Pucks of a Feather’s NHL Awards Ballot: The Finale’
By Ed Stein
This is the final installment of our Pucks of a Feather, NHL Awards selections. Today we feature the biggest prizes: coach of the year, rookie of the year, best goalie, and league MVP.
First a few preliminaries. Although we weren’t asked, here are a two NHL Awards that are well deserved.
Bill Masterton Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
Not to diminish any of the other worthy candidates, but this is almost as easy as it gets. New Jersey Devils center Brian Boyle is the clear-cut choice. Boyle was diagnosed with leukemia in training camp. The 6’7” Boston College grad did what he has always done throughout his career and fought through it. Boyle returned to the Devils lineup on November 1st and played in all but three games the rest of the season.
Mark Messier Leadership Award
The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award is presented to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.
This award was decided the first week of the season. The Vegas Golden Knights don’t have an official captain, but Derek Engelland is the team’s leader. His speech during Vegas’ home opener, honoring the victims and survivors of a mass shooting in the city, just a few weeks prior, showed the world the type of character and leadership he possesses.