And the winner is.....

As promised, the ladies of Chuck A Puck will look into our slightly cracked crystal ball and tell you, the three readers we have, who we think will win the NHL awards tomorrow. Just don't bet any money on our picks.

Norris Trophy, top defenseman:
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings

Who will win: Amy and I both agree on this one - Lidstrom
Who should win:
Amy says: Nick will win because he always wins. He's also the one that should win because, well...he is the best.
Lisa says: No argument about him being the best. If Mike Green wins it means the league is taking a radical turn of the definition of what the Norris Trophy is for. Chara will come in a close second.

Calder Trophy, rookie of the year:
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks

Who will win: Again Amy and I agree here - we both say Mason
Who should win: At last a disagreement!
Amy says: Her duckling Ryan will win because of not only his hard work to get up to the show and stay; but because he was consistent all year. He also had a much better and much longer post-season than Mase.
Lisa says: Psh, I say. They don't count the post season in award tallies and secondly, Mason had 10 shut outs...two or three of which were while he had Mono. Mason is my guy here.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, most gentlemanly player:
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils

Who will win: We both think Datsyuk [though Amy says so because "he is a Red Wing" like that makes him a lock ;)]
Who should win:
Amy says: Parise should win because he's adorable.
Lisa says: look past the looks and pick Datsyuk because he is awesome! Really, I have no basis for this award.

Vezina Trophy, top goaltender:
Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

Who will win: Thomas (two votes)
Who should win:
Amy says: Timmy should because he had a great season both regular and post.
Lisa says: As much as I'd love to see the Rook get it, Timmy will because he kept the Bruins in the hunt for the President's Trophy all season [although with that argument, shouldn't Nabby be here?]

Selke Trophy, top defensive forward:
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

Who will win: Amy thinks Datsyuk again (she says, "See under Lady Byng") and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and pick Richards because he's apparently the best captain EVER. (barf)
Who should win:
Amy says: I admit that I'm a total homer for Kes like for Bobby, but he had such an amazing year and I think he deserves it.
Lisa says: Datsyuk because he plays a smart efficient defensive game and gets the points while doing it.

Hart Trophy, NHL's most valuable player:
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Who will win: Ovechkin [Amy brings up a great point saying that I think the writers might give it to Alex because of his goal numbers and the fact that Geno has more weapons on his team.]
Who should win:
Amy says: This is hard... I think both Alex and Geno are so worthy of this award. Can we split it? If not, I think Geno should get it because his game has grown in other ways besides just the scoring.
Lisa says: I'm with Amy on this one - Geno's grown as a player and while he might have a game or two where he disappears, he's still moving forward with his game and not just a, albeit a very talented, one trick pony.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey:
Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings
Richard Zednik, Florida Panthers
Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators

Who will win: Zednik
Who should win:
Amy says: I have to give it to Richie. As much as Steve has gone through with his back, to me it pales in comparison to getting a blade in the neck.
Lisa says: I was watching that game when Zednik was cut. It was one of the most unsettling things I've ever seen. I might have cheered out loud when I learned he was taking the ice again. Hands down, Zednik is the winner. Also playing a thousand years doesn't count in the dedication to hockey, Chris.

Jack Adams Award, top NHL coach:
Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks
Claude Julien, Boston Bruins
Andy Murray, St. Louis Blues

Who will win: Amy says McLellan [Two words... President's Trophy], I say Murray
Who should win:
Amy says: Andy deserves this award and more for taking the Boos from the depths of the Campbell Conference and getting back to the playoffs.
Lisa says: As much as I like Todd, Andy Murry had much less to work with, injuries and talent wise, and he still made them a winning team. Plus I think people like a feel good story. Murray is my pick as well.

NHL Foundation Player Award, commitment and service to charities:
Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
Alex Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens
Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets

Who will win: Nash
Who should win:
Amy says: Give it Ricky just because he's so damn cute. ;)
Lisa says: I agree and honestly, I know a LOT of guys do so much for their community, I just happen to know about the things that Rick has done and it's huge. [plus him in a tux makes any award show better.]

Lester B. Pearson Award, most outstanding player:
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Who will win: Ovechkin
Who should win:
Amy says: See Hart
Lisa says: See Amy

Mark Messier Leadership Award, player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season:
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

Who will win: Crosby
Who should win:
Amy says: I don't know about this one but they'll probably give it to Bing; and he does do a lot of great things on and off the ice.
Lisa says: Agree. Crosby but this might be as a consolation for not being up for the Hart.

