yave1964 Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 The clock is getting ready to turn to 2017 and the season is nearly halfway through so I thought I would list my picks for the NHL top awards and welcome your input as well.... CALDER TROPHY Leagues top rookie, a very deep class and I offer my apologies to Zach Werenski who is killing it on the blue line in Columbus, Mitch Marner and Wee Willie Nylander in Toronto who are having fine seasons and Matthew Tkachuk who is becoming a true power forward in Calgary, it comes down to two people: AUSTON MATTHEWS VERSUS PATRIK LAINE Matthews (16-10-26 8 PPP) would be a shoe in most years but Laine (19 goals and 9 PPP) has outclassed and outperformed Matthews to start the season. As of right now I absolutely give the nod to Laine by a fairly wide margin, a true goal scorer who has established himself as one of the leagues top goal scorers, not just among rookies but second in all of Hockey behind Crosby. HART MEMORIAL TROPHY leagues MVP, quite a few people are having stellar seasons, Taresenko in St. Louis, Carter for the Kings, Malkin, Panarin and Hell, even Cam Atkinson in Columbus are all making their case but again, IMHO it comes down to two people: SID CROSBY VERSUS CONNOR MCDAVID We will be having this argument for years to come between these two, barring injuries they are the two elite players in the game. Crosby leads the league with 24 goals and may have developed into the premier two way forward taking faceoffs in all situations and playing both ends of the ice, he would have my vote for the Selke as the leagues best defensive forward at this point, he is playing the best overall hockey of his life. McDavid leads the league with 42 points, but only 4 more than Crosby in spite of playing 7 more games. He is a human highlight reel and arguably the most dynamic player in the game. My vote goes to Crosby based off his mature overall game but McDavid is having a great season. VEZINA TROPHY leagues top goalie. Lots of elite play from the position this year, no clear cut winner, it comes down to five candidates: TUUKA RASK 17-6 1.87 goals against, .930 save pct. DEVAN DUBNYK: 17-6 1.57 goals against and .948 save pct. MARTIN JONES 18-11 2.08 goals against .919 save pct. CAREY PRICE 18-5 1.91 GOALS against .934 save pct. SERGEI BOBROVSKY 21-5 1.87 GOALS against .935 save pct. Honorable mention to Talbot, Matt Murray and Holtby. Wow a simply amazing amount of elite goalie play this season. It is difficult to choose I would eliminate Jones first off the list, followed by Rask both have solid numbers but others are clearly better this year, next, IMHO Price would have to go. He is having a great year but both Dubnyk and Bob are slightly ahead of him. So do you go with Bob and his five more wins and one less loss or Dubnyk who is having a season for the ages with his goals against and save pct? To not choose one is not to insult them, both have been brilliant, both are playing their best hockey right now on Hockey's two hottest teams, both on double digit win streaks. I see a lot of Bob because of where I live and he has been insane this season, he gets my vote in a razor thin choice, Dubnyk has been simply dominating as well. JACK ADAMS AWARD: Leagues top coach: IMHO a two way race between Bruce Boudreau in Minnesota where the Wild have bought into his system, in spite of losing Parise for much of the year and more than their share of nagging injuries they are the best team in the West right now, and John Tortorella in Columbus, the Jackets are impossible to play against, they finish every check, drive you off the puck, make you take poor pct. shots and are opportunistic, they have the best record in Hockey and are not just beating the weak sisters, they are pummeling all comers, this year they have bested the elite teams as well, beating the Pens (7-1) the Habs (10-0) the Blues (8-4) the Bolts (5-1) and the Ducks (4-0) all cup contenders by a combined 34-6. My vote goes to Boudreau in another razor thin one. SELKE TROPHY leagues best defensive forward with apologies to Bergeron who could have the award renamed for him and to Toews goes to Crosby who has become the most complete player in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 What about the Norris? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted December 27, 2016 Author Share Posted December 27, 2016 51 minutes ago, ScottM said: What about the Norris? Damn thought I had that one, okay lets go..... Honorable mention would include guys like Hedman who is having a hell of a year in spite of his teams slipping, Burns who is still an offensive force on the back end and not really a liability on the back end but certainly not one of the top fifty defensive d-men in the game, Ristolainen is having a nice under the radar breakout year, but it comes down to two names: SHEA WEBER versus ERIK KARLSSON First Weber, (8-11-19 plus 18) had a wicked hot start and looked like a Hart candidate until his recent cooling off, he is still an absolute force of nature, a beast on the back end at both ends of the ice and his first place Canadien team almost to a man goes on and on about how he has changed the culture of the team and helped energize the team and bring focus. Karlsson is his usual self, (7-2431 plus 6) and has added blocked shots to his repertoire (second in the league) so the argument that he is an offensive d-man only is clearly a fallacy at this point. He is the leader of the surprising Senators. It comes down to these two, one of these two will almost cenrtainly win it, my vote would go to Weber in a close call. Karlsson has won it twice, Weber is regarded by many as among the best who has not won the award