Trophy Winners

With this year's season starting to come to a close now that Game Two of the Finals are on tonight, it's time to look to this year's award ceremony and make a few predictions as to who will win each trophy.

The Vezina Trophy

Nominees:

Ryan Miller
Ilya Bryzgalov
Martin Brodeur

Who Will Win: Ryan Miller

Who Should Win: Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller was far and away the best goaltender in the NHL this season. Only Ilya Bryzgalov came even remotely close to matching Miller's performance this season. Still, Miller's Olympics will push him over the edge for sure, along with Bryzgalov's shorthanded numbers (which are below .900), as well as the fact that Miller's save percentage is .929, and Ilya's is .920. Miller was the best statistically with by far the worst defensive corps (or just corps for that matter) of any of the three goaltenders. He was in the top ten in the league in shots faced, and was the GAA and save percentage leader for the league. Clearly, he was the most impressive goaltender in the NHL this season. What baffles me is Brodeur's presence among the finalists. Yes, he set some sort of record this year (I think it was for shutouts), but hasn't his legacy been put to rest by now. Brodeur is one of the NHL's greatest goalies of all time. Not THE greatest. The only statistic that makes any difference when it comes to goalies is save percentage. That's it. Wins only indicate how good THE TEAM is, not the goalie himself. The GAA shows how good the DEFENSE is, not the goalie himself. But the save percentage is all on the goalie. The other statistics matter when used in conjunction with percentage, but mean nothing when standing alone. The fact that Brodeur had such a low GAA is a testament to his defense. People don't look at the fact that he faced the second least shots in the NHL this season. He only lets two in the net because he faces a little over twenty shots a night. Yet he only saves 91.6% of his shots faced, as opposed to the other two finalists who are both over .920. Henrik Lundqvist should have been given the final nomination with a .921 and 2.38 GAA. He wasn't even on a playoff team, had two rookies in front of him, was on one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL, and had to be behind Wade Redden and MIchal Roszival. Yet he still had a significantly better save percentage than Brodeur. Even if you don't give it to Lundqvist, there are many other goalies who deserve this award more than Brodeur. Doesn't matter though, the award is Miller's.

The Hart Trophy

Nominees:

Alex Ovechkin
Henrik Sedin
Sidney Crosby

Who Will Win: Alex Ovechkin

Who Should Win: Sidney Crosby

Yes, I know how unpopular that opinion is, however, it shouldn't be. Though I despise Sidney Crosby, there is no other player I would have wanted more on my team this season. Sedin doesn't deserve it simply because his point total is inflated by second assists, and is incredibly imbalanced as a player. He feeds. That's it. Crosby and Ovie both score and feed, each going approximately 55-55-110 give or take a couple from each column. Still, Ovechkin is the more offensively impressive player, able to score one less goal in ten fewer games, and still amassing more points than Sid. Nevertheless, Crosby is still more valuable. Crosby doesn't get suspended or kicked out of games because of reckless play, nor does he get injured by playing that way. The same can't be said for Ovie. The other thing, is that the Capitals were still something like 7-2-1 in the ten games that Ovechkin missed this season, which clearly indicates that he is not the sole reason for their success. Also, if you subtract Ovechkin's goal total from the team's season total, they would still be the NHL's most offensively productive team. Additionally, Ovechkin plays on a dream line, as he wings Nicklas Backstrom and plays opposite Alexander Semin. Crosby on the other hand, played with Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz. Weigh that. Ovie, though more productive, was the less valuable. Crosby is the more responsible player, has an equally balanced game, and managed to produce similar stats to Ovie with a significantly worse line. And though the Olympics aren't supposed to influence voting, Crosby scored the OT game winner in the gold medal game, and Ovie left with Russia after getting thrashed. That says it all.


