A year ago, bloggers from across SB Nation's hockey blogosphere picked nominees from each team for five of the major NHL awards -- the Hart, the Selke, the Vezina, the Norris and the Calder. We're doing it again this year with a little bit of a twist in the presentation.
It's the same concept, but instead of being hosted at From The Rink as they were a year ago, we're hosting them here at SBNation.com.. Mike Chen of FTR has added an element as well, selecting who he believes should win the awards league-wide.
We'll get started with his picks, which have also been cross-posted over on FTR.
Hart Trophy (MVP): Ilya Bryzgalov, G - Phoenix Coyotes
There's often a debate about whether or not the MVP should go to the best player in the league or the player most valuable to his team. I lean toward the latter, and I can't see anyone who has kick-started his team more than Ilya Bryzgalov. If you took away Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby, their teams would still be pretty good. If you took away Bryzgalov, the Coyotes would have lost a lot of those close games, especially in the first half of the season before they acquired some scoring help.
Vezina Trophy (Goalie): Ryan Miller, G - Buffalo Sabres
Sure, he's had his ups and downs and maybe his stock is a little elevated from his high-profile run with Team USA. Still, you can't really argue with the numbers, and his goals-against and save perentage are among the league's best. In fact, they would be the category leaders had you not factored in Tuuka Rask (who's played 20+ fewer games).
Calder Trophy (Rookie): Tyler Myers, D - Buffalo Sabres
So much for the John Tavares/Victor Hedman race, huh? Myers is second in rookie scoring as a defenseman, leads rookies in ice time (looking at those that played 50+ games), and gets regular shifts on both Buffalo special teams. I know the Matt Duchene camp is very vocal, but it's extremely rare for rookie defensemen to put up numbers like that while handling defensive responsibilities the way Myers does. In omparison, the next leading rookie defenseman is Michael Del Zotto of the New York Rangers, and the difference in their cumalitive plus/minus is 48 as of Thursday morning.
Norris Trophy (Defenseman): Duncan Keith, D - Chicago Blackhawks
Keith has certainly slowed down following the Olympic break -- hell, the entire Blackhawks team has -- though every team will go through its rough patches. However, the reason I chose Keith over Washington's Mike Green is simple. Green may be more of a pure offensive threat, but he isn't the Capitals' leader in penalty-kill ice time. Keith is for the Hawks. And he leads defensemen in shorthanded points
Selke Trophy (Defensive Forward): Patrick Marleau, C - San Jose Sharks
I'm going with the homer pick on this one, but I get to see Patrick Marleau game in and game out. He's the best penalty killer on the San Jose Sharks, a good face-off man, a shorthanded threat, and capable of playing in every situation. He leads San Jose's plus/minus despite being Todd McLellan's go-to guy for rotating lines (as Dany Heatley/Joe Thornton stayed together for nearly the entire season). Oh, and throw in 40+ goals and 80+ points and it's amazing that he's still noted as "underrated."
Jack Adams Award (Coach): Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes
You know, the Coyotes weren't half bad for about 2/3 of last season. The difference this year is much more than keeping it all together during the stretch run, and more than just having veterans in the lineup. Generally, Phoenix Coyotes players haven't really talked badly about Wayne Gretzky, but they'll note that Tippett brings a much more disciplined and systemic approach. He's also managed to steer away outside distractions. Considering the chaos of the Coyotes' ownership situation, this is nearly miraculous and could have given him plenty of Jack Adams consideration if the Yotes were a bubble team. The fact that they're battling for the Western Conference lead solidifies it.