NHL Hands Out Hardware

In the game of hockey, or any other team sport for that matter, the logo on the front is considered more important than the name on the back. Rightfully so. However, at the end of each year, the National Hockey League does honor the individual accomplishments in the great team game. As the Stanley Cup Playoffs wore on, the NHL handed out the hardware for the 2025-26 regular season. It was a way of honoring the best of the best from the year that was around the NHL. We take a look at that right now. Here's the full list of NHL award winners from the season that was.

All Rookie Team
Goalie: Jakub Dobes (Montreal Canadiens)
Defense: Matthew Schafer (New York Islanders), Alexander Nikishin (Carolina Hurricanes)
Forwards: Ivan Demidov (Montreal Canadiens), Beckett Sennecke (Anaheim Ducks), Jimmy Snuggerud (St Louis Blues)

All Star Teams:
First Team:
Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Defense: Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Forwards: Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jason Robvertson (Dallas Stars)

Second Team:
Goalie: Logan Thompson (Washington Capitals)
Defense: Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
Forwards: Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens)

Now, here's the full list of the hardware handed out for the 2025-26 season.

William Jennings Trophy (Lowest Goals Against Average): Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood (Colorado Avalanche)

Rocket Richard Trophy (Goal Scoring Leader): Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche 53 Goals)

Art Ross Trophy (Leading Scorer): Conor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers 138 Points)

Mark Messier Leadership Award: Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)

Bill Masterton Trophy (perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication): Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche)

Lady Bing Trophy (sportsmanship and excellence): Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)

King Clancy Trophy (leadership and humanitarian contribution): Marcus Foligno (Minnesota Wild)

Ted Lindsey Award (Outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA): Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)

Selke trophy (best defensive forward): Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)

Jack Adams Award (Best Coach): Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Calder Trophy (Top Rookie): Matthew Schafer (New York Islanders)

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman): Zach Werenski (Columbus Ble Jackets)

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender): Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Hart Trophy (League MVP): Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning)

So now the big question is, did they get the award winners right? It was a close race for the Hart, but it rightfully went to Kucherov. it was nothing against McDavid or MacKinnon, both of whom had fine seasons. But there were stretches where Kucherov carried things in Tampa with all the injuries and what not that the Lightning had to deal with and when scoring goals at times was hard to come by. Same thing with Vasilevskiy getting the Vezina for top goalie. The only thing that kept Sorokin from getting his hands on it was the team around him faltering down the stretch and leaving him out to dry, which is why he looked off at the end of the year. Schafer winning the Calder, rightfully so, was a runaway win. 3rd leading scorer among all rookies, and playing heavy minutes for the Islanders all as an 18-year-old, What Werenski did in Columbus was pretty impressive. 81 points to finish 2nd to Bouchard in defenseman scoring and helping the Jackets to a playoff spot while playing shut down D was good enough to take the award.

The ONLY award that I think was given to the wrong guy, and it feels weird to even be writing that honestly, was the Jack Adams. No disrespect to the man who won it in Jon Cooper of the Lightning. Despite all the injuries and missing key guys for stretches, Cooper guided the ship in Tampa to keep them in a playoff spot almost the entire season after a bit of a slow start. And the fact that it took 14 years for Cooper to finally win the award, when in years past, he's been runner up when he should have won was a crying shame. Don't get it wrong it's a great thing that he finally got it and the recognition that he finally deserves for the coaching job he's done here in Tampa. But in all honesty, it should have gone to Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres this season. Buffalo was in last place in early December. They had also gone without a playoff appearance since 2011 and hadn't won a division title since 2007. All of those things changed as the season went along. Buffalo ended not only the playoff drought but won the division for the first time in almost twenty years and won a playoff round. Lindy did a marvelous job guiding that team with the talent they have and getting the most out of them. The Adams should be residing in Buffalo not Tampa this year, that's the only award that was given to the wrong person this year.