NHL Awards Show Preview!

With the NHL Awards Show exactly one week away from Las Vegas, now I figured would be a good time to do a little preview and predictions write up for the awards to see who will be walking away this year with some of the NHL's most valuable hardware. Before I get to my predictions on the trophies that will be handed out next week in Vegas, lets take a quick look at the trophies that have already been handed out.

First up is the Art Ross Trophy which went out to the NHL Regular Season Scoring champion. This years winner was Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Malkin won the scoring crown with 109 points during the regular season. This is the 2nd time Malkin has won the title, winning the award in 2008-09 with 113 points. Next up is the Rocket Richard Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL regular season goal scoring leader. this years winner was Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, as he lead the league this year with 60 goals. This is the 2nd time Stamkos has won the award as he split the trophy with Sidney Crosby of the Penguins in 2009-10 when both guys scored 51 goals. Another award already handed out was the Conn Smyth trophy which was for Playoff MVP and that went to Jonathan Quick of the LA Kings. Also given out was the NHL Plus/Minus award, which goes to the player with the best plus/minus during the regular season, and this years winner was Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins who finished the season with a +36. This is the 3rd time in the last 4 seasons that a Bruin has won the award. Finally we cap this off with the Jennings trophy which is awarded to "the goalkeeper(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it. This year the trophy went to Jaraslav Halak and Brian Elliot of the St. Louis Blues. Both goalies allowed a combined 165 goals during the regular season, the lowest total among winners since Martin Brodeur claimed the trophy in 2004 while allowing 164 goals. So now that we have covered the awards that are already handed out, lets start the debate as to the ones that will be given out in Las Vegas next week.

First up for debate is the NHL General Manager of the Year award, the trophy which is given to the top general manager in the league. The nominees this year are: Doug Armstrong, of the St. Louis Blues, David Poile, of the Nashville Predators and Dale Tallon, of the Florida Panthers. Taking into consideration how each man was able to build their teams during the season my prediction for the winner this year is gonna be Dale Tallon of the Panthers. My reasoning is relatively simple. With Poile he did a good job of getting the Predators on the ice needed to keep Nashville in the playoff hunt and get them a higher seed, most of the team was in tact from last year. With Doug Armstrong of St. Louis, he already had assembled a team that just missed the playoffs last year before coming on to win a division title this year, but the year didn't start off all that great. I feel Tallon is gonna take it because he basically re-built the Panthers through free agency last summer and built a team that made the playoffs for the first time in about a decade and a division winner for the first time ever. So Tallon gets the nod as GM of the year.

Next up we will look at the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The nominees for this year are: Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators, who returned from offseason back surgery to play his 16th NHL season, Joffrey Lupul of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had a career year last season despite almost calling it a career in 2010 after two back surgeries and a blood infection, and finally Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens, who had a career year this season after missing all of last season due to a concussion and fractured vertebrae in his neck from a Zedno Chara hit in Montreal. This award is kind of hard to figure as to where the writers will go, but based on past winners i give the trophy to Max Pacioretty of the Canadiens.

Up next is the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is presented each year to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. The nominees for the trophy this year are Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers, Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers, and Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders. Generally the winner of this award has low penalty minute totals. Throwing that and a few other things into consideration, I'm taking Matt Moulson to win the award. My reason being that Moulson and Campbell had the lowest total in penalty minutes among the three players but because Moulson is a forward and put up better scoring numbers than Campbell and did so an a more offensively challenged team in the Islanders, Moulson gets the award.

Now we move on to the Ted Lindsay Award, which is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association. The nominees for the award this year are: Henrik Lundqvist, of the New York Rangers, Evgeni Malkin, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Steven Stamkos, of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now this is similar to the Hart as League MVP but this award is voted on by the players, as the Hart is voted on by hockey writers. So as to who wins the Lindsy this year, its hard to tell where the players will vote as to who they think is MVP, but if it were my guess I would say it goes to Steve Stamkos of Tampa Bay.

Next up is the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The nominees this year are: David Backes, of the St. Louis Blues, Patrice Bergeron, of the Boston Bruins, and Pavel Datsyuk, of the Detroit Red Wings. Datsyuk has already won this trophy three times, in fact he won it three years in a row from 2008-2010, so he is no stranger to this trophy. And from where I sit it looks as if the trophy will reside in Boston as Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins will walk away with the trophy. Now I know the Blues allowed the fewest goals in the NHL during the season, but as far as I'm concerned, Backes was spending too much time in the penalty box to really be viewed as a strong defensive forward. As for taking Bergeron over Datsyuk, well the Bruins allowed one less goal than Detroit did during the season. I know its a bit of a strange viewpoint but that's the way I see it

