I’ve never really been one for the NHL Awards, but here we are in the middle of a pause waiting to see if we’ll get hockey games in August of all months. If that isn’t enough reason to start caring I don’t know what is. We’ve also saved you the trouble of arguing about the award decisions online because our decision is 100% right and there is no need for debate.

For contents sake we’ve also picked the Leaf player most deserving of some of the awards as well. I didn’t ask the other writers about who in the Leafs organization would win the Vezina because I assume everyone would naturally agree that it’s David Ayres.

Hart

Hart	League Pick	Leafs Pick
Mark Norman	MacKinnon	Matthews
Nick DeSouza	Panarin	Matthews
Nick Richard	MacKinnon	Matthews
Scott Maxwell	Panarin	Matthews
Totally Offside	Panarin	Matthews
Jon Steitzer	MacKinnon	Matthews
Brendan Mori	MacKinnon	Matthews
Cam Lewis	Draisaitl	Matthews

League Winner: Nathan MacKinnon
Leafs Winner: Auston Matthews

Well, I guess the fact that we all agreed on Matthews isn’t really a big surprise but MacKinnon vs. Panarin is a very real discussion, and Cam is providing the proof that only Oilers fans think that Draisaitl should win the Hart.

What our writers said:

Mark Norman: What MacKinnon has done with the revolving door of wingers he has had this season is insane. The Avs have been hit by long-term injuries to his two main linemates Mikko Rantanen (28 games missed) and Gabriel Landeskog (16). Kadri (19) and Makar (13) also missed time. He leads the league in both points and points-per-game clear of his second-highest teammate. He lifted players like Burakovsky and Donskoi to career seasons. A few seasons ago I vouched for Hall over MacKinnon because of how above and beyond Hall’s production was relative to his teammates: this year MacKinnon takes that honour.
35 even strength goals. 80 points. Longest pointless streak of the season was just 3 games. Improved defensive game. Matthews was everything the Leafs needed this season.
Scott Maxwell: Panarin had one of the best seasons on a horrendously bad Rangers team. This team had no business being as close to the playoffs as they were (before they made it anyways), and part of that is because of Panarin’s 95 point season. People make the case for Draisaitl, but his most common linemate was Connor McDavid, while Panarin’s was Ryan Strome and Jesper Fast.

Selke

Selke	League Pick	Leafs Pick
Mark Norman	Couturier	Hyman
Nick DeSouza	Bergeron	Matthews
Nick Richard	Couturier	Matthews
Scott Maxwell	Bergeron	Matthews
Totally Offside	Couturier	Hyman
Jon Steitzer	Cirelli	Tavares
Brendan Mori	Couturier	Hyman
Cam Lewis	Couturier	Hyman

League Winner: Sean Couturier
Leafs Winner: Zach Hyman

Clearly I needed to pick a lane, but damned if Selke isn’t the area where I felt the need to be a contrarian bastard and look like a crazed Oshawa Generals homer (I’m not btw, that would be disgusting.)

Courturier is a great and long overdue choice, and as for Hyman, he’s certainly demonstrated his ability to do some heavy lifting in his own zone, and consensus says Mitch Marner has a long way to go before getting our Selke votes.

What our writers said:

Totally Offside: Couturier has been great defensively for years. With the Flyers success this season, it seems like the right time for him to finally get his due.
Scott Maxwell: It could be considered a lazy pick, but it says a lot that at 34 years old, Bergeron is still one of the best two-way players in the game, driving one of the most dominant lines in hockey, and doesn’t look out of place in the game. I’ll happily hear arguments for Couturier, O’Reilly, or Stone though.
Mark Norman: A mainstay of the Leafs PK, dogged forechecker and reliable presence at either end of the rink, Hyman was third on the Leafs in Goals For share among skaters with at least 500 minutes.

