To continue my preview of the 2018-19 NHL season, I wanted to predict who I think will win various awards at the end of the season. Last year the only correct pick I had was Connor McDavid for the Art Ross, but some of the awards are incredibly difficult to predict. Nevertheless, I like making these picks, and it’s even more fun to look back on them in June.
Here they are:
Art Ross Trophy: Connor McDavid, Edmonton
McDavid is the best player in the league and has led the league in points for two straight seasons on a team that hasn’t exactly been amazing. At the age of just 21, it’d be crazy to expect anybody but McDavid to win this award because I think he’ll continue to get even better. 108 points might not be a career-high for very long.
Rocket Richard Trophy: Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Laine is second in the league in goals scored since he came into the league, just two behind Alex Ovechkin, but he has played nine fewer games than him over that span. If he isn’t the outright best goal scorer in the game right now, then he’s at least tied for first. Much like McDavid, he’s still incredibly young at the age of 20, and on a great Winnipeg team, he will get plenty of opportunities to score. I can easily see him scoring 50 this year.
Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Just like with the Art Ross Trophy, I just don’t think it’s smart to bet against McDavid for this. I know that he led the league in points this past season and didn’t win the Hart because the Oilers missed the playoffs, but if Edmonton is in, he should be a lock for the award. This also might be going against my playoff predictions because I had the Oilers on the outside looking in, but as I said, McDavid is the obvious choice for this award.
If it’s not him, then there are realistically up to 20-25 candidates who could win, because nobody expected Taylor Hall to win last season.
Norris Memorial Trophy: Erik Karlsson, San Jose
For some idiotic reason, voters have decided that the Norris must go to a defenseman who is on a playoff team, so if Karlsson was still in Ottawa he probably wouldn’t end up winning it. However, now that he’s on a great Sharks team, I think he will get more recognition, especially from people on the West coast who didn’t see him very often in the past. Karlsson has never had anybody close to as good as Marc-Edouard Vlasic as a defense partner too so his game should be elevated.
He’s the best defenseman in the league, and he’s “due… for his third Norris.
Vezina Trophy: Antti Raanta, Arizona
Huh? Yes, Raanta. If I’m being semi-consistent with my standings predictions (not with the Hart though), then Arizona will be a playoff team. I think they will have a surprise season, and Raanta will be a big reason why. Did you know that over the past four seasons he has the highest SV% amongst goalies with at least 100 games played? Over that span, he sits at a .927 SV%, and tied for second place are Corey Crawford and John Gibson at .923%.
He has been incredibly underrated, and in a completely healthy season, the league gets a chance to see how good he is. Last season was the first time he was the starting goalie, and he only played 47 games due to an injury. So I get why people might be hesitant about their opinions of him just because he doesn’t have that track record of playing 60+ games. However, I can’t imagine his play dropping off that much, and if he has a .925 SV% he could easily win the Vezina.
Calder Trophy: Elias Pettersson, Vancouver
Pettersson is amazing, and I feel like he hasn’t gotten enough hype. As 19-year-old, he led the SHL in scoring with 56 points in 44 games and was named the MVP. Remember, that is a league against full-grown men, so it’s not as if he was dominating against teenagers. Comparables for Pettersson include Peter Forsberg and Mats Sundin, but even Forsberg had 48 points in 39 games at the same age, which is a slightly lower PPG (1.23) than Pettersson’s (1.27).
The Canucks are going to be a bad team once again, but Pettersson could easily have 60+ points without many reinforcements around him.
Selke Trophy: Aleksander Barkov, Florida
Barkov was a monster last season, and he’s finally getting league-wide recognition as one of the best all-around players in the game. He had an amazing offensive season with 78 points in 79 games last year, but he’s also been phenomenal in the defensive zone too. Since Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar, and Mikko Koivu still exist, I’m not sure if he will actually have the best defensive season amongst forwards, but I can see him winning this award because voters will want to give it to somebody new and deserving.
He also finished 4th in voting this past season, so voters are well aware just how good he is.
Jack Adams Trophy: Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina
Just like with my Vezina pick, I’ll try to be consistent with my standings predictions. In that article I had the Carolina Hurricanes finishing 3rd in the Metropolitan, and if Brind’Amour can get the Hurricanes back in the playoffs, he’ll surely be one of the top candidates for coach of the year. I have no idea what to expect from him as a coach, but this award always goes to teams that out-perform their expectations.
GM of the Year: John Chayka, Arizona
If Raanta is going to win the Vezina, then the Coyotes should be at least good enough for a wildcard spot, and Chayka will get lots of credit for turning the team around. Their defense looks pretty solid, and they have some very young and skilled forwards up front. They still need some more depth in their forward group, but I think they can sneak into the playoffs. Just like the the Jack Adams award, a lot of the time this award will go to an over-achieving team.
The Vezina, Jack Adams, and GM of the Year picks could certainly come back to bite me and make me look stupid, but then again I’ll look like a genius if any of them come true. Plus it’s boring if you always pick the same people every year anyway! Who do you think will win these awards?