From the Press Box: Taking Home the Hardware

Today, From the Press Box:
The NHL handed out their annual awards on Wednesday night. I review the major awards, the nominees and highlight the winners.

Hart Trophy – Alex Ovechkin, Carey Price, John Tavares

Ovechkin led the league in goals (snagging the Richard Trophy for that result) and also helped head coach Barry Trotz by adhering to the veteran coach's defensively focused tactics. That was a key outcome in leading the Capitals to their return to prominence with a strong regular season.

Tavares has been the acknowledged team leader in Long Island almost from the moment he was drafted. Now, after concluding his sixth season, he has evolved into the perennial top scoring center that every true contending team covets. The Islanders leaned heavily on him during their solid campaign where eight game-winning goals were only a part of his overall contribution to the Isles' good season.

Price earned nomination because he was a difference-maker on a team that simply does not boast the overall depth and quality of a number of other contending teams. There were many nights during the season when the Canadiens were outplayed, yet Price's heroics earned them numerous wins that they probably didn't deserve.

My Pick: Price
Actual Winner: Price

Norris Trophy - Drew Doughty, Eric Karlsson, P.K. Subban

Doughty continued to be the big minute guy for the Kings. What sets him apart from the other nominees is his excellence in the defensive zone as well as his offensive abilities. He is the lynchpin on all the Kings' special teams.

Karlsson led all defensemen in scoring with 66 points and has evolved into the new leader of an Ottawa team that is coming through a rebuilding process and has made the postseason in the last two years. He is also the Senators' leader in points scored and is one of the flashiest puck handlers among NHL defensemen.

Subban was tied for second in scoring among defensemen in the league and finished second in points on the team. He is also emerging as a leader in Montreal and a player who finds a way to get under the opposing team's collective skin on a nightly basis.

My Pick: Doughty
Actual Winner: Karlsson

Vezina Trophy - Devan Dubnyk, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne

Dubnyk took advantage of a trade that sent him to Minnesota and it immediately fueled a mid-season rebirth that saw him earn 27 of 38 decisions for the Wild along with a tiny 1.78 goals-against average. If we include his time with Arizona this season, those numbers are only slightly less impressive at 36 wins in 58 starts and a 2.07 GAA.

Price was the Canadiens' most important player by a wide margin this season. He had 44 wins and league-best 1.96 GAA over his 66 game starts, and his .933 save percentage was also the best among all goalies.

Rinne was also among the league leaders in all major goalie categories. He was the main cog in Nashville that allowed the Predators to hang with the usual suspects in battling for supremacy in the deep Western Conference

My Pick: Price
Actual Winner: Price

Calder Trophy - Aaron Ekblad, Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Stone

Aaron Ekblad proved himself fully deserving of being the top draft pick in the 2014 amateur draft. He appeared in 81 games and by season's end was among the Panthers' scoring and ice time leaders as a top-pairing defender. He finished with 39 points and a plus-12 rating.

Johnny Hockey was a highlight reel machine who proved that the NHL is still a place where a diminutive player can thrive. Gaudreau tied for the league lead in rookie scoring with 64 points and was a fixture on the Flames' top power-play unit.

Stone started his inaugural season slowly but finished tied with Gaudreau in the points race. He was also able to produce a plus-21 rating, which was tops for all rookies. He also became a top-six and power-play regular for the resurgent Sens.

My Pick: Ekblad
Actual Winner: Ekblad

Jack Adams Trophy - Bob Hartley, Peter Laviolette, Alain Vigneault

Hartley deserves a lot of credit for elevating a young Flames team and bringing them back to the playoffs. The fact that the team is quite young and has moved along this rebuild in a tough Western Conference is a feather in his cap.

Laviolette gave the Preds a little more offensive latitude hoping that it would not compromise the club's solid defensive structure. The result was a team-high water mark that allowed them to compete with the big boys out West. He was rewarded for trusting his players to adapt to this new structure and it produced a strong season.

Vigneault has earned accolades for keeping the Rangers among the top echelon of the Eastern Conference just as he did with the Canucks out West in his previous coaching job. He is clearly one of the best coaches in the league, having a winning record wherever he's been (including his debut in Montreal). This nomination is a nod to his whole career.

My Pick: Hartley
Actual Winner: Hartley

Lady Byng Trophy - Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Hudler, Anze Kopitar

Datsyuk remains a perennial contender for this award as one of the league's most skilled forwards who gets by on his combination of immense skills and smarts.

Hudler is a new contender for this award, despite his veteran status. He enjoyed a career year playing alongside a pair of talented rookies in Calgary. He showed them and the hockey world how to play the game at a high level, letting his hockey IQ shine through.

Kopitar has evolved into one of the league's top two-way forwards. He is a big man who uses his size to create space on offense and close it down in the defensive end. He accumulated only 10 PIMs last season while tallying 64 points in 79 games

My Pick: Datsyuk
Actual Winner: Hudler

Frank Selke Trophy – Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Toews

Bergeron could probably be penciled in a contender for this award every year. He is very good on faceoffs, which are so important to the puck possession game, and he does not sacrifice his offense while facing the best opposing forwards with the accompanying checking assignment.

Toews is only now getting recognition as one of the most difficult players to play against. He is a fine offensive player, tallying 28 goals and 66 points, but also posting a plus-30 rating, which was one of the highest marks in the league. He plays a 200-foot game at a very high level.

My Pick: Toews
Actual Winner: Bergeron

Masterton Trophy - Devan Dubnyk, Andrew Hammond, Kris Letang

At 27 years of age, Hammond gets credit for being a late bloomer with his spectacular NHL debut that saw him win 20 of 23 decisions along with a remarkable 1.79 GAA.

Kris Letang is one of the top offensive defensemen that was shockingly sidelined with a stroke last season and earned this nod because of the way he worked to recover from it.

My Pick: Dubnyk
Actual Winner: Dubnyk