Midseason NHL Awards

By: Mike Rifkin

With the NHL All-Star Game this weekend, here is how I would vote for the major awards.

HART: Connor McDavid – Oilers. Every night McDavid does something special. In 50 games played, the best player in the world has 41 goals and 92 points. He is 16 points ahead of teammate Leon Draisaitl and 20 points ahead of Nikita Kucherov. 

Norris: Adam Fox – Rangers. Let me preface this by saying there are a lot of good candidates for this award. The Rangers defenseman is top 5 in points, power-play assists, and game-winning assists. He plays 25 minutes a night against the opposition’s top line. Other candidates: Rasmus Dahlin, Josh Morrissey, Erik Karlsson.

Vezina  : Linus Ullmark – Bruins. Ullmark is having a breakout season for the best team in the NHL. Ullmark is currently 25-4-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .936 save percentage, leading the league. Other candidates: Jake Oettinger, Connor Hellebuyck

Jack Adams : Dave Hakstol – Kraken. Again there are a lot of good candidates here. The Kraken is the best story of the young season. Seattle has already surpassed their win and point total from their inaugural season. Other candidates: Jim Montgomery, Lindy Ruff, Don Granato

Biggest Surprise: Eastern Conference: New Jersey Devils – The Devils are currently in second place in the highly competitive Metro division. The Devils averaged 3.47 goals per game this year; last year, they averaged 2.99. The Devils have gotten unbelievable goaltending out of Vitek Vanecek, who has a 2.29 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Jack Hughes is having a great year with 33 goals and 64 points in 49 games played. 

Biggest Disappointment: Eastern Conference: Florida Panthers – I could have put either Detroit or Ottawa here, but neither of those teams won the Presidents Trophy last year. Last year Florida had a +94 goal differential. At the break this year, it’s -5. Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe have a combined 51 goals. If this team wants to make a run in the second half, they need their ten million-dollar-a-year goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to be better. So far this year, Bob has a 3.24 GAA and a .897 save percentage.

Biggest Surprise: Western Conference –  Seattle Kraken – The upstart second-year franchise has already surpassed their win and point total from their inaugural season and currently sits atop the Pacific Division. The Kraken average more than one goal a game more than they did last season. Matty Beniers is having an excellent rookie season with 17 goals and 36 points in 47 games played. Jared McCann, who had 27 goals last year, has 23 at the break. Daniel Sprong already has a career-high for goals and points in a season. Martin Jones has had a resurgence with a record of 23-7-3, a 2.82 GAA, and three shutouts. 

Biggest Disappointment: Western Conference – St. Louis Blues – Hand up. I was wrong about this team before the season. Jordan Binnington was handed the net after they traded Ville Husso. Binnington has struggled with consistency and has a 3.27 GAA, and .892 save percentage. Things have gotten rough in St. Louis. They are talking about selling at the deadline, which before the season, most people thought they were a Cup contender.