and I believe that moving out of the relative obscurity of Nashville and coming to Montreal and a hub of the game will be enough to finally win him the Norris.IMHO this is the most complete year that Karlsson has had, I would not have voted for him in either of the seasons that he did win it but feel that this season is his best and I would have no problem with it if he were to win but feel that Weber will win in a walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 I'll weigh in now. I agree completely on the Calder race. I think it comes down to Matthews and Laine, and I agree that Laine wins, and that I'd give him my vote. Again, I agree on who the voters will choose as the final two for the Hart, and as I said in another thread recently, I think Crosby has added that solid defense to his game starting with last year. I think that he should win it, and I'd vote for him at this point, but I suspect that if things continue as they are now, McDavid will get the nod, simply because he's the fresh golden boy. That's not intended as a pejorative to him, since I think he's an incredible talent and am eager to see what he does in the upcoming years. Rather, I'm jabbing the media's tendency to latch onto a guy and treat him as though he can do no wrong. I suspect we'll see that here. FWIW, if we're going to see a defenseman win it anytime soon, this year might be the best chance. Karlsson and Weber are having MVP-caliber seasons, and a strong season for their teams could (should) throw one or both into the mix. Anyway, I won't get on that soapbox again. I get down to the same final two in the Vezina as well, though we end up with different final choices. I'd have to go with Dubnyk at this juncture, as those numbers are incredibly eye-popping. Though I'm usually an opponent of a goalie winning the Hart, he's having a Hart-caliber season should we see a falloff in the level of play by the skater class. The Jack Adams: I really don't have anything to add there. I think you said it all. When it comes to the Selke, I'm not going to pretend that I have any idea what the voters are going to do there. That's such a hard award to quantify, in my opinion, and what I look for might not be what someone else does. As for the Norris, Again, I think the top two are very clear, though I come to a different conclusion as to the result. I was hyping Weber earlier in the season, and rightly so, I believe, but as you pointed out, he's cooled off more recently. Karlsson, on the other hand has picked up from a bit of a lull he had after the first few games and is firing on all cylinders. I think the idea of "what have you done for me lately" will win out and carry him to his third Norris. Without getting on the afore-mentioned soapbox, however, I do think I'd be a bit irritated not to see one of those guys as a Hart finalist if they end up anywhere near where they are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Calder - Mathews - as I see Toronto having a strong 2nd half of the season to put them in the playoffs with Matthews leading the way. Norris - Shea Weber- with Ryan Sutter getting some serious consideration. Jack Adams - this one is really interesting this year - right now Tortorella likely leads a very close group of worthy candidates. Veniza - Dubnyk or Bobrovsky - this is much too close to call at this point. Everything else - Crosby, Crosby, Crosby, Crosby, Crosby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 On 12/27/2016 at 0:52 PM, yave1964 said: The clock is getting ready to turn to 2017 and the season is nearly halfway through so I thought I would list my picks for the NHL top awards and welcome your input as well.... CALDER TROPHY Leagues top rookie, a very deep class and I offer my apologies to Zach Werenski who is killing it on the blue line in Columbus, Mitch Marner and Wee Willie Nylander in Toronto who are having fine seasons and Matthew Tkachuk who is becoming a true power forward in Calgary, it comes down to two people: AUSTON MATTHEWS VERSUS PATRIK LAINE Matthews (16-10-26 8 PPP) would be a shoe in most years but Laine (19 goals and 9 PPP) has outclassed and outperformed Matthews to start the season. As of right now I absolutely give the nod to Laine by a fairly wide margin, a true goal scorer who has established himself as one of the leagues top goal scorers, not just among rookies but second in all of Hockey behind Crosby. HART MEMORIAL TROPHY leagues MVP, quite a few people are having stellar seasons, Taresenko in St. Louis, Carter for the Kings, Malkin, Panarin and Hell, even Cam Atkinson in Columbus are all making their case but again, IMHO it comes down to two people: SID CROSBY VERSUS CONNOR MCDAVID We will be having this argument for years to come between these two, barring injuries they are the two elite players in the game. Crosby leads the league with 24 goals and may have developed into the premier two way forward taking faceoffs in all situations and playing both ends of the ice, he would have my vote for the Selke as the leagues best defensive forward at this point, he is playing the best overall hockey of his life. McDavid leads the league with 42 points, but only 4 more than Crosby in spite of playing 7 more games. He is a human highlight reel and arguably the most dynamic player in the game. My vote goes to Crosby based off his mature overall game but McDavid is having a great season. VEZINA TROPHY leagues top goalie. Lots of elite play from the position this year, no clear cut winner, it comes down to five candidates: TUUKA RASK 17-6 1.87 goals against, .930 save pct. DEVAN DUBNYK: 17-6 1.57 goals against and .948 save pct. MARTIN JONES 18-11 2.08 goals against .919 save pct. CAREY PRICE 18-5 