Handing Out NHL Hardware

The conclusion of the lockout shortened 2013 NHL regular season is almost upon us, which means that it’s time to hand out some hardware. Read on for my picks for the Hart, Norris, Vezina, and more.

Runners up: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin

Toews is the best player on the best team in hockey. He really is a jack-of-all-trades player. He can check, defend, and play on the penalty kill. He is one of the best faceoff men in hockey. He’s big and strong. But most of all, he is an offensive catalyst for the Hawks. He’d be closer to the scoring leaders if he didn’t take such pride in his defensive play, but he is always the first man back and the deepest forward in the defensive zone.

Crosby would have ran away with this award had he not gotten injured a few weeks ago. And Ovechkin has returned to elite status after an extended hiatus. Whatever your opinion of him is, it is great for the game of hockey to have him dominating once again.

Runners up: Matt Moulson, Logan Couture

Even at the age of 41, Whitney continues to thrive as a top six winger in the NHL. He plays a feisty game, too, although you wouldn’t know it from his PIM total (only four PIM in 30 games as of Wednesday afternoon). Whitney is one of the most well-respected veterans in the game of hockey, and he has had to work his butt off for that respect. The Lady Byng sometimes gets a bad rap in the media and among players, but I think it is an impressive and important award to give to a player who competes hard (and clean) on a consistent basis.

Moulson and Couture both play involved two-way games and have very low PIM totals. Again, this should be a recognition of a player who is capable of playing tough minutes without taking penalties. Penalties are bad, especially when it is offensive talents taking them.

Runners up: Antti Niemi, Tuukka Rask

BOBROVSKY has earned this award with his consistently stellar play for Columbus. He’s big and technically solid (working with former Canucks goalie coach Ian Clark has benefitted his game tremendously), and he is athletic enough to steal games and make incredible saves when called upon. He may not keep this up – we have seen a number of one-season wonder goaltenders come and go, but he has been the most consistently great goaltender in hockey in 2013.

Niemi has been a close second – for a goaltender who has struggled with consistency in the past, you wouldn’t know it from watching him this season. This isn’t the same Sharks team that has dominated the NHL over the past decade – they have won largely because of Niemi’s consistently spectacular play. Rask has emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the world, just like many expected one Tim Thomas went AWOL on the Bruins.

Runners up: Brenden Dillon, Brendan Gallagher

There have been several other notable rookies this season in addition to the above three (Brandon Saad and Jonathan Huberdeau, to name two), but Brodin should win this. Defense is an infinitely more difficult position for a rookie to play, and Brodin has seamlessly transitioned into a top pairing defenseman in a matter of weeks.

Dillon has done the same for the Stars, a team that has struggled with its defensive play. Dillon’s story is an interesting one. As an undersized defenseman in the WHL, he was never drafted, but he had a late growth spurt (topping out at 6-3 and 230 pounds), and the Stars gave him a free agent contract a few summers ago. Good move. He has quietly emerged as arguably their best defenseman, and one of the best young two-way defensemen in hockey. We saw some of his skating and offensive ability against his hometown Canucks earlier in 2013, too.

Runners up: Kris Letang, Ryan Suter

Subban’s 2013 season didn’t get off to the best start – he was a contract holdout through training camp, and some speculated that his teammates wouldn’t welcome him back with open arms because of that. Well, those people couldn’t have been more wrong. The Habs surrounded Subban with the right mix of players, and he has thrived. His defensive ability was on display last season, where he made up one half of Montreal’s shutdown pairing.

His defensive play has been just as good in 2013, and he has really broken out offensively, too. Subban is one of the best defensemen in hockey, and the best is yet to come. Suter has had a great season too after a bit of a rocky start. He has a lot of pressure on him after signing that massive free agent contract last summer, and he has delivered and lived up to the hype (not always an easy thing to do).

Letang would probably have pushed Subban for this award if he hadn’t missed so many games. He’s a dynamic defenseman who positively contributes to the Penguins in so many ways.

Runners up: Joel Quenneville, Dan Bylsma

No Karlsson, no Spezza, no Anderson, no problem. MacLean has done a masterful job guiding a severely undermanned Senators team to many more wins than people expected from them in 2013. Ottawa has done a phenomenal job drafting, signing, and developing young players in recent years, and that has played a huge part in their surprising success.

Runners Up: Pascal Dupuis, Anze Kopitar    

Bergeron does it all for the Bruins, and he makes life a lot easier for his teammates. Faceoffs, checking top centers, killing penalties – he excels at all facets of the game. Dupuis has had a phenomenal two-way season, too. The most amazing part is how his game hasn’t fallen off without Sidney Crosby.

Runners up: Stan Bowman, Ray Shero

As mentioned above, the Senators have done a phenomenal job with player personnel moves in recent years. And they can thank Murray, arguably the best GM in hockey, for that. He has drafted well, traded well, made great signings, and built a strong dressing room. Bowman has done a great job getting Chicago back to the top even after losing so many good players in recent years. Shero has the benefit of having two elite stars on his team, but he still deserves credit for doing a great job with the Penguins.