2009 NHL Awards - WTF?

I am a massive National Hockey League fan. That automatically means that no matter how the annual awards show is organized, I am going to enjoy it, at least to the extent that I can see who wins each award. So I'll mention the positives of the night before I completely rip into the "show" part of it.

A lot of the speeches were great. It was hard not to get at least a bit choked up listening to Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas deliver his Vezina Trophy winning speech. Thomas did not play his first NHL game until his early 30's, so to be rewarded with this trophy, alongside greats Terry Sawchuk, Patrick Roy and Jacques Plante amongst others, was certainly a great moment.

Steve Sullivan winning the Bill Masterton Award was definitely a feel-good moment. Sullivan had been battling back injuries and surgeries for parts of two seasons, only to come back last season to get 32 points in 41 games for the Nashville Predators. It was also a pleasure to see the eye candy Sullivan came with. (Although at times she looked as though she was constipated?)

Along the same lines, congrats to Steve Mason and Evgeni Malkin. Not for their awards (Mason with the Calder Trophy, Malkin with the Art Ross Trophy) but for their dates. I give the edge to Malkin, good on ya Gino. Special consideration to Jean Beliveau.

Finally, Brian Burke appeared on camera a few times. Never get sick of seeing that face. Felt like he was planning something, something big.

Okay, that I enjoyed.

But why was it in Las Vegas? Are there really any sports fans in sin city? Or is there just a lot of sports betters? Who in Las Vegas cares about hockey? Judging by the numerous times there was a section of 6 or 7 empty seats in a row, not many. Quit trying to "build" the game in places it will not work Mr. Bettman. (See Phoenix Coyotes) Oh and nice try on the joke Gare. Walks up to the microphone and says "I definitely need this lower." Hilarious. Next year, keep it in Toronto, or at least Canada, where it belongs.

Now onto the entertainment. I heard on the radio that The Arkells played a pre-awards show. However they did not play during the actual awards. That spot was left for world renowned superstar....Chaka Khan. Not only did we get one dose of the lovely Ms. Khan, but she returned for a second performance! Simply brilliant. She opened the show singing god knows what with who appeared to be a former member of the now defunct boy band LFO. Then, she returned for an encore performing her best hit, "Through the Fire." Epic.

Here's the part that annoyed me the most. I do not know for sure, but I cannot imagine Ron MacLean turning down the offer to host again this year. Then again, who knows. The lack of a host, created a lack of a flow and really hurt the show. The best parts of previous award shows was Ron MacLean and his quick-witted rhetoric. Ron would have made a knee-slapper about the Sidney Crosby "handshake fiasco" to ease the tension and acknowledge the ridiculous situation its become. Or he would have cracked a Jim Balsille - Phoenix Coyotes joke. But none of this happened. It was award, award, award, commercial. BOR-ING.

We had to rely on guys like Alex Ovechkin for humour, and unintentional humour from the weak English of Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk.

By the way, where was the NHL's posterboy? Celebrating the Stanley Cup? How dare you Sidney!

Next year, back in Canada, MacLean hosting and some good rock music please.

Wow, Russia is going to be good in 2010.

Hardware Time

With the NHL regular season almost over, i think it is about time we take a look at the end of the year awards, and some of the possible candidates. A lot of the usual suspects are in contention for awards again this year, but here is an award by award break down of nominees and my pick for potential winner

Hart Trophy: most valuable player to his team

Well, this year is basically the same as last year, and the same people are vying for arguably the most prestigious award in the NHL. Of course Alexander Ovechkin is leading the way once again with 53 goals (1st in the NHL) and topping 100 points for the second straight year. He's got 22% of his teams goals this year, and without him they would not be sitting anywhere near 2nd in the east. Also in contention are the devils Zach Parise, who has had a breakthrough year, already scoring a career high 42 goals and 89 points, top 5 in league scoring, and carrying the devils while marty brodeur was hurt. He has also helped make his team mates better, turning travis zajac from a -11, 35 point player into a 60+ point guy with a plus 35, and helping give jamie langenbrunner a turn around year going from being a minus player in '08 with just 41 points for also a 60+ point season and plus 26. Parise has turned that line into one of the most deadly but underrated lines in the league and lead the devils to 3rd in the east and challenging for 2nd. The other few guys in the league battling for this award are of course the penguins sidney crosby (3rd in the league scoring) who is currently riding a 15 game point streak, and of course evgeni malkin who leads the entire league in points.

