With the first half of the 2015-16 NHL season in the books, it’s time to start handing out the hardware. The LWOS hockey department has come together to give you our picks for the major NHL awards. After the Hart and the Calder, here are the rest of the staff picks for the NHL’s awards at the half.
NHL Mid-Season Awards: LWOS Staff Picks
Vezina Trophy
Winner: Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
GP: 34 W: 27 L: 4 OT: 2 SV%: .932 GAA: 1.93 SO: 2
There’s no goalie in the NHL that more resembles reigning Vezina and Hart trophy winner Carey Price like Holtby. It comes as no surprise that with Price on the shelf to injury, the man to step up would be Holtby. The Washington Capitals are a force in the NHL right now, largely in part to having the best goaltender to wear a Capitals uniform since Olaf Kolzig (coincidentally, Price’s junior hockey mentor).
Holtby’s current goals saved above average is 15.09, 1.48 higher than second place Roberto Luongo. Holtby leads everything from wins (27) to quality start percentage (.727) to having the least amount of losses for the amount of starts (four). While it always feels like a broken record to talk about the Capitals as serious contenders to the Cup (much like their Western counterpart in the San Jose Sharks), the difference between those previous teams is right between the pipes. For all of the firepower up front, it’s Holtby that makes the Capitals a true contender to win the Presidents trophy. It would take a real letdown in the second half to knock him off this current pace.
-Aaron Wrotkowski (@AaronWrotkowski)
James Norris Memorial Trophy
Winner: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
GP: 42 G: 7 A: 18 P: 25 TOI: 27:57
Last season Doughty just missed out on winning his first ever Norris Trophy after receiving 53 first place votes, more than the eventual trophy winner, Ottawa’s Eric Karlsson, who had 44. What hurt Doughty’s chances was the lack of second and third place votes, possibly due to his team missing out on the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This season the tide has turned for the 4th overall LA Kings and a major contributing factor to that is the multi-faceted Doughty anchoring the team and producing a season that perfectly qualifies him for the mid-season victory of the award given to the best “defensive player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”
Other talented defensemen like Karlsson or Montreal’s P.K. Subban might produce much stronger offensive results, but for whatever reason this seems to be confusing for many voters as this trophy was not meant to be awarded to only the best offensive defenseman. As it is described, the Norris Trophy was meant to be awarded to the best ALL-ROUND defenseman.
With 25 points, a +16, six power-play goals, a 58% 5-on-5 Corsi% and 124:26 of shorthanded ice time (in comparison Karlsson has a low 47:43), so far at the mid-way point this season the two-time Stanley Cup Champion Drew Doughty has been the trusted workhorse that plays in every tense and critical offensive and defensive situation for his team with successful results. All the while playing consistently and racking up an approximate steady average of 28 minutes per game. That sounds “all round” to me.
-Jeff Duarte (@JDStylz)
Winner: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
GP: 44 G: 9 A: 36 P: 45 TOI: 28:38
Just as there seems to be a division in the hockey world over the definition of the Norris Trophy, with many arguing there should be separate awards for both the best offensive and the best defensive defenseman, the LWOS hockey department was equally divided. Thus, we decided to have two winners in this category as for everything Doughty’s been able to accomplish in his own end, so too has Karlsson on the offensive side of the puck.
As chronicled in our Hart Trophy mid-season winner article earlier in the week, Karlsson’s contributions on offense are impossible to ignore. Through 44 games, the Swedish phenom has managed 45 points, 4th in the NHL, and is on pace to become the first defenseman to top 80 for the first time since Nicklas Lidstrom in 2006-07. What’s more, you would have to go all the way down to Dallas Star John Klingberg at 17th to find the next defenseman on the NHL’s scoring list. Whereas Klingberg has the luxury of playing with superstar scoring machines in Tyler Seguin and Jaime Benn, Karlsson has done much of the heavy lifting on his own in Ottawa (he leads the team in points, with Mike Hoffman nine points behind in second), while still posting possession metrics positive to both his opponents and his teammates. Karlsson’s won the Norris twice, and he gets my vote for another Norris in the LWOS mid-season awards.
-Ken Hill (@LWOSPuckHead)
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Winner: Mike Hoffman, Ottawa Senators
GP: 40 G: 20 A: 16 P: 36 PIM: 4
The Lady Byng is one of oddest trophies in sport, an award given to the “player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” It’s strange that a professional sports league would need to award players for playing by the rules while trying to perform as well as possible.This year’s Lady Byng frontrunners at the halfway point of the season are Mike Hoffman, Tyler Toffoli, and 2013-14 winner Ryan O’Reilly. All three have exhibited great discipline while putting the puck in the net.
