While NHL fans await the outcome of the first-round playoff
series and the confirmed matchups for the second round, the league has kept
them busy by announcing the trophy finalists. The majority of individual trophies are awarded on a voting
basis while the Rocket Richard, Art Ross and William Jennings awards are based
on statistics. The results of the balloting will be announced in Las Vegas,
Nevada at the league's awards ceremony on June 20th.
We already know Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington
Capitals has captured his seventh Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the league
in goals with 49. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers took home his second
straight Art Ross for leading the league in points with 41 goals and 67 assists
for 108 and Jonathan Quick won his second Jennings Trophy for leading the Los
Angeles Kings to the fewest goals against in 2017/18.
Calder Memorial Trophy
The three finalists for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year are
forwards Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, Clayton Keller of the Arizona
Coyotes and the Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser.
The 20-year-old Barzal was drafted 16th overall by the Islanders in
2015 and the centre led the league in rookie scoring with 22 goals and 63
assists for 85 points.
The 21-year-old Boeser is a right-winger who was drafted 23rd
overall by Vancouver in 2015. He racked up 29 goals and 26 assists for 55
points. He ranked second in goals for rookies and fifth in points. However, he
played just 62 games due to a back injury. Boeser has already been recognized
for his fine play this season as he was named the MVP of this year's NHL
All-Star Game.
Keller is a 19-year-old center who was drafted seventh overall by Arizona in
2016. He finished the season with 23 goals and 42 assists. He was second in
rookie scoring to Barzal and the top rookie scorer ever for the franchise since
it moved to Arizona.
James Norris Trophy
The Norris Trophy finalists for the league's best defenceman are Victor
Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators and
Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings. This is the second straight nomination
for Hedman after he finished third in last year's voting. The 27-year-old was
tied for first in goals scored for a blueliner with 17 and added 46 assists for
63 points. He also finished the season at plus-32.
The 28-year-old Doughty racked up 10 goals and 50 assists for a career-best 60
points and led the NHL in total ice time at an average of 26:50 per game. He
also reached his milestone 100th goal, 300th assists and
400th point this season. This is Doughty's fourth time as a Norris
finalist and he won the award in 2016.
The 28-year-old Subban scored a career-high 16 goals and
added 43 helpers for 59 points and finished the season with a plus-18 ranking.
He's been a finalist for the award on two previous occasions and won it back in
2013. Subban's hoping to become the first defenceman in Predators' history to
take home the Norris Trophy.
Frank J. Selke Trophy
The Selke Trophy is given to the best defensive forward each season and
this year's finalists are centres Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Sean
Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings.
The 32-year-old Bergeron has been a finalist for the award for a league-record
seven straight years and is currently tied with Bob Gainey for the most Selke
awards in history at four.
Bergeron was ranked sixth in the NHL this year for faceoff percentage at 57.3
per cent and led the league in shorthanded draws at 58.3 per cent. He finished
the year with 30 goals and 33 assists for 63 points in 64 games and was a
plus-21.
The 25-year-old Couturier was ranked third in the league in plus/minus at
plus-34 and his 21:35 minutes of average ice time per game ranked third for
forwards. He also led his team in shorthanded ice time and puck possession.
This is Couturier's first time as a finalist for the trophy and he finished the
season with 34 goals and 45 assists for 76 points in 82 games.
The 30-year-old Kopitar led all NHL forwards when it came to
total ice time and averaged 22:05 minutes per contest. He also led the Kings
forwards at shorthanded ice time and ranked third in the league for total
faceoffs and faceoff wins. Kopitar has now been a finalist for the Selke Trophy
four times in the last five years. He won it in 2016, came in second place in
2014 in third place in 2015. Kopitar chipped in with 35 goals and 57 assists
for 92 points in 82 games and was a plus-21.
Vezina Trophy
The Vezina Trophy is awarded to the league's top goaltender and this year's
finalists are Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, Connor Hellebuyck of the
Winnipeg Jets and the Tampa Bay Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy. The 35-year-old
Rinne was third in wins at 42 and helped his team finish first overall this
season. His posted a franchise-record eight shutouts, was fifth-best in the
league for goals-against average at 2.31 and owned the seventh-best percentage
at 92.7. He's a finalist for the fourth time after finishing second in voting
in 2010/11 and 2014/15 and third back in 2011/12.
The 24-year-old Hellebuyck is a finalist for the first time and he's also the
first finalist in his franchise's history. He was tied for first in the league
for wins with 44 and set a new record for wins in a season by an American-born
goalie. He set a franchise-record nine straight wins and finished eighth in the
league in goals-against average at 2.36 and was 10th-best in save percentage at
92.4
The 23-year-old Vasilevskiy was tied with Hellebucyk in
league wins ant 44 and helped Tampa Bay to their best season in history. The
Russian-born netminder posted a goals-against-average of 2.62 and a save
percentage of 92.0. He also set a franchise record with nine consecutive wins.
He's a first-time finalist for the award and aiming to become the first Tampa
goalie ever to win it.
Labels: Ian Palmer