With the regular season over and the playoffs just a few days away, it's time to look at the 2015-2016 NHL season and what players made an impact. The NHL awards aren't until June 24th, but if I were the one giving out the awards my choices would be:
Hart Memorial Trophy:
Winner: Patrick Kane
(82 GP: 46 G, 60 A, 106 P, +17)
There really is no argument here, start to finish Patty Kane has been by far the best and most dominant player in the NHL this season. He lead the NHL with 106 points, 17 more than the next closest player, becoming the 1st American-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy. He scored 46 goals and added 60 assists, both career-highs and lead the NHL with 37 PP points. Kane also scored 9 game-winning goals, 2nd in the NHL to Joe Pavelski (11). In a season where scoring has seemed to go down, Kane has risen above the rest and become the best player in the NHL right now.
Runner Ups:
Braden Holtby (66 GP: 48-9-7, .922 Save %, 2.20 Goals Against Average)
I'll talk more about Holtby in the section below, but what a fantastic season for the Capitals goaltender. He tied Martin Brodeur for the most wins in a season with 48 wins, and lead the Capitals to an NHL-best 120 points this season.
Sidney Crosby (80 GP: 36 G, 49 A, 85 P, +19)
Through the first few months of the season, there wasn't a chance that Crosby would be in MVP talk the way the Penguins were play. He couldn't seem to get anything going under Mike Johnston, and ultimately Johnston was fired on December 12th. Under Johnston he had just 6 goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 28 games. Mike Sullivan replaced Johnston it seemed to light a fire under the Penguins, especially Crosby. He responded with 30 goals and 36 assists for 66 points in 52 games and finished 3rd in the NHL with 85 points. Crosby has the Penguins playing some fantastic hockey heading into the playoffs, and he deserves to be in the MVP race with his ridiculous second half.
Vezina Trophy:
Winner: Braden Holtby
(66 GP: 48-9-7, .922 Save %, 2.20 GAA)
Much like Patrick Kane in the MVP race, Holtby is the unanimous choice for the Vezina Trophy for a number of different reasons. To start, as I mentioned above, Holtby tied Martin Brodeur for the most wins in a season with 48 this year. In 66 games this year he had a .922 save percentage and a 2.20 goals against while picking up 3 shutouts. He really established himself as one the elite goalies in the NHL this season and he was a big reason that the Capitals were able to win the Presidents Trophy. Hotlby has played his way into starting goalie conversation for Team Canada at the World Cup of hockey in September.
Runner Ups:
Jonathan Quick (68 GP: 40-23-5, .918 Save %, 2.22 GAA)
While Holtby had a great season, Jonathan Quick had one of the best in his career himself. Quick won a career-high 40 games this season, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.22 goals against average while picking up 5 shutouts. Quick was a big reason the Kings bounced back and made the playoffs this season, they could be in for another long playoff run if Quick gets in Vezina mode.
Ben Bishop (61 GP: 35-21-4, .926 Save %, 2.06 GAA)
Joining Holtby and Quick in the Vezina talk is Ben Bishop, who has had 35+ wins in each of his last 3 seasons. Bishop won 35 games this season with a .926 save percentage and 2.06 goals against average and adding 6 shutouts. The Lightning have dealt with big injures all season (Stamkos, Johnson, Stralman etc) and Bishop remains a big reason why they are in the playoffs.
James Norris Memorial Trophy:
Winner: Drew Doughty
(82 GP: 14 G, 37 A, 51 P, +24)
Runner Ups:
Erik Karlsson (82 GP: 16 G, 66 A, 82 P, -2)
In all likelihood Karlsson will win the Norris Trophy for the 3rd time in his young career, and this won't be a surprise to me even though I have Doughty winning. There's no denying Karlsson had the best season of his career, finishing 5th in the NHL in scoring with 82 points. In fact with those 82 points this year, Karlsson had the most points by a Swedish defenseman in one season in NHL history (Lidstrom had 80 in 2005/06). Karlsson also averaged the most icetime in the NHL this season with 28:58 per game. While he has taken significant strides in becoming a better defensive player too, the Senators had a bad year and missed the playoffs.