The Calder Trophy

Nominees:

Matt Duchene
Tyler Myers
Jimmy Howard

Who Will Win: Tyler Myers

Who Should Win: Tyler Myers

All three finalists this season were huge surprises for their respective teams. Though Matt Duchene was selected third overall, I don't think anyone was expecting him to surpass John Tavares and take the rookie scoring title. Nevertheless, he did that, going 24-31-55 in 81 games this season, which is a fairly impressive first campaign considering he was on the Colorado Avalanche. More surprising than Duchene though, were Howard and Myers. Howard had 37 wins on his team, with a .924 and 2.26 GAA after wrestling the starting job from Chris Osgood. Those numbers are Vezina stats. I would have given him a nomination over Brodeur, because those numbers are incredible against unbelievably stiff competition. Not only was he playing in the Western Conference, he was playing in a division with the Blackhawks and the Predators, two very, very tough teams. He also backstopped a late season run that saw the Red Wings go from postseason question marks to fifth-seeds. Statistically, he should be the rookie of the year in my opinion. There's only one issue though, he's 26. He's too old to be a Calder winner, he's had too much time to develop. No, it does not reduce how impressive a campaign he had, those stats speak for themselves, it's just that his age is going to prevent him from winning the trophy, as it should. He doesn't deserve the Calder because he isn't really a rookie, he's had a lot of time to develop in the minors. He does, however, deserve a Vezina nomination, because this season was a truly remarkable feat. Thus, the trophy is Tyler Myers. Not only was Myers not expected to move higher than the third pairing this season, he wasn't even expected to make the roster. Yet this season saw Myers make the Sabres roster, and become the mainstay of their defensive corps, as he was easily the most able defenseman on their team. At 6'-8" and 222 pounds, the rookie routinely saw himself clocking upwards of 20 minutes every night, while being keyed up on the league's best offensive units almost perennially. He saw power-play time, penalty kill time, and at some points in the season, actually led the league in ice time, all while amassing 11-37-48 in 82 games (yep, he started every game) and a plus 12 rating. Truly impressive.


The Selke Trophy

Nominees:

Pavel Datsyuk
Jordan Staal
Ryan Kesler

Who Will Win: Probably Pavel Datsyuk

Who Should Win: Not Ryan Kesler

All three forwards are incredible defensive forwards. Ryan Kesler was instrumental in the USA's silver medal run at Vancouver, and is an outstanding checker with a great scoring touch. Nevertheless, he's a plus 1 for the season, which immediately discounts him from winning. He had 75 points, which means he was on the ice for at least 74 goals against. That is not a statistic that any good defensive player should have. You can't be on the ice for at least 75 goals being scored by your team and have the smallest positive +/- rating possible and be considered a great defensive forward, you just can't. Jordan Staal was very impressive this year, using his size and speed to contain some of the NHL's best offensive lines. He was 21-28-49 on the Pens' third line, and was a plus 19, which is the highest +/- of all Selke Finalists. However, Staal doesn't have the same reputation as Datsyuk, who for sure is known as the NHL's consistently best defensive forward. Still, Staal's stats are impressive, and he's a physical checker, the kind of player the award should be given to, so there is a chance that he could win. Nevertheless, the award is most likely Datsyuk's. He skates smoothly, is a fantastic two-way player, had a plus 17 for the season, and was 27-43-70. He also has the NHL's cleanest stick lift, just saying. He's a very different player than Staal, he's more offensively focused, and relies more on his stick and his positioning on the back-check. His role is as an offensive player though, and Staal's is not. Datsyuk's line is expected to score, and Staal's line is an energy and checking line, one meant to contain the opposing team's top forwards and prevent them from producing offensively. Thus, I'll go ahead and say that Staal should win, but that Datsyuk most likely will anyway.


The Norris Trophy

Nominees:

Duncan Keith
Drew Doughty
Mike Green

Who Will Win: Duncan Keith

Who Should Win: Duncan Keith

Mike Green is a great offensive defenseman, but has too many detractors to garner the votes necessary to win the trophy. Though he amasses astronomical offensive stats, his defensive game just isn't strong enough to deserve the award. Doughty is young and doesn't have the profile to win. That leaves Keith to win by default, and he deserves it. He's amassed an impressive number of points this season, had a good +/-, and was a top pair defenseman on one of the best teams in the NHL. There's no reason it shouldn't be his. But who knows, Doughty's age may make some GM's feel that his season was more impressive and decide to give it to him.

So there you go, the breakdown of the trophies that matter, along with a half-assed attempt at the Norris. You can thank me by doing me a very personal favor. There's a crisis going on in the Gulf of Mexico, and I want you all to be good little children and not just sit on your asses and throw money at the problem through donations. I want you to go down there and literally throw money at the problem, only through offering the well money can we hope to end its demonic belching.