← Wednesday’s Three Stars Tomas Kopecky Leads with his Head →

Over the last week, the NHL has released its three finalists for many of the awards that will be given in mid-June during the league ceremony in Las Vegas. Let’s take a moment to see who is in the running in some of the notable categories.

And, for the record, the Hart Trophy (MVP) and Jack Adams Award (Top Coach) finalists will be announced later in the week, so I will have those updates to you as soon as they’re released.

Calder Trophy (Top Rookie)

Adam Henrique, Center, New Jersey Devils

16 goals, 35 assists, 51 points, +8 rating

Gabriel Landeskog, Left Wing, Colorado Avalanche

22 goals, 30 assists, 52 points, +20 rating

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Center, Edmonton Oilers

18 goals, 34 assists, 52 points, -2 rating (Played in just 62 games due to injury)

*** PREDICTION ***

For me, this comes down to the production of each guy compared to the number of games they played in. Nugent-Hopkins missed a significant amount of time due to injury and still finished the year tied with Landeskog for the most points of any rookie. Edmonton made a wise choice with the first pick of last seasons draft, and he should be the award winner.

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender)

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

39-18-5, 1.97 GAA (4th in NHL), .930 SV % (3rd in NHL), 8 Shutouts (3rd in NHL)

Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

35-21-13, 1.95 GAA (2nd in NHL), .929 SV % (5th in NHL), 10 Shutouts (1st in NHL)

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

43-18-8, 2.39 GAA (14th in NHL), .923 SV % (7th in NHL), 5 Shutouts (10th in NHL)

*** PREDICTION ***

Although all three of these netminders are worthy of the award, Jonathan Quick is my choice. Not only did he record unbelievable numbers during the regular season, but he has led his 8th-seeded Kings to an epic first round upset of the President Trophy winners, the Vancouver Canucks. And, his closest competition (in my opinion), Lundqvist, is struggling to get his top-seeded team out of the first round.

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman)

Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins

12 goals, 40 assists, 52 points, +33 rating (3rd in NHL)

Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

19 goals, 59 assists (3rd in NHL), 78 points (10th in NHL), +16 rating

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

19 goals, 30 assists, 49 points, +21 rating

*** PREDICTION ***

I would probably argue that Chara is the most valuable defenseman in the NHL due to his important as a captain for the defending champion Boston Bruins. However, based purely on this years numbers, it’s hard to pick against the 21-year-old, Karlsson. He led all defensive players in scoring and was the primary reason that the Senators found a way into the postseason. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t take the hardware.

Ice Insiders Chris Berry Interactive Chris Berry Interactive