Two years ago O’Reilly won the Lady Byng after taking only one penalty all season. That penalty was a bit a fluke playing with a broken stick penalty off a faceoff. It was an unfortunate penalty to take for a guy who nearly went an entire season avoiding the penalty box. O’Reilly has only taken three penalties this year, which is remarkable considering he’s leading the NHL in TOI for all forwards. The Sabres have been riding their top line hard, but O’Reilly hasn’t seemed to tire of scoring, with 17 goals and 37 points through his first 43 games.
Last season Toffoli’s teammate, Anze Kopitar, was a finalist for the Lady Byng. Perhaps this year will be Toffoli’s chance to win. Toffoli has 20 goals already this season and has been one of the most consistent players for the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Kings. The league leader +23, Toffoli has been solid in both ends, helping to not only score goals but also killing penalties and consistently playing on Kopitar’s line against other team’s best lines, all while recording just three minor penalties. However, at the mid-point of the season, both fall short of Hoffman.
Hoffman is in his second full season with the Ottawa Senators and is currently on pace for 40 goals and almost 80 points. Even though Karlsson gets most of the coverage in Ottawa, it’s been Hoffman who’s been perhaps the most impressive this year. You expect Karlsson to rack up points on the backend, but it’s hard to say anyone expected Hoffman to be on this kind of pace. Along with leading his team in goals (20), Hoffman has a team high +11 while only racking up four PIM’s. Hoffman has also been clutch when it counts, netting three game-winning goals, which leads the team.
-Dave Gove (@LAKingsDave)
Art Ross Trophy
Winner: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
GP: 45 G: 25 A: 38 P:63 PPG: 1.40 On pace for 114 points
At this point the Art Ross Trophy race is between Kane, Jamie Benn, and Tyler Seguin. While Karlsson is fourth and within striking distance, realistically nobody else in the league is close at this point, and it would both take a massive drop off by all three men and an incredible second half run by another player (there are a few candidates, most notably Alex Ovechkin and Vladimir Tarasenko) to break up that trio.
While Benn and Seguin have been sublime, Kane has been an unmatched offensive force this season. His 63 points are a full 10 points ahead of second place Benn, and he has a much higher points per game number (1.40 vs 1.20). While some would argue Kane leaped to the top on the back of his 26-game point streak earlier in the season (and he did), that doesn’t mean the results are unsustainable. The league leader in assists, points and power play goals will continue to play big minutes (20:54) on the way to his first Art Ross.
-Ken Hill (@LWOSPuckHead)
Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy
Winner: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
GP: 41 G: 26 GPG: 0.63 On pace for 52 goals
Alex Ovechkin recently scored his 500th NHL goal, then proceeded to turn the Norris Trophy favorite Karlsson inside out for his 501st later in the same game. Only four players in the history of the NHL have reached the esteemed achievement of scoring 500 goals faster than he did, which deserves an award within itself (well, he was given a golden stick by the Caps).
It’s a work of art whenever Ovechkin winds up for his patented one-timer on the Capitals powerplay, as everyone in the building knows where the puck is going before it heads to the top of the left circle. He’s got size, he’s got speed and more importantly, he’s a leader. It doesn’t matter who is behind the bench for the Capitals, “Ovie” (or Ovi) wears his heart on his sweater and gives his team everything he’s got whether it’s game one or 82 of the season. The Moscow, Russian-born forward has continued to emerge as a timeless talent that refuses to falter due to defensive coverages designed to specifically stop him, or offensive systems distributed from four different coaches or injuries. When he gets on a roll, he doesn’t just heat up… he goes supernova.
This is the year for Alexander the Great to silence the critics and win a Stanley Cup while also leading the league in goals for a fourth consecutive season, securing a measly sixth Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy to go along with it.
-Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_)
Frank J. Selke Trophy
Winner: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
GP: 42 G: 15 A: 23 P: 38 CF%: 53.1 FO%: 56.8 TK: 43
The Frank J. Selke Award is given to “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” At the mid-term of the 2015-16 season, it looks as though there won’t be any surprises when it comes to the award’s 2016 recipient.
For the past four years Bergeron and Jonathan Toews, captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, have been battling it out for the Selke award – with Bergeron winning it for three of the last four years.
This season there’s increased competition from the likes of Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly (who leads the league in faceoffs at 1,087 with a 58.2% win percentage) and regular Selke contender Kopitar.
But at the mid-way point of the season, Bergeron has taken home the trophy again. Bergeron has kept up his strong defensive game; though his tallies of blocked shots (25), and hits (45), might not rank among the likes of Ducks forward Ryan Kesler and Blues forward David Backes, his giveaway/takeaway ratio is incredible.
Bergeron has clocked in 43 takeaways so far – whilst only having the puck taken away from him 16 times – as well as over 100 minutes of shorthanded ice time and three shorthanded point.
His 2015 win was largely credited to his league leading faceoff performance, winning 60.2% of his total 1,951 faceoffs. At the half-way point, Bergeron trials behind O’Reilly’s 1,087 faceoffs and Toews’ 58.7% faceoff percentage but he makes up for that with the rest of his defensive play.