Nominees: Ovechkin, Malkin, Parise
Winner: Ovechkin

Norris Trophy: Leagues Top Defenseman

This one is not as clear cut as usual, seeing as how Nik Lidstrom is not a lock to win this year. There are a few guys having great seasons and a few guys who need to be mentioned. The first player is Mike Green, he has had a dynamite year and along with Ovechkin have helped the Caps to 2nd in the eastern conference. He leads all defenseman in points and logs almost 26 minutes a game. He also set an NHL record this year for defensemen by scoring in 8 consecutive games, not bad at all. Following in behind Green is of course Lidstrom who is having another good year, leading the Detroit Red Wings to the top of the western conference. He sits in the top 5 in defensive scoring and is an impressive +28. After these two guys, things get a bit blurry and there are a number of people who could be in contention. Mark streit has had a great year for the Islanders, and is +9 on an awful team and hes got 55 points, good for 4th amongst defensemen. The fact his team is so bad hurts his chances though. Dan boyle has had a great comeback year and is top 5 in D scoring and has been the best defenseman on the Sharks this year and turned a -29 year in 2008 into a +8 season in 2009. Shea Weber has also had his best season as a pro for the Predators and has shown a great scoring touch to go along with punishing hits and a good defensive game. He is 3rd in shots by defensemen and top 10 in hits. A good year considering his team likely wont make the playoffs.

Nominees: Green, Lidstrom, Boyle
Winner: Mike Green

Lady Byng: Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly conduct

I for one am not a huge fan of this award. I like guys to have a bit of sandpaper in their game but I cant complain, the guys who win this trophy are still pretty dam talented. Pavel Datsyuk looks to be primed and ready to win this trophy for the 4th straight year. He is 4th in the league with points and has only racked up 20 PIMS. Hard to argue with that, i mean pretty soon they are just going to call it the Pavel Datsyk Award. I guess it makes sense that the guy with hands of silk wouldn't be piling up the PIMS. Datsyuk does have a bit of competition this year though. Zach Parise is right behind him in points and only has 4 more PIMS. Parise has a real shot at taking home this award. If everything goes as planned at the awards ceremony this year, he might need to make some room in the trophy case. The other typical guys are also eyeing this trophy had Martin St. Louis who is seemingly always in contention has 77 points and remarkably only 12 PIMS all season. He will look to capture his first Lady Byng trophy in probably about 100 nominations. Patrick Marleau is a dark horse in this race but may have an outside chance with 70 points and a strong year, while only totaling 18 PIMS.

Nominees: Datsyuk, St. Louis, Parise
Winner: Datsyuk (again)

Vezina: Leagues Top goalie

This one is a bit of a tough call. A couple of the time goalies have missed a lot of time in Brodeur and Luongo. Their chances are pretty much shot because they just havent played enough games to warrant serious contention. Miika Kiprusoff leads the league in wins with 43, but he also plays every single fucking game so that stat is a bit skewed. Tim Thomas leads the league in both GAA (2.13) and save % (0.931). Very impressive, especially considering the Bruins are doing so well. This give Thomas a great shot at the trophy. But he has also only started in 50 games so far this year. A bit of a light workload compared to most goalies who win this award. Rookie Steve Mason has almost single handedly gotten Columbus into the playoffs this year and is top 10 in save % and 3rd in GAA. Pretty outstanding for a rookie goalie on a team that has never made the playoffs, and before he showed up didnt look like they had a shot this year either. Oh yea, he also leads the league in shutouts with 10! and thats in just 56 starts. Marty Brodeur has great numbers again but will likely finish the year with around 30 starts, which isnt enough to make him a legitimate candidate.