Up next is the Jack Adams award, which is awarded annually to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. Nominated for the award this year is: Ken Hitchcock, of the St. Louis Blues, Paul MacLean, Ottawa Senators, and John Tortorella, of the New York Rangers. Tortorella has already won this award once before and that was in 2004 when he lead his club to the Stanley Cup Championship as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In history only twice has the winner of this award led his team to a Stanley Cup Title in the spring, and only twice has a coach won the award after being named replacement in the middle of the season. This year we can add a third coach to take over a team mid season and win the award as I have Ken Hitchcock of the Blues winning the trophy. Here is my reasoning. Yes all three coaches are very very good but with Torts he already had a good team to work with in the Rangers and he already had success with them. As for MacLean he did a great job behind the bench in his first NHL season and was able to get Ottawa to fall into the 8th spot in the east. But the reason I give the nod to Hitchcock to win the award this year is simple. He took over the team on November 6th when they fired Davis Paine who was coach at the time. When Hitchcock took the helm, the blues were out of the playoffs, but by years end they were the 2nd best team in the NHL. For one man to cause that big of a turn around in his hockey club, Hitch gets the trophy this year.

Now we take a look at the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. This is the only award that a player can win only once in his career. This years nominees are: Adam Henrique, of the New Jersey Devils, Gabriel Landeskog, of the Colorado Avalanche, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, of the Edmonton Oilers. Now then as for who gets this years award, its a bit of a challenge to decide. Nugent-Hopkins and Landeskog were tied with 52 points each, and Henrique was one point behind them at 51. Usually I have seen guys win this award because they put up unreal numbers either on offense or defense, but that isn't really the case here. i'm picking my winner for this years trophy based on two things, one how good of an offensive year did they have, and two did their team make the playoffs. With both those things factored in, Adam Henrique will walk away with the Calder this year.

Next up is the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position. The three nominees for this year are: Zdeno Chara, of the Boston Bruins, Erik Karlsson, of the Ottawa Senators, and Shea Weber, Nashville Predators. Chara has claimed this trophy once already in his career, winning the award in 2009. Karlsson had the best offensive numbers out of anybody listed here, with 79 points, but the Senators didn't make much noise and backed into the playoffs. As for the actual winner of the award, its gonna go once again to Big Z Zedeno Chara. The reason being is that Chara not only put up solid offensive numbers but because of his play at the blueline the Bruins once again won their division and finished 2nd in the east.

Now we look at the Veznia Trophy which is awarded to the NHL's Top Goalie. The nominees for the award this year are: Henrik Lundqvist, of the New York Rangers, Jonathan Quick, of the Los Angeles Kings , and Pekka Rinne, of the Nashville Predators. Now with this trophy I base my winner on two things, one where the team finished in the regular season, and two the statistical numbers the goalie put up. Lundqvist and Quick played the lowest number of games compaired to Renne, and the Kings had the 8th seed in the west. Lundqvist played on the best team in the east and split a little more time with Marty Biron his backup As for what order I have for the winners, well here it is. I have Quick finishing 3rd in my book because he was the only one to have lost 20 games during the regular season, although he paced the league with 10 shutouts. He just got red hot at the right time as did the rest of the Kings. Lundqvist had a solid season but is going to come up short. The reason being is that his Rangers were the best team in the east all year and that had a large part to do with a total team effort. The winner is going to be Rinne because he was relied on more by Nashville and he won 40 games this season which was good enough to help Nashville to a 4th place finish in the tough western conference. So with all the variables thrown in Pekka Rinne walks away with the Veznia this year.

The final award up for discussion is the Hart Trophy which is awarded to the league's most valuable player. Nominees for the trophy this year are: Henrik Lundqvist, of the New York Rangers, Evgeni Malkin, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Steven Stamkos, of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now with this trophy there some things of note. The last two goalies to win the award were Jose Theodore and Dominik Hasek. The reason I feel both guys won the awards is because they carried their respective clubs to good winning season and playoff births. Lundqvist didn't do that this season, as I feel it was a total team effort as to why the Rangers were the best in the east. As this award pertains to Steven Stamkos I have him finishing 2nd in voting for the trophy. Yes he was the only man in the league this season to hit 60 goals and one of two to score over 50, Malkin being the other one. Stamkos did all of this for a Lightning club that missed the playoffs and finished 10th in the east. So with that being said Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins will be this years league MVP. The reason being is that because of his offensive explosion this year for the Penguins, and doing it all without Sidney Crosby for a good chunk of the year, he was able to get the Penguins to a 4th place finish in the East. Guarantee that if Malkin isn't in the Penguins lineup they don't make the playoffs this season.

There are my predictions for the 2012 NHL Awards!