I think the 2010/11 NHL awards are harder to predict than in years past. And it's all because of one player: Sidney Crosby. Before going down with a season-ending concussion, Crosby was on a torrid pace with 66 points in only 41 games including a 25 game point streak. If he had finish the season, they would be engraving his name onto the Rocket Richard, Art Ross and Hart trophies. What a shame.
Hart Trophy: Corey Perry
There is no way the hockey gods would let a Sedin take league MVP in back-to-back years especially with Perry's performance down the stretch. In his final 19 games, Perry registered 30 points and locked up the Rocket Richard trophy with his first 50 goal campaign. In addition, he carried the Anaheim Ducks to a playoff spot when it seemed like a long shot. The Ducks were on the outside looking in about a month ago and now have home-ice advantage for the first round. Some may give the MVP to Daniel Sedin with his league-leading 104 points on the President's Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. But CP10 gets me vote.
Honourable Mentions: Daniel Sedin, Tim Thomas
Norris Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom
If there is one thing that defines the 2010/11 season it's that it was the year of the 40. Lidstrom has put together another solid season and finished second in league scoring among defencemen with 62 points. He still quarterbacked the Red Wing's powerplay with perfection, finishing with 39 pp points and making it the 5th best powerplay in the NHL. He still logged well over 20 minutes of ice time per game (23:28) and played every important situation possible in a game. And he did this all at the tender age of 40.
Honourable Mentions: Shea Weber, Keith Yandle
Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas
Two seasons ago, Thomas has a coming-out party and dominated the competition on his way to his first Vezina Trophy at the age of 34. His follow-up season was more forgettable than memorable. He battled injuries, mediocre play and eventually lost his starting gig to Tuuka Rask. This season, at 36 years old, Thomas has regained his form, and the starting gig, to put on one of the best statistical seasons in recent memory. His 2.00 GAA and .938 SV% are tops in both categories. He finished with a 35-11-9 record along with 9 shutouts (second to Henrik Lundqvist's 11). He finished 9th with 35 wins compared to Carey Price's 38 wins. But here's the catch: Thomas appeared in only 57 games in comparison to Price's 72. Thomas gets his second Vezina.
Honourable Mentions: Roberto Luongo, Pekka Rinne
Selke Trophy: Ryan Kesler
When your team finishes in the top spot, that usually means your team has committed to two-way hockey. If there is anything we learned from
D3 The Mighty Ducks it's that defense wins championships. Kesler has been the two-way force all season for the Canucks. He finished with 74 points and a plus-24 for the season. He had a 57. 4 face-off percentage and won 859 face-offs, good enough for second behind Jonathan Toews' 937. He helped the Canucks finish with the 3rd best PK unit in the NHL this season. His effective two-way game this season
would have made Coach Orion proud. Honourable Mentions: Jordan Staal, Manny Maholtra
Jack Adams Trohpy: Dan Bylsma
Any time you lose you two best players for a majority of the season and manage to put up a 106 point season is pretty remarkable. But when those two players are Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, that's just plain good coaching. Bylsma not only salvaged what seemed to be a lost season but almost managed to coach his team to a division title and first-place seeding the Eastern Conference.
Honourable Mentions: Alain Vigneault, Barry Trotz
Lady Byng Trophy: Martin St. Louis
The guy is essentially on the ice all the time and racks up the points like he does with Air Miles. But somehow St. Louis only managed to accumulate 12 penalty minutes all season. To put that into perspective, Steve MacIntyre got 17 minutes in penalties last Friday in 44 seconds of ice time. My pick for the Jackie Chan "Mr. Nice Guy" Award goes to Marty.
Honourable Mentions: Teemu Selanne, Loui Eriksson