Nominees: Mason, Thomas, Kiprusoff
Winner: Mason

Calder Memorial: Top Rookie

A few guys are making an impressive late push for this award, and there a bunch of guys who could win, with no clear cut guy taking the honours. Steve Mason leads the goaltending race with his impressive numbers. Pekka Rinne has had a great rookie season in Nashville but gets no love because he's in..well... Nashville. Hes got a .922 save % and 2.25 GAA which are just a shade under Mason's numbers. He's also got 7 shutouts which are 2nd in the NHL behind...again, Mason. He's also one of the reasons Nashville is even in a playoff race this late in the year. Bobby Ryan has surged down the stretch and desite not even being the the Ducks for the whole seaon and spending part of the season in the A, he still has 51 points in 59 games to lead all rookie skaters. He also leads all rookies in goals with 26. Not bad for a guy who wasn't good enough to play the start of the season in the NHL. Kris Versteeg has had a steady year in Chicago putting up an impressive 50 points, but in 13 more games than Ryan has played. Stamkos has been very good as of late for Tampa, reaching the 20 goal mark and jumping to 5th in rookie scoring after getting only 8 mins of ice time most nights to start the year. The coaching change has helped his game immensely. Patrick Berglund despite a good year will likely get overlooked in St. Louis even though hes 3rd in rookie scoring. Especially since TJ Oshie has been the rookie making noise in St. Louis lately with big time goals and big time hits (keep your head up next time Rick Nash). James Neal in Dallas has 24 goals, good for 2nd amongst rookies. He's a -13 though and doesnt quite have the points or notoriety to be a legitimate contender. Doughty in LA leads all rookies in ice time and has 25 points for an awful team as a rookie. Pretty impressive stuff, so dont be surprised if he gets a nomination. He's been an outstanding puckmover, and his -17 rating is more due to the team he's on and doesnt necessarily reflect how well doughty has played.

Nominees: Mason, Ryan, Doughty
Winner: Mason

Art Ross: Most points

No nominees for this one. Just the most points at the end of the year. Malkin has gone basically wire to wire and has lit up every team hes played. He'll finish with close to 120 points. Crosby has been on a complete tear lately and is challenging but might run out of games before he can catch his team mate. Ovechkin is currently 2nd, and just lakes the assists to challenge Malkin. If Ovy can get hot though, dont count him out.

Contenders: Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin
Winner: Malkin

Rocket Richard: Most goals

Alexander Ovechkin...'nuff said

Bill Masterton: Dedication and Perseverance

This one is tough to call, as each divisions nominees are just coming out right now. For this award each team nominates one player before hand and then a winner is decided at the awards ceremony at the end of the year. So far two candidates has showed up and would definitely be in my top 3. Patrice Bergeron from Boston has been nominated and looks like a good bet. He's battled back from very serious concussion problems that forced him to miss basically all of last year. He also ran into concussion problems again this year, but has battled through and is playing a valuable role for the Bruins in their playoff push. He only has 36 points, but the fact this guy is even able to play anymore is astounding. The other nominee that caught my attention is teppo numminen. He underwent open heart surgery before last season and was only able to play in the final game of the season last year. He is now back in the sabres lineup and averaging 17 minutes a game, very impressive. The only other player that comes to mind is Richard Zednik. He suffered a horendous cut to the neck after being hit with a skate blade, and was within minutes of dying before being saved by emergency surgery. He is once again playing with the Florida Panthers this year. Hes got 32 points, hes a plus player, and averages 15 minutes of ice for a surprise Panthers squad. Very impressive for a player who almost lost his life, just last season.

Nominees: bergeron, numminen, zednik
winner: zednik

Lester B. Pearson: Most valuable as voted by the players association

You may as well just check out the Hart Trophy section, because it is basically all the same guys leading the charge.

nominees: parise, malkin, ovechkin
winner: ovechkin

Jack Adams: Best Coach

Well for this one, there a few regulars, and a few newcomers. Of course Mike Babcock will be considered, as he has seemingly got the Red Wings through that post Stanley Cup hangover, and gotten them to 2nd in the west. Ken Hitchcock who has coached the Blue Jackets into the playoffs for the first time deserves a knod for bringing an average team into the playoffs for the first time in the teams history. Hitch has been nominated before but has never won. There are also a couple newcomers who may take the title this year. Todd McLellan has done a wonderful job in San Jose leading them to the best record in the league and making San Jose look like the team to beat this year, even with all the injuries they have suffered this season. Another first year coach in Peter DeBoer is looking like he will bring the florida panthers into the playoffs for the first time since 2000. Pretty good for a coach in his first year after coming from the OHL. Also if the St. Louis Blues can get into the playoffs, Andy Murray will likely get a small look since the Blues were definitely not in anyones playoff picture at the start of the year.