-Ben Chopping (@Sport_Gecko)
Jack Adams Award
Winner: Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals
Record: 32-7-3, PTS% .798, 1st Overall
As a primarily Maple-Leaf-centric contributor at Last Word on Sports, it would stand to reason that my nomination for the Jack Adams Award would naturally be Mike Babcock, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Before jumping to that conclusion, it dawned on me to first clarify what the award is intended to represent. We all know it’s the NHL’s coaching award, but for what, exactly?
The title “coach of the year” is presented to the individual “adjudged to have contributed most to his team’s success,” and therein lies the rub. “Success” in the NHL is tied directly to wins. Not promising trends, not reasons for optimism, but tangible, positive results.
While the Leafs are trending upward, the team actually had more “success” at this time last year while being coached by Randy Carlyle, who was ousted while the team was still within striking distance of the playoffs. As of January 12th 2015, the Leafs sat in the 6th position in the Atlantic Division with 47 points. A year later, they have eight fewer points, and sit 7th in the Atlantic, ahead of just Buffalo and Columbus in the Eastern Conference.
So, as much as Babcock’s impact looks to have laid the groundwork, actual quantifiable success would need to occur before he gets my nomination. Hashtag: No homer…
The other candidates for me at this point would be Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals, and Gerard Gallant of the Florida Panthers.
As coach of the Florida Panthers since June 2014, Gallant has led his group to its current rank as top dogs in the Atlantic with 57 points in 43 games. The Panthers boast a nice mix of leaders like Roberto Luongo, Captain Willie Mitchell, and Jaromir Jagr and an absolutely electric crop of youngsters in Aaron Ekblad, Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov, and Jonathan Huberdeau. Florida sits second in goals-for in the Atlantic with 118. These cats are for real…
Today, the Caps sit atop both the Metropolitan division, and the Eastern Conference with 32 wins and a league-leading 67 points, and are widely viewed as favourites to represent the conference in the Stanley Cup Final. Much of the team’s success is attributed to Trotz’ ability to get the group pulling on the same rope and by straightening out its franchise superstar in such dramatic fashion. When your leader buys in to the coach’s philosophy, commits to the details and puts the proverbial hard hat on, the effect is undoubtedly viral throughout your lineup, with success bound to come. This could very be the year the Washington Capitals put it all together, and Trotz’ contribution to that process cannot be understated or overlooked.
While it may be close, I’m giving the nod to Mr. Trotz here. The Capitals haven’t just posted better results, but they have faced their own demons and beaten them without mercy in order to take the next critical steps toward becoming champions.
The team has the most wins, most goals-for, the fewest goals-against, and therefore the best differential, posting a stunning +49. When the stars align in such a convincing fashion, your leadership is doing something very right, with the trickle down effect being an obvious team-wide buy-in.
-Owen Durkin (@DurkinOwen)
NHL General Manager of the Year Award
Winner: Brian MacLellan, Washington Capitals
As the season has just passed the halfway point, there are a few names that stick out as candidates for General Manager of the Year: Brian MacLellan of the Washington Capitals, Jim Nill of the Dallas Stars, and Dale Tallon of the Florida Panthers.
Although Jim Nill has been able to build a dangerous team in Dallas, being able to challenge anyone in the league, he is not the fore-runner for the award and would finish 3rd in voting. Nill has been the GM of the Stars since April 29th, 2013, and has since been able to do a fantastic job with the club, and is definitely a consideration for the award.
Finishing 2nd in the voting is Dale Tallon, of the Florida Panthers. With the acquisitions and draft picks the Panthers have made since his appointment on May 17th, 2010, it’s hard for him not to be in consideration for the award. Bringing in players like Jagr, Luongo, and draft picks like Ekblad, he has earned himself the right to be considered one who knows what type of talent to bring in to his club (despite a few missteps). However, despite good personnel moves on the club’s end, they still have been unable to raise attendance rates, and this ultimately falls back on the GM of the organization, leaving him to finish 2nd in voting.
And, the winner of the GM of the Year, Brian MacLellan, of the Washington Capitals. MacLellan was appointed on May 26th, 2014, and has since seen the club turn into nothing short of a powerhouse. He was able to make a great trade for the organization during the offseason, bringing on experienced winger T.J. Oshie, who has been able to contribute a very solid 27 points (12-15-27) in 42 games, to add more depth to an already dangerous team. And, with the team currently sitting comfortably atop the NHL standings with an impressive record of 32-7-3, he has turned them into a Cup contender for sure. Some may argue he stepped into an already strong team, but the ability to take a good team, add to their depth, and even improve on their ability is a feat within itself, and for that he is the GM of the Year at the mid-point of 2015-16.
-Nic Hendrikson (@RedArmyNic)
Main Photo:
