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Pucks of a Feather’s NHL Awards Ballot Part One

By Ed Stein |
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: A general view of the stage is seen during the 2017 NHL Awards
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: A general view of the stage is seen during the 2017 NHL Awards
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Our cousins at Puck Prose asked us for our NHL Awards ballot. The Staff here at Pucks of a Feather got together and voted. We wanted to share our results with our readers. First off are the Non Official Awards

Comeback Player of the Year

This NHL Award doesn’t exist. We think it should. We will award it to the player who for one reason or another fell on hard times, but turned it around in 2017-18.

3rd Place – Anze Kopitar. For most NHL players 52 points is a career year. In 2016-17, the 52 Kopitar put up was the lowest full-season total of his career. He rebounded this season with career highs in goals (35), assists (57), and points (92). It seems odd that Kopitar for all his past success never broke the 90 point mark in his 12 years as an LA King.

2nd Place – Eric Staal. For years Staal was the face of the Carolina Hurricanes. He was their top scorer and on-ice leader. Until this year his point totals have been in steady decline. Things did a 180 for the former Carolina captain this year. In 2017-18, he helped bring the Minnesota Wild back to the post-season with a team-leading 42 goals (tied for fourth in the NHL).

1st Place – Steven Stamkos. Here is a sentence many thought unlikely, “Steven Stamkos is our NHL Comeback Player of the Year.” Lest we forget, “Stevie Wonder” missed all but 17 games last season with a knee injury. Now healthy, Stamkos proved once again that he is a top-five player in the league.

He no longer needs to be the main scorer in Tampa, with Nikita Kucherov on the roster. Stamkos has become more of a passer than a scorer, recording 59 helpers. The Bolts had the best record in the east and Stamkos had 86 points, his best total since 2011-12.

LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 13: Alec Martinez
LAS VEGAS, NV – APRIL 13: Alec Martinez /

Breakout Player Of The Year

This is awarded to the player who exceeded his previous production and became a star this year.

3rd Place – Nathan MacKinnon. We have MacKinnon as the winner of one of the league’s standard awards (you’ll have to check back in another few days). After averaging a pedestrian 52.5 points in his first four seasons, he broke out in a big way this year. 39 goals and 58 assists proved that he was the top player in Colorado, and allowed the Avs to deal Matt Duchesne for some much-needed assets. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because he is a former number one overall draft pick (2013).

More from Pucks of a Feather

2nd Place – Connor Hellebuyck. This is another player you will read about in a later edition. If it weren’t for him, the Jets wouldn’t have been close to the team they were this year. Hellebuyck won 44 games, with a 2.36 Goals Against Average and .924 Save %.

1st Place – William Karlsson. “Wild Bill” earned the top spot and is our Breakout Player of the Year. Much to the chagrin of Ducks fans, he was traded away from Anaheim in 2015 as part of the deal to acquire James Wisniewski. Last summer he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. Even they couldn’t have imagined the impact he would have on their team. 43 goals, 78 points, and an astounding +49.

ST. PAUL, MN – APRIL 2: Cam Talbot
ST. PAUL, MN – APRIL 2: Cam Talbot /

Disappointing Team of the Year

No, as disappointed as we are, the Anaheim Ducks didn’t make the list. This award goes to the team that most underperformed to expectations.

3rd Place – Arizona Coyotes. The Yotes just can’t seem to get ahead in the league. They missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year. This is mostly due to a continued cycle of poor play, followed by unwise draft choices. Aside from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, they Arizona hasn’t exactly drafted a bunch of all-stars. Clayton Keller is probably the closest thing to an offensive star this team has. Antti Raanta was a good goalie to bet on for the future. Unfortunately, for the Coyotes Raanta couldn’t stay healthy in the present.

2nd Place – Chicago Blackhawks. How the mighty have fallen. The Blackhawks had reached the Stanley Cup finals five of the last nine season, winning the whole thing three times. They were expected to contend again this year after posting the best record in the west last year. This year, Jonathan Toews disappeared from the score sheet and Corey Crawford went out with an upper-body injury (head) in late December which took him out for the rest of the season. Couple that with Duncan Keith‘s meeting up with father time and Chicago’s season fell apart.

1st Place – Edmonton Oilers. It looked as though the Oilers finally turned their franchise around in 2016-17. After 10 straight seasons of missing the playoffs, Edmonton finally returned to the dance. They finally shored up their goaltending with the acquisition of Cam Talbot; and have arguably the best player in the game, Connor McDavid. Unfortunately for the boys in orange and blue, they couldn’t maintain the momentum and fell back to sixth place in the Pacific Division.

LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 17: Marc-Andre Fleury
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 17: Marc-Andre Fleury /

Most Surprising Team (Positive)

Every year teams rise from the muck to exceed expectations. Here are the top teams.

3rd Place – Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg has been teetering on the verge of playoff relevance for the past few seasons. This year they put it all together, finishing only three points behind Nashville for the President’s Trophy. Led by Blake Wheeler and a group of high performing young players the Jets rose to the top of the league standings. Don’t be surprised if this team stays a cup contender for years to come.

2nd Place – Boston Bruins. Sure the B’s made the playoffs last season, barely. This year, Boston went

from good to, at times, dominant. Their first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak can be as good as any other team in the league’s top three. Goalie Tuukka Rask, went 17-1-1 from December 17 – February 6 to help propel the Bruins to the second-best record in the east.

1st Place – Vegas Golden Knights. There isn’t much to say about the Knights that hasn’t been said already. After the expansion draft, GM George McPhee was criticized for drafting a poor team and too many defensemen. Well, he proved them very wrong. His drafting plus the trades he made before, during and after, led to a roster of skilled and fast players that outskated and outscored their opponents all season long. In the process, the Knights became the most successful expansion franchise ever, in any North American major sport.

Next: The End and The Beginning

In our next installment, we will have our winner of the GM of the year, as well as our NHL Awards selections for the Jack Adams, Selke, and Lady Bing Trophies.

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