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Pucks of a Feather’s NHL Awards Ballot Part Two

By Ed Stein |
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers poses for a portrait with the, from left to right, Ted Lindsay Award, Hart Memorial Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy at the 2017 NHL Awards at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 21: Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers poses for a portrait with the, from left to right, Ted Lindsay Award, Hart Memorial Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy at the 2017 NHL Awards at T-Mobile Arena on June 21, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Welcome to part two of Pucks of a Feather’s NHL Awards Ballot. In case you missed part one, our cousins at Puck Prose asked us for our choices on these awards. We wanted to share our opinions with our readers.

Today we show our NHL Awards ballots for GM of the Year, The Ted Lindsay Award, Frank J. Selke Trophy, Lady Bing Memorial Trophy, and James Norris Memorial Trophy

GM of the Year

An annual award presented to recognize the work of the league’s general managers.

3rd Place – David Poile. He took home this prize last year. One day this award will be renamed the David Poile Trophy. Not many General Managers could to what Poile did this season. He found a way to make a great team even better.

Poile was able to add impact players Kyle Turris, and Ryan Hartman during the season The best part was that he didn’t give up a current team contributor. The biggest asset he traded away was his upcoming first round pick, which would have been 30th or 31st overall. He is good at his job.

2nd Place – Steve Yzerman. Another previous winner (2016), he took over the Bolts in May 2010. This team was built from the inside, up. Some of the best players on this team, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Brayden Point, and Yanni Gourde were either drafted by or signed as amateurs by Tampa under his regime. Stevie Y may eventually become as good of an executive as he was a player.

1st Place – George McPhee. It would be hard to find anyone who followed the NHL this year that would say McPhee doesn’t deserve to win. A division winning General Manager will always be a candidate for this award. That achievement pails in comparison to building a winner from complete scratch. McPhee had the vision to build a team that is faster and more skilled than anyone thought possible. Oh yeah, it’s an expansion team.

BOSTON, MA – APRIL 21: Patrice Bergeron
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 21: Patrice Bergeron /

Frank J. Selke Trophy

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is an annual award given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.

Unfortunately for the Anaheim Ducks and their fans Ryan Kesler was not a candidate this time around.

More from Pucks of a Feather

3rd Place – Anze Kopitar. It’s easy to forget how good of a defensive center Kopitar is when he scores 92 points. This, however, is the fourth time in the past five seasons he’s been up for this award, including a win in 2016. For the record, Kopitar led all NHL forwards in minutes played this year. Additionally, he also played the most minutes on the Kings penalty kill unit, which was number one in the league.

2nd Place – Sean Couturier. He’s another player who probably doesn’t come to mind when thinking of the top defensive forwards in the game. However, this one is in the details. Couturier was +34 this season despite starting 56.4% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Additionally, he had a 5-on-5 Corsi of 53.2%. All of this while playing against the opponents top line each night.

1st Place – Patrice Bergeron. The Boston Bruins captain is tied with Hall-of-Famer Bob Gainey for most Selke Trophies won with four (in the last six years). Another win or two and he could go down as one of the best defensive forwards in the history of the game. He led all NHL forwards in avg time on ice with 22:07 per night. Other key stats include +21 in 61 games, and winning 59.3% of faceoffs in the defensive zone (1st in the league).

BUFFALO, NY – APRIL 4: Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres (R)
BUFFALO, NY – APRIL 4: Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres (R) /

Lady Bing Memorial Trophy

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.

There isn’t much to write about in this category, so here are our top three:

2nd Place Tie – Eric Staal and Erik Karlsson

1st Place – Ryan O’Reilly

James Norris Memorial Trophy

The James Norris Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position.

3rd Place – John Carlson. The Capitals blueliner didn’t make the final cut for the Norris Trophy, despite leading all NHL defensemen in scoring with 68 points including 32 on the man advantage. Usually, that’s enough for a top three finish especially since Carlson’s team also won the Atlantic Division. The biggest statistic holding him back was that he was only an even skater 5-on-5.

2nd Place – Drew Doughty. Doughty has been a finalist four times during his career, including a 2016 win. He had another great season in 2017-18. The Kings defenseman set career high’s in both assists (50) and points (60). He led the NHL with an average of 26:50 per night while playing in all 82 games (fourth straight season).

1st Place – Victor Hedman. Among NHL defensemen, Hedman was tops in goals (17), second in +/-, at +32 (two behind Josh Manson) and fifth in the following statistics points (63), power play points (26), and ice time (25:51). What makes him the winner is that he put these numbers up for the best team in the Eastern Conference.

EDMONTON, AB – APRIL 5: Connor McDavid
EDMONTON, AB – APRIL 5: Connor McDavid /

Ted Lindsay Award

The Ted Lindsay Award (formerly Lester B. Pearson Award) is presented annually to the “most outstanding player” in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

3rd Place – Pekka Rinne. Not many 35-year-olds would ever be in consideration for the league’s most outstanding player, that’s how good of year Rinne had. He was the number one goalie on the number one team. Among goalies who made over 50 starts this year, Rinne came close to pulling off the triple crown. He led the league in Save % (.927), Golas Against Average (2.31), and was third in wins (42).

2nd Place – Nikita Kucherov. Third in the NHL in scoring will get you a seat at this table. It’s hard to outscore Steven Stamkos when you’re on the same team, but Kucherov pulled it off (100-86). He was the leading scorer on the top scoring NHL team.

1st Place – Connor McDavid. There isn’t much doubt at this point that Connor McDavid is the best player in hockey right now. He wins this trophy and not the Hart Trophy (MVP) because the Oilers had a bad season (22nd of 31 teams). His team’s result doesn’t diminish his individual accomplishments. “McJesus” led the NHL in scoring with 108 points, was third in assists (67) and sixth in goals (41). To top it off he was +20 and was tied for sixth in short-handed points.

Next: Anaheim Ducks Three Stars of the Week (April 16 - April 22)

We’ll have the final four awards in our next installment.

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