Ok there you have it.... don't bet against the house.
The awards show is on tomorrow at 8 with hopefully the 'pregame' like they had last year with the red carpet. That's sorta fun.

Hi there old friend

Here is my brief recap of the weekend hockey:
1. Chicago scored lots of goals. Vancouver did not.
2. Marc-Andre let in a softie and I still don't like the Craps.
3. I should have stuck to my "no watching OT games in the playoffs" rule.
4. Never underestimate a team with Ronnie Francis behind the net.

Today, I'm looking at the NHL annual award presentations. There are a lot that I don't agree with but I'm gonna just take a look at a few.

Jack Adams award (coach of the year). Nominated are Todd McLellan, Claude Julien, and Andy Murray. I like Todd I really do. I thought he took a talented team and went far with it. Same goes for Claude (who I don't have a personal preference for one way or the other). This award has to go to Andy Murray. Was there a coach out there who did more with less? No. Getting the Blues to 6th in the West was no fluke. This cat can coach.

Bill Masterton Trophy (The player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey"). Nominated are Chris Chelios (who contrary to popular, not ever Wing fan loves him. I can't stand him - am I the only person to remember how he used to abuse Stevie? Plus I find his frat boy behavior to be a bit much. He's just gross. That's it. Chris Cheligross. But I digress), Richard Zednik, Steve Sullivan. Honestly if you get your throat sliced open by a teammate on the ice, have the wits about you to make it to the bench so you DON'T DIE, and come back to play the game again.... no matter what anyone else does, you can't top that. Zednik in a landslide.

Calder (rookie of the year). Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason, Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan and Chicago Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg are all up for this award. As much as my counterpart loves her Bobby, I gotta put my vote (like I have a say) toward Mason. His record alone puts him up there as top 'tender but the fact that he's a rookie and had ten shutouts? Has a rookie goalie since Roy done that? Did Roy do that? Yeah, I'm plugging for Mason.

Hart (writers MVP). I'm really not liking the candidates for this one. Way back when, this award was not automatically to the best player in the league, but to the player judged to be most valuable to his team. I mean props to Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Pavel Datsyuk, but I don't think they were the most valuable to their teams. All important to their teams, yes. That's a given. But where would the Bruins be without Thomas? Where would Chicago be without Kane or Toews? Nashville without Sullivan? The Devils without that goalie not named Marty (Clemmensen, I know.)? I mean really, those teams had guys who were more important overall. I'm not going to pick a winner here because it's sadly become a popularity contest. I'm more interested in the Pearson award anyway.

Norris (Top defenseman). Again this award has changed in meaning. No longer is the best defenseman always nominated. When Lidstrom wins, I think it's fair. I'm not being a homer here. Find me a better defenseman and I'll listen to the argument. But Lidstrom is rarely out of position and makes the game look easy. Games where you don't hear about him just means he's doing his job. This year, he's nominated again along with Chara and Green. While I have no problems with the baby eater Chara, it's Green I do. On most nights, he's a disaster on the blue line. Yes, he gets his points and his plus ratings but I just don't see him as one of the Top DEFENSEmen of the league. Offsensman, sure. Give him the Paul Coffee award or something, but not the Norris. It's a toss up for me between Nick and Chara.

Vezina (best goalie). Steve Mason, Minnesota Wild's Niklas Backstrom, and Tim Thomas nominated. There is that Mason kid again. I think it's a feel good story for Thomas to be nominated and I'd be ok if he won. He back stopped a team that vied for the President's trophy all year. He's one hell of a goalie. I've pitched my thoughts for Mason as MVP, I think it's safe to say I'd be ok with him winning the Vezina. I honestly don't know about Backstrom as I found the Wild just painful to watch this season.

There are other awards out there but I don't really have an opinion one way or the other. Have an opinion, share it please. I've probably picked all the non winners but hey, that's what blogging is all about right?

See that tag called "overtagging"? That's what happens when you have too many tags. I had to edit my tags. What the frak?

Until next time, happy hockey!

MVP?

There has been a lot of talk around the league regarding the MVP. Ovechkin or Malkin? They seem to be the front runners right now. But I have another name to toss into the mix: Steve Mason, goalie for the Blue Jackets.

Hear me out - he leads the league in shutouts (ten shutouts backstopping the Jackets for crying out loud) and is a rookie. Watching him play on Sunday he was one turn over away from 11 shootouts. He's got a decent record, but what's more important to look at is how the team has done when he's not in net.

While I love Ricky and Rusty and the bunch, Steve has been their MVP and should, along with rookie of the year, get some serious looks come voting time.

But what do I know.