s most outstanding rookie. The individuals who qualify as rookies this season and are eligible for this award are numerous. This is by far the hardest to pick right now. However, currently, my vote would go to: Clayton Keller, RW, Arizona Coyotes.
There hasn’t been much to get excited about this season in the desert. However, Clayton Keller is giving Coyote fans some hope for the future. The 7th overall pick in 2016, Keller has shown the elite playmaking and scoring skills that made him such a highly touted prospect out of Boston University.
In 22 games, Keller currently has 11 goals, 7 assists, and a -9 rating. To be completely honest, a -9 rating on a team that only has 4 wins in 22 games is nothing to sneeze at. Give Keller some time with the likes of Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, and Mario Kempe. This team will make some noise in the future, if they can get some goaltending.
Honorable Mention: Will Butcher, D, New Jersey Devils. The defenseman who spurned the Colorado Avalanche this summer to join the Devils is off to a hot start to his career. In 19 games, Butcher has collected 1 goal, 14 assists, and a +6 rating on a Devils team that is surprising a lot of people, leading the Metropolitan Division.