1.91 GOALS against .934 save pct. SERGEI BOBROVSKY 21-5 1.87 GOALS against .935 save pct. Honorable mention to Talbot, Matt Murray and Holtby. Wow a simply amazing amount of elite goalie play this season. It is difficult to choose I would eliminate Jones first off the list, followed by Rask both have solid numbers but others are clearly better this year, next, IMHO Price would have to go. He is having a great year but both Dubnyk and Bob are slightly ahead of him. So do you go with Bob and his five more wins and one less loss or Dubnyk who is having a season for the ages with his goals against and save pct? To not choose one is not to insult them, both have been brilliant, both are playing their best hockey right now on Hockey's two hottest teams, both on double digit win streaks. I see a lot of Bob because of where I live and he has been insane this season, he gets my vote in a razor thin choice, Dubnyk has been simply dominating as well. JACK ADAMS AWARD: Leagues top coach: IMHO a two way race between Bruce Boudreau in Minnesota where the Wild have bought into his system, in spite of losing Parise for much of the year and more than their share of nagging injuries they are the best team in the West right now, and John Tortorella in Columbus, the Jackets are impossible to play against, they finish every check, drive you off the puck, make you take poor pct. shots and are opportunistic, they have the best record in Hockey and are not just beating the weak sisters, they are pummeling all comers, this year they have bested the elite teams as well, beating the Pens (7-1) the Habs (10-0) the Blues (8-4) the Bolts (5-1) and the Ducks (4-0) all cup contenders by a combined 34-6. My vote goes to Boudreau in another razor thin one. SELKE TROPHY leagues best defensive forward with apologies to Bergeron who could have the award renamed for him and to Toews goes to Crosby who has become the most complete player in the game. But Matthews didn't score on his own goaltender and cost his team a game.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 3 hours ago, hf101 said: Calder - Mathews - as I see Toronto having a strong 2nd half of the season to put them in the playoffs with Matthews leading the way. I wish I could share your optimism, but no. Not there yet. The team has been at 100% all season. No injuries to anyone. They're still down at the bottom of the East with their best lineup. The only thing that could realistically happen in the second half of this season is the injury bug catching up to them. Also, the team is going to be in "firesale mode", saying goodbye to JVR, Bozak, and Polak at the trade deadline. Wouldn't be surprised if Gardiner or Komarov went too. I'm expecting a number of veteran players to be shipped out for draft picks. Would be nice to see Matthews win the Calder trophy though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPuk Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I agree with hf101. I think Matthews will get the Calder (despite the goals Laine has cored so far, it takes more than goals to get the Calder). I believe the reason this team (all our rookies) was put together sooner rather than later was to give them time to adjust to the NHL and to gel as a team. If we make any deals this year they will be little ones. Come next summer - likely lots of action then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Calder race update: Matthews has now passed Laine for the rookie goal lead with his 20th, and for the rookie points lead with his 32nd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpikeDDS Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 40 minutes ago, hf101 said: Calder race update: Matthews has now passed Laine for the rookie goal lead with his 20th, and for the rookie points lead with his 32nd. Yah, quite a statement made in the Centennial. Zetterberg contained him for the first 40 minutes. And then, boom. Laine has impressed me, and I truly think the Matthews had the advantage of having better young talent around him, but I think Matthews will likely end up with the Calder. I think the NHL may be looking for any excuse to coronate him as the Mario Lemieux to McDavid's Wayne Gretzky. (Obviously those are marketing analogies and not true comparisons.) He's gonna get a lot of the credit for turning around the Leafs, probably more than he deserves, even though he IS an impact player. I see Matthews having an easier time continuing his current pace than Laine. But the chase will be fun to watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 On 1/1/2017 at 8:03 PM, SpikeDDS said: Yah, quite a statement made in the Centennial. Zetterberg contained him for the first 40 minutes. And then, boom. Laine has impressed me, and I truly think the Matthews had the advantage of having better young talent around him, but I think Matthews will likely end up with the Calder. I think the NHL may be looking for any excuse to coronate him as the Mario Lemieux to McDavid's Wayne Gretzky. (Obviously those are marketing analogies and not true comparisons.) He's gonna get a lot of the credit for turning around the Leafs, probably more than he deserves, even though he IS an impact player. I see Matthews having an easier time continuing his current pace than Laine. But the chase will be fun to watch! And if he plays his cards right (in terms of how he handles the Toronto media), he can either be the next Wayne Gretzky (in terms of merchandising revenue, commercials, cereal boxes, etc...) or the next Full Kessel (lurking in the background munching on cookies while teammates give interviews). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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