Nominees: Hitchcock, Babcock, McLellan
Winner: Hitchcock

Frank J Selke: best defensive forward

I know who i think should win this award, but there are a few guys who have had great defensive years. The most obvious selection is Mike Richards. He is Mr. Everything, he is great 5 on 5, with a plus 23, and a ton of points. He's great on the draw, and he kills every penalty, and has added 7 shorty's to lead the NHL in that category. Pavel Datsyuk, is also a very good defensive forward and will be looking to repeat after winning last year. He is in good shape sitting at +34 good for 3rd in the league. The fact he has the puck all the time has something to do with it, but hey, the best defense is a good offense, so Datsyuk will be in contention. Zajac and Langenbrunner may get a look from the Devils seeing as how they both have a good plus minus, and Langenbrunner has added 3 short handed goals. Also Blake Wheeler and Dave Krejci from the Bruins have had dynamite years and are in the top 5 in +/- (4th and 1st respectively), and they have each added two short handed goals. With Rod Brind'Amour having an awful season, someone new will dominate this award for awhile.

Nominees: Datsyuk, Richards, Langenrunner
Winner: Richards

William J Jennings: goalie(s) of the team with the least goals allowed

Looks like it will go to Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas of Boston unless they let in a million goals a game the rest of the year.

King Clancy: Leadership on/off the ice

I have no idea, it usually goes to the guy who does a lot of charity work or some shit like that. I have no idea about this off ice stuff so lets just say this:

Winner: Patrick Marleau (he's been in SJ for awhile be must do something for that place)

Crosby Loses His... Visor?

So this whole incident was just brought to my attention a few days ago, and I felt as though it was an issue that needed to be addressed. The story goes that during the first period of the Boston Bruins - Pittsburgh Penguins game on March 15, 2009, Bruins centre Marc Savard apparently taunted Penguins star Sidney Crosby after a Boston goal in the 1st period. The two continued jawing at each other until Crosby apparently challenged Savard to a fight but Savard refused until Crosby had removed his visor. At the conclusion of that shift Crosby returned to the Penguins bench and had a trainer purposely removed his visor for a 10 minute period at the end of the 1st period with the purpose of engaging in a fight with the Bruins Forward. The altercation never in fact happened but the intent was in fact there.  Crosby had his visor reattached during the first intermission. 

Makes you wonder as to why this fight never in fact happened? You would figure it would be a fair trade off for both teams with both players not having any real history of fighting. Both teams would also lose their number one centre, and both players size up about the same (Crosby is listed at 5'10" 200 lbs while Savard came in at 5'10" 196 lbs). Sources say that Savard was the one who was deemed to be unwilling to fight and backed down. Touché Crosby for calling Savard's bluff. 

So is it true that the league plays favourtism towards their superstar players? I for one do believe so. Don't get me wrong, I was glad to see this altercating take place as I am a firm believer that fighting does have a place in the game today. This incident does although look bad on Crosby, after all the rule changes that have recently been put in place revolving around the instigator rule and fighting penalties, it seems strange for the league's poster boy to engage in such an altercation. Although it was nice to see that Crosby can still act on his own emotions and do what he feels is right instead of just doing what the hand that's stuck up his ass forces him to do for a change. This whole incident seemed very unlike Crosby who would be considered the NHL's most influential player and a major marketing guru for the league, but it was surprising change to see him show some kind of raw emotion and take matters into his own hands by removing the hand from his ass that has been puppeteering him around since he entered the league. Kudos to Sid the Kid for finally standing up for himself in a legitimate way as it was long overdue. This may put some of the naysayers to rest and silence some of the critics that have questioned Crosby's toughness in the past. This was a true showing of what a captain and the leader of a hockey club was meant to do. But this whole altercation would lead you to believe that the league turned the blind on this one, as if this were any lower caliber player, odds are they would have been fined or even suspended for doing such a thing. 

On another note, the Penguins did in fact end up winning this game 6-4. Crosby tallied 3 assists and was a +1 while Savard was held off the scoresheet.