End of season award predictions
Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:34 pm
I know the awards won't be handed out for a little while but I'm curious to hear your predictions for who's taking home the hardware. Here are mine:
Art Ross: Sidney Crosby. You guys are gonna watch the award ceremony and be AMAZED at my predictions when they hand him this one.
Rocket Richard: Vincent Lecavalier. See above.
(Bad jokes aside...)
Hart: I don't really think there's a clear-cut candidate this year. It bothers me that the nominees are almost always limited to the guys on top of the scoring race and a top goalie, as if nobody else does anything that matters. If you consider how the Oilers did post-Smyth, for example, you'd have to argue that he was the most valuable player to his team. I guess Crosby, but it's a boring category this year.
Vezina: This is Brodeur's to lose every year and if setting the NHL record for regular season wins doesn't get him his 19th Vezina, I'm going to have to say it's fixed.
Norris: Again, I don't see there being a really clear list of finalists. Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Pronger: the usual suspects? Niedermayer got robbed last year so I think they make up for past transgressions.
Jack Adams: If it were up to me it'd be Andy Murray for what he's done with a young Blues team. If they had performed that way from the beginning of the season, they're in the playoffs at least. But guys don't usually get awards for being unemployed at the start of the year so I'll go with Ted Nolan, mostly because the NHL will want to make some form of amends.
Calder: I think this should go to Statsny, who had a far clearer impact on his team than Malkin did with the Penguins. This is another trophy that tends to go to whomever wins the scoring race, though, and Malkin has been marketed more heavily than Statsny, so expect the hardware to go to Pittsburgh.
Selke: Daymond Langkow! WOOOOO! He'll get robbed by Mike Fisher though.
Lady Byng: Kristian Huselius! WOOOOO! Him and Alex Tanguay should have a competition to see who can do the least backchecking and the winner of the competition gets the award.
Art Ross: Sidney Crosby. You guys are gonna watch the award ceremony and be AMAZED at my predictions when they hand him this one.
Rocket Richard: Vincent Lecavalier. See above.
(Bad jokes aside...)
Hart: I don't really think there's a clear-cut candidate this year. It bothers me that the nominees are almost always limited to the guys on top of the scoring race and a top goalie, as if nobody else does anything that matters. If you consider how the Oilers did post-Smyth, for example, you'd have to argue that he was the most valuable player to his team. I guess Crosby, but it's a boring category this year.
Vezina: This is Brodeur's to lose every year and if setting the NHL record for regular season wins doesn't get him his 19th Vezina, I'm going to have to say it's fixed.
Norris: Again, I don't see there being a really clear list of finalists. Lidstrom, Niedermayer, Pronger: the usual suspects? Niedermayer got robbed last year so I think they make up for past transgressions.
Jack Adams: If it were up to me it'd be Andy Murray for what he's done with a young Blues team. If they had performed that way from the beginning of the season, they're in the playoffs at least. But guys don't usually get awards for being unemployed at the start of the year so I'll go with Ted Nolan, mostly because the NHL will want to make some form of amends.
Calder: I think this should go to Statsny, who had a far clearer impact on his team than Malkin did with the Penguins. This is another trophy that tends to go to whomever wins the scoring race, though, and Malkin has been marketed more heavily than Statsny, so expect the hardware to go to Pittsburgh.
Selke: Daymond Langkow! WOOOOO! He'll get robbed by Mike Fisher though.
Lady Byng: Kristian Huselius! WOOOOO! Him and Alex Tanguay should have a competition to see who can do the least backchecking and the winner of the competition gets the award.