NHL Awards: Pick This!

The NHL hands out the silverware tomorrow night, so it's time for me to get cracking and lay my reputation on the line once again.

Rob made his feelings known on this issue shortly before the birth of this blog, so at least two of us are on record.

Here goes...

Calder Trophy

• Alexander Ovechkin, Was
• Sidney Crosby, Pit
• Dion Phaneuf, Cal

I will make no bones about the fact that I am Crosby fan, but nobody can deny that Ovechkin is one amazing young man. Alexander the Great was the leading candidate for most of the season, but Sid the Kid went on a tear in the last month of the regular season and broke some records.

The shame in the fact that so much focus was put on the two young guns, although it was well-deserved, is that many didn't appreciate how incredible Dion Phaneuf is. As much as he's been talked about, he's still underrated in my view.

My Pick: Ovechkin


Selke Trophy

• Rod Brind'Amour, Car
  
• Mike Fisher, Ott
  
• Jere Lehtinen, Dal
  

After the Carolina Stanley Cup victory, I felt that Brind'Amour was robbed of the Conn Smythe Trophy, so I hope that he gets the Selke. I know that's not the way to analyse these things, but it's why I hope he wins. Fisher, however, had a great season and may well win this award. If he does, I won't disagree.

My Pick: Brind'Amour


Lady Byng Trophy

• Pavel Datsyuk, Det
• Patrick Marleau, SJ
  
• Brad Richards, TB

Nobody cares much for this award, which is given to "the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability", but if that's the very definition of Brad Richards. No truth to the rumour that his picture is actually next to the Lady Byng entry in the dictionary.

My Pick: Richards


Jack Adams Trophy

• Lindy Ruff, Buf
• Peter Laviolette, Car
• Tom Renney, NYR

This is a tough one to pick, but in the case of Renney and Laviolette, much of their teams' success was due to some "surprise" performances from key players. If Jagr doesn't suddenly turn back the clock and play like he did, the Rangers don't do as well. As for Carolina, nobody could have predicted that Eric Staal would go from being a 30-point promising center to a 100-point franchise player in one season.

In the case of Ruff and the Sabres, he used the team's speed and skill to take full advantage of the "new NHL". It worked perfectly for the regular season.

My Pick: Ruff


Vezina Trophy

• Miikka Kiprusoff, Cal
• Martin Brodeur, NJ
• Henrik Lundqvist, NYR

Unlike the Jack Adams award, this one isn't a tough pick. I don't think there was a goalie in the entire league that was better than Kipper in 2005-2006. He was simply awesome.

Lunqvist was one of many great rookies this past season and will be an important part of the Rangers' plans for years to come. Brodeur may well become the best goalie ever and he seemed to find his form later in the season, but he was not himself for the bulk of 2005-2006.

My Pick: Kiprusoff


Norris Trophy

• Nicklas Lidstrom, Det
• Scott Niedermayer, Ana
• Sergei Zubov, Dal

Right off the bat, I don't like Zubov and I don't get why he's there. As for the two others, it's almost a coin toss.

Lidstrom seems to be the default because he seems to epitomize what a defenceman should do. He's incredibly and not flashy, so much so that he often goes unnoticed. Niedermayer, on the other hand, is smooth, incredibly skilled and, because of his blazing speed and offensive penchant, gets noticed a bit more. Also, the fact that he, along with the young man who took over Teemu Selanne's body, made the Ducks a contending team, makes him a serious candidate.

My Pick: Niedermayer


Hart Trophy

• Joe Thornton, Bos-SJ
• Miikka Kiprusoff, Cal
• Jaromir Jagr, NYR

As players, I'm really not a fan of either Jagr (too whiny) or Thornton (too soft), but Kiprusoff won't win the Hart, so...

Essentially, Big Joe only started playing to his (much-hyped) potential after he left Boston. To me, that means that, even if you'Re being paid millions of dollars, you're not really trying. This is what Jagr has been doing for years. Until this past season. In the 2005-2006 regular season, he was simply the best player in the league

My Pick: Jagr

Enjoy the show!