Norris

Norris	League Pick	Leafs Pick
Mark Norman	Josi	Muzzin
Nick DeSouza	Pietrangelo	Muzzin
Nick Richard	Josi	Muzzin
Scott Maxwell	Pietrangelo	Muzzin
Totally Offside	Pietrangelo	Muzzin
Jon Steitzer	Spurgeon	Muzzin
Brendan Mori	Carlson	Muzzin
Cam Lewis	Pietrangelo	Muzzin

League Winner: Alex Pietrangelo
Leafs Winner: Jake Muzzin

Future Leaf Alex Pietrangelo got serious love from our voters, and if I wasn’t hellbent on reminding people what an absolute gem Jared Spurgeon is, he probably would have got my more serious vote. As for Muzzin, we love him. Whether we’ll still love him on the new contract, check back with us, but for now he’s great.

What our writers said:

Scott Maxwell: Between Draisaitl for Hart and Carlson for Norris, this has the potential to be a really bad year for awards picks. Carlson may have points, but the rest of his game is lacking. Pietrangelo is sixth in the league in points, while having one of the best defensive impacts in the game from the blue line. He picked a good year to have a contract year.
Mark Norman: Josi lead his entire team in points this season as a defenceman, 17 (!!!) points clear of the next closest player. He played the third-most minutes-per-game of any defencemen and was a consistent game changer every night. He was tied with John Carlson in points from Nov 1 onwards, and also lead the league in shots by a defenceman.
Muzzin was the heartbeat of the Leafs’ defence this season and one of the few dmen to show a physical edge to his game.

Calder

Calder	League Pick	Leafs Pick
Mark Norman	Makar	Mikheyev
Nick DeSouza	Makar	Mikheyev
Nick Richard	Hughes	Mikheyev
Scott Maxwell	Makar	Mikheyev
Totally Offside	Hughes	Mikheyev
Jon Steitzer	Hughes	Mikheyev
Brendan Mori	Makar	Mikheyev
Cam Lewis	Hughes	Mikheyev

League Winner: Makar/Hughes (tie)
Leafs Winner: Ilya Mikheyev

I guess the two man race between Hughes and Makar is very real. Makar looks to be a very elite offensive defenseman, and while the same can be said for Hughes, I’d argue there’s more to his game and did more with less on the Canucks.

As for Mikheyev, we love Ilya like Mikheyev loves soup. As much as Engvall came out of guns blazing and we were excited to see Sandin in a Leafs uniform, the answer is the guy we hope to see more of soon.

What our writers said:

Totally Offside: If you make the Canucks watchable, you deserve an award.

Scott Maxwell: This was a close one between him and Hughes, but leading rookies in points per game as a defenseman while also having the best overall impact just gives him the edge in this one.

Lady Byng

Byng	League Pick	Leafs Pick
Mark Norman	Teravainen	Nylander
Nick DeSouza	Matthews	Nylander
Nick Richard	Matthews	Matthews
Scott Maxwell	Matthews	Matthews
Totally Offside	Werenski	Nylander
Jon Steitzer	Matthews	Matthews
Brendan Mori	Matthews	Matthews
Cam Lewis	Teravainen	Matthews

League Winner: Auston Matthews
Leafs Winner: Auston Matthews

This was our chance to be homers and we took it, although I kinda think that Totally Offside had the best logic to his pick, and admire that Nick DeSouza has Matthews as the league winner and Nylander as the Leafs winner.

What our writers said:

Mark Norman: Teravainen had just 8 PIM all season, which was tied for the lowest among players with at least 60 points .
Scott Maxwell: Every Bruins player when they play the Leafs, but actually Matthews.
He’s one of only two players to have more than 50 points while also having fewer than 10 minutes, the other being Teuvo Teravainen. While the points are irrelevant overall, it says a lot that he plays a top role while only taking four penalties all year. Now, if only he could get some time on the PK…
Totally Offside: 10 PIMs in 63 games as a top pair defenseman.

