NHL Awards Final Predictions: MacKinnon, Hellebuyck and Bedard's Time To Shine
Nathan MacKinnon and Connor Hellebuyck James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
The final NHL awards are set to be handed out on Thursday, June 27, in Las Vegas.
This year was a little different than past seasons, as the NHL announced some award winners already during the playoffs. That includes Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet winning the Jack Adams Award, Arizona Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram winning the Masterton Trophy, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov winning the Selke Trophy and more.
Before then, there’s time to speculate as to who will take home each award. Let’s get to it:
Hart Trophy
For the NHL’s most valuable player, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado
Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Prediction: MacKinnon
We’ll start things off by noting that voting for this honor – and all the honors on this list – took place before the Stanley Cup playoffs. If the post-season’s results were included, McDavid would’ve been a landslide winner. However, we expect that Avalanche superstar MacKinnon will win his first career Hart.
The 28-year-old posted career-bests in goals (51), assists (89) and points (140) for the Avs this past year, and he was more dominant than ever before. Kucherov and McDavid also had tremendous seasons, but this is MacKinnon’s award to lose.
Vezina Trophy
For the NHL’s best goaltender
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg
Prediction: Hellebuyck
Bobrovsky and Demko each had stellar years between the pipes, but from our perspective, Jets superstar Hellebuyck will win this year’s Vezina.
The 31-year-old Hellebuyck won his first Vezina in 2020, but this season, he posted a 2.39 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 60 appearances. He struggled in the playoffs, but again, these awards are for regular-season performance only. No one was better than Hellebuyck in that span.
Norris Trophy
For the NHL’s top defenseman
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver
Roman Josi, Nashville
Cale Makar, Colorado
Prediction: Hughes
Josi and Makar have both won previous seasons’ Norris Trophies, but this year, Hughes is the clear pick to win best defenseman honors.
The Canucks captain set new career highs in assists (75) and points (92) this season, and the Norris will be Hughes’ first individual award – and likely not the last. The 24-year-old is nowhere near his peak, and one of the biggest reasons Vancouver did so well in the regular season was the dominant play of Hughes. Josi and Makar were also outstanding, but Hughes was the most outstanding. He deserves to win.
Calder Memorial Trophy
For the NHL’s best rookie
Connor Bedard, Chicago
Brock Faber, Minnesota
Luke Hughes, New Jersey
Prediction: Bedard
With due respect to Wild defenseman Faber and Devils blueliner Hughes, Blackhawks cornerstone Bedard was the best first-year player from start to finish – even with Bedard missing 14 games due to injury. He generated 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games.
Bedard is still only 18 years old, but his natural instincts and drive to be the best have served him well in his first season in hockey’s top league. Hughes and Faber will be terrific players in their own right, but Bedard is a generational talent, and that should be reflected in voting for the Calder.
Ted Lindsay Award
For the NHL’s most outstanding player, as voted by the NHL Players’ Association
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado
Auston Matthews, Toronto
Prediction: MacKinnon
This award’s voting tends to line up similarly to the voting for the Hart, but this season, Leafs star Matthews replaces McDavid in the three finalists. That said, we believe NHL players will make the same decision the writers who voted on the Hart made. That means MacKinnon could walk out of Vegas with the Hart and the Lindsay.
It’s difficult to argue against MacKinnon receiving both awards. He was a beast at both ends of the ice, and the Avalanche wouldn’t have finished as well as they did were it not for MacKinnon’s phenomenal play. This would be MacKinnon’s first Lindsay, but it likely wouldn’t be his last.