Brent Burns (82 GP: 27 G, 48 A, 75 P, -5)
Ever since Brent Burns was moved back to defense last season he has taken his game to another level, and he has become a crucial part of the offense in San Jose. Last season he had a career high 60 points, and he followed that up with a career-high 27 goals and 75 points while playing every game this season.The Caveman as they call him in San Jose, Burns has turned into one of the best two-way defenseman in the NHL and has really established himself among the elite group of defenders in the game. He logged the 7th most icetime in the NHL with 25:51 per game this season.
Calder Memorial Trophy:
Winner: Artemi Panarin
(80 GP: 30 G, 47 A, 77 P, +8)
Runner Ups:
Connor McDavid (45 GP: 16 G, 32 A, 48 P, -1)
There's no question about it that Connor McDavid has been the best rookie in the NHL this season. Had he not broken his collarbone he would have been the clear-cut choice for rookie of the year, but he missed 37 games and that's some significant time. When he was healthy he was one of the most dominant players in the NHL, including the only rookie to average over a point a game. The Oilers had a miserable season, but with #97 in the lineup they were an exciting team to watch. He scored 16 goals and had 48 points in 45 games, including 5 game-winning goals. McDavid is primed to be one of the best players in the NHL very soon, and hopefully he can stay healthy going forward.
Shayne Gostisbehere (64 GP: 17 G, 29 A, 46 P, +8)
Probably one of the biggest surprises in the NHL this season, The "Ghost" as they call him in Philadelphia didn't even start the season in the league. In fact he missed almost 8 months recovering from a torn ACL and had to work his way up from the AHL and into the Flyers lineup. However, once the Ghost was called up he made an immediate impact and worked his way up to the Flyers #1 D. He had an incredible 15-game point streak, the most by a defenseman in over 20 years since Chris Chelios had a 20-game streak in 1995. In fact it was the 3rd longest streak for a rookie in NHL history behind Teemu Selanne (17) and Paul Stastny (20). He scored 17 goals and had 46 points in 64 games, including 4 OT winners.
Jack Adams Trophy:
Winner: Barry Trotz
Trotz is the type of Coach who could get nominated every year, but he has really done a fantastic job since he arrived in Washington last season. He lead the Caps to an NHL-best 56 wins and 120 points including the Metropolitan Division and the Presidents Trophy
Runner Ups:
Gerard Gallant
Gallant has really done a fantastic job in Florida since he took over as Head Coach last season, in fact they probably miss him in Montreal big time. He lead the Panthers to a 47-win, 103 point season including winning the Atlantic Division (only the 2nd division championship in Panthers history).
Bruce Boudreau
An interesting choice for this list considering that many people called for him to get fired after the Ducks terrible start. However, as any smart hockey fan would have guessed, the Ducks rebounded and were the best team in the NHL in the 2nd half of the season. Boudreau lead the Ducks to a 46-win, 103 point season including winning his 4th straight Pacific Division title.
Bill Masterton Memorial Award:
Winner: Pascal Dupuis
(18 GP: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, -1)
Dupuis was forced to retire this season after his battle with blood clots, but he attempted a comeback this season after missing most of last year as well. Dupuis is my choice for the trophy
Runner Ups:
Mats Zuccarello (81 GP: 26 G, 35 A, 61 P, +2)
Zuccarello had a freak injury in the playoffs last year when he took a Ryan McDonagh slapshot to the head and fractured his skull. Many questioned if he would play hockey again, but Zuccarello was ready for the season opener and responded with a career-high 26 goals and 61 points for the Rangers.
Jaromir Jagr (79 GP: 27 G, 39 A, 66 P, +23)
Jaromir Jagr continues to show his unbelievable dedication to hockey as he competes at such a high level despite being 44 years old. Jagr is such a treat to watch and is defying old age myths in the NHL by scoring 27 goals and and 66 points to lead the Panthers this season.
Frank J. Selke Trophy:
Winner: Anze Kopitar
Runner Ups:
Joe Thornton
Patrice Bergeron
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:
Winner: Anze Kopitar (16 Penalty Minutes)
Runner Ups:
Loui Eriksson (12 Penalty Minutes)
Aleksander Barkov (8 Penalty Minutes)
Mark Messier Leadership Award:
Winner: Ryan Getzlaf
Runner Ups:
Jonathan Toews
Claude Giroux
Ted Lindsay Award:
Winner: Patrick Kane
Runner Ups:
Sidney Crosby
Alex Ovechkin
Art Ross Trophy:
Winner: Patrick Kane
Rocket Richard Trophy:
Winner: Alex Ovechkin
Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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