Other NHL Picks

	Vezina	Gregory	Adams
Mark Norman	Hellebucyk	Gorton	Tortorella
Nick De Souza	Hellebucyk	Gorton	Cassidy
Nick Richard	Hellebucyk	Sweeney	Maurice
Scott Maxwell	Hellebucyk	Waddell	Copper
Totally Offside	Hellebucyk	Dorion	Cassidy
Jon Steitzer	Hellebucyk	Sakic	Cassidy
Brendan Mori	Hellebucyk	Gorton	Maurice
Cam Lewis	Hellebucyk	Sakic	Tortorella

Vezina Winner: Hellebucyk
Jim Gregory Winner: Jeff Gorton
Jack Adams Winner: Bruce Cassidy

The fact that we universally all believe that Hellebucyk had an amazing year this year pretty much makes him a lock for being snubbed from even being a Vezina finalist this year. I think that speaks to the inability of NHL GMs to identify talent as well as your average hockey blogger.

When it came to GMs we were a bit all over the place, but Jeff Gorton ended up edging out Joe Sakic. The fact that he dismantled the Rangers, built them back up quickly with a young core, and managed to earn a playoff play-in in the process is pretty impressive.

As for Cassidy, well, at the beginning of the year it was going to be a two horse race between the Lightning and Leafs for first in the Atlantic and at the end of the day we’re once again looking at a dominate Bruins team that won the Presidents Trophy and are the Cup favourites. Tortorella and Maurice doing a lot with nothing was impressive, but both also had the help of red hot goaltending, which I guess Cassidy gets as well.

What our writers said:

Totally Offside:
Vezina: Hellebuyck
Really great season from Hellebuyck with a .922 sv%. he’s the reason the Jets were in playoff contention this year.
Adams: Cassidy
Every year, I think it’s going to be the year Boston falls off and every year, I am proven wrong. Cassidy has done a great job again this season; leading his team to a league leading 100 point finish.
Scott Maxwell:
Vezina – Hellebuyck
He was one of three starters to finish the year above a .920 save percentage, and the one player higher than him (Rask) did so in more of a 1A/1B situation. Hellebuyck was tied for the most games played as a goalie, had the best results, and did so behind a horrendous Jets defense. Not only should he be a shoe-in for the Vezina, he should probably get Hart consideration.
Mark Norman:
Gregory: Gorton
The Rangers turnaround has been quicker than most expected, and it’s largely due to signings and trades made by Gorton during the offseason. The Rangers added the biggest prize of the summer free agency period in Artemi Panarin, stealing him from the Islanders, then made a trades for Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox. He was smart to have Igor Shesterkin marinate in the minors for a half season, before bringing him up and seeing him dominate. The Rangers look scary good.

Oh wait, there are more awards

Okay, so when I put out the initial request to our writers I forgot to include the Ted Lindsay, and the Masterton, although picking the Masterton always feels weird to me, even if I think it’s a great award to have. Here’s what we landed on…

	Lindsay	Masterton
Mark Norman	Draisaitl	Ryan
Nick Richard	Draisaitl	Ryan
Scott Maxwell	McDavid	Ryan
Totally Offside	McDavid	Ryan
Jon Steitzer	McDavid	Lindblom
Brendan Mori	McDavid	Ryan

Ted Lindsay Winner: Connor McDavid
Bill Masterton Winner: Bobby Ryan

We’re assuming that anyone from Oilersnation who wandered over from that site had a stroke when Draisaitl wasn’t our pick for the Hart, so hopefully they’ll stay out of comment section now that we all agreed that an Oiler should win the Ted Lindsay. We just think it should be the actual best player on their team, the best player in the league, and the guy who can produce in 5 on 5 situations as well.

As for the Masterton, there is no question that the Bobby Ryan return game hat trick was a highlight of the season and he deserves recognition for what he’s overcome. Oskar Lindblom and Jay Bouwmeester are also pretty deserving of the honour.

Now in the finest NHL Awards tradition, “Ladies and Gentlemen…, CHAKA KHAN!!!”