NHL Award picks, 2023-2024 season
The best of the best in this NHL season
I know it has been a while since the blog was updated. It’s not like I’m not writing. All season I’ve had a weekly fantasy hockey article on McKeen’s Hockey and I’m writing full-time for Pinnacle, so there have not been as many openings to dig into topics here. That should change, at least a little, now that the regular season is complete.
Here is a look at my unofficial awards ballot (For the record, I don’t have PHWA votes for these awards).
HART TROPHY
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado
The Avalanche centre set career highs with 51 goals and 140 points while leading the league with 405 shots on goal. The ice is tilted in Colorado’s favour when MacKinnon is on the ice.
Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton
Recorded 100 assists in a season for the first time in his career, his fourth straight season with more than 100 points. It could have easily been another Hart Trophy season for McDavid, but he missed six games and that created enough of an opening for MacKinnon to barge through.
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto
While much was made of the Maple Leafs’ unsuccessful late-season quest to get Matthews his 70th goal, it should not be ignored that Matthews had career highs of 69 goals and 107 points, while also producing strong defensive results.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay
It says something about the competition for this award when the league’s leading scorer sits fourth in the rankings. The Lightning winger also had 100 assists on his way to 144 points, with 53 points on the power play.
Artemi Panarin, LW, N.Y. Rangers
Hit career highs with 49 goals and 120 points, a dominant season that, in most cases, would warrant even higher placement. An increased shot rate made Panarin more dangerous than ever.
Honourable Mentions: David Pastrnak, Boston; Quinn Hughes, Vancouver; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh; Sam Reinhart, Florida; Zach Hyman, Edmonton.
NORRIS TROPHY
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver
Not only did Hughes lead defencemen in scoring with a career-high 92 points, but his defensive results were excellent, too, making him fully deserving of the honour as the league’s top defenceman.
Cale Makar, Colorado
Even though he finished with a career-best 90 points, Makar’s all-around impact was not at the level that it was a couple of seasons ago, when he won his first Norris Trophy. He only has one so far, but it seems like Makar will be in perennial contention.
Roman Josi, Nashville
The 2020 Norris Trophy winner led Nashville’s second-half charge, producing 56 points in 45 games after the calendar flipped to 2024. It seems quite likely that this will be the fifth time in his career that Josi finishes in the top five of Norris Trophy voting.
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers
Fox has been a top five finisher in Norris voting for three straight seasons, winning in 2021. He does not score quite as much as the most prolific defencemen, but still topped 70 points for a third straight season despite missing 10 games. Fox is a dominant player at both ends of the ice.
Evan Bouchard, Edmonton
While he might be known more for his role on the Oilers power play, where he scored 35 of his 82 points, Bouchard excelled at evens, too. The Oilers controlled 60.3 percent of shot attempts and 61.7 percent of expected goals at five-on-five with Bouchard on the ice, outscoring opponents 94 to 58.
Honourable Mentions: Miro Heiskanen, Dallas; Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo; Jaccob Slavin, Carolina; Gustav Forsling, Florida; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay.
VEZINA TROPHY
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg
Hellebuyck has consistently been one of the top goaltenders in the league and this season he recorded 31.96 Goals Saved Above Expected (per Natural Stat Trick), which was the best in the league by more than nine goals.
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver
A late-season injury limited Demko’s chances but it was still an excellent season overall, his best in the NHL. His .918 save percentage ranked second (behind Hellebuyck’s .921) among goaltenders that played at least 40 games.
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis
An excellent second half of the season put Binnington into contention. After the calendar flipped to 2024, he had a .926 save percentage in 31 games and he finished second in Goals Saved Above Expected with 22.64.
Jeremy Swayman, Boston
Although he did not play as many games as the other top contenders, Swayman posted a .916 save percentage in 44 games.
Jacob Markstrom, Calgary
While a .905 save percentage doesn’t stand out, his Goals Saved Above Expected, which factors in the quality of shots faced, earns Markstrom a spot in the top five.
Honourable Mentions: Linus Ullmark, Boston; Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers; Charlie Lindgren, Washington; Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida; Joey Daccord, Seattle.
CALDER TROPHY
Connor Bedard, C, Chicago
He slumped with one goal (and seven assists) in his last 14 games, missed time with a broken jaw, and has room to improve defensively, but Bedard was also very dangerous offensively, scoring 61 points (22 G, 39 A) in 68 games without much of a supporting cast in Chicago.
Brock Faber, D, Minnesota
Put up 47 points (8 G, 39 A) while playing nearly 25 minutes per game, which certainly gives Faber credibility as a Calder choice. While the award is not an exercise in finding which player had the least help, that does have to be considered as a difference between the top two candidates.
Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey
Dougie Hamilton’s injury might have pushed Hughes into a bigger role than expected and he did finish with 47 points (9 G, 38 A) while playing almost 22 minutes per game.
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina
Still eligible for the Calder after playing 24 games in 2022-2023, Kochetkov got off to a terrible start, with a .871 save percentage in his first 11 games. He rebounded, though, and finished with a .911 save percentage in 42 games.
Marco Rossi, C, Minnesota
After managing just one assist in 19 games for the Wild last season, Rossi turned in a quality season, with 40 points (21 G, 19 A) and a reliable two-way game.
Honourable Mentions: Joel Hofer, G, St. Louis; Logan Cooley, C, Arizona; Simon Nemec, D, New Jersey; Tyson Foerster, RW, Philadelphia; Luke Evangelista, RW, Nashville.
SELKE TROPHY
Jordan Staal, C, Carolina
Staal has warranted more Selke Trophy love for a while and he has just two top five finishes in his career, including fourth place last season. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old pivot was dominant defensively once again, with the lowest expected goals against (1.79) per 60 minutes of any forward to play more than 500 five-on-five minutes.
Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida
Surely, Barkov will be the more popular choice and he had an excellent season, though it just wasn’t quite as strong defensively as Staal’s. This has been one of the best all-around seasons of Barkov’s career, but that also includes his offensive contributions.
Adam Lowry, C, Winnipeg
A big strong center like the two above him on this list, Lowry was on the ice for 1.21 goals against per 60 minutes, the best mark of his career and the lowest rate among forwards that played at least 1000 five-on-five minutes.
Radek Faksa, C, Dallas
Despite an offensive zone start percentage of 37.3 percent, Faksa ranked among the top ten in expected goals against per 60 minutes (minimum 700 five-on-five minutes), with 2.00, which was just barely behind Barkov’s 1.98 xGA/60.
Noah Cates, LW, Philadelphia
An outstanding defensive forward, Cates would have deserved to be even higher in the voting if he had played more than 59 games. Among forwards to play at least 500 five-on-five minutes, Cates is the only one in the top six for shots against per 60 minutes that didn’t play for Carolina and the only one in the top eight for expected goals against per 60 minutes that didn’t play for Carolina or Dallas.
Honourable Mentions: Ryan McLeod, C, Edmonton; Marcus Foligno, LW, Minnesota; Jordan Martinook, LW, Carolina; Conor Garland, RW, Vancouver; Lars Eller, C, Pittsburgh.
JACK ADAMS AWARD
Rick Tocchet, Vancouver
It should not have been such a surprise that the Canucks would play winning hockey under Tocchet, as they had played to a 100-point pace when he took over in 2022-2023. The Canucks were even better this season and Tocchet brought the best out of Vancouver’s star players, going from a team that missed the playoffs the year before to first place in the Pacific Division.
Rick Bowness, Winnipeg
The Jets could have easily taken a step back this season, but Bowness helped guide the club to 110 points, their best season since 2017-2018. Like the Canucks, the Jets were a top 10 possession team and that is an indication of strong team play. Bowness has announced his retirement, but he leaves with another quality season behind the bench.
Andrew Brunette, Nashville
It’s not as simple as forcing the team to abandon its plans to see U2 at The Sphere in Las Vegas, but that did set the Predators on an 18-game point streak, which vaulted them firmly into playoff position. Nashville was a strong possession team and got excellent performance from both veterans and young players that were inserted into the lineup.
Peter Laviolette, N.Y. Rangers
The veteran bench boss has never won the Jack Adams, despite nine seasons with a team playing at a pace of 100 points or better. The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and Laviolette seemed to push the right buttons with players up and down the lineup.
Kris Knoblauch, Edmonton
There is something to be said about goaltending making a coach, as the biggest difference between Knoblauch and his predecessor, Jay Woodcroft, is that Oilers goaltenders stopped avoiding pucks. That said, the Oilers had a .703 points percentage under Knoblauch, which was a 115-point pace over a full season.
LADY BYNG TROPHY
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto
Scoring 69 goals and 107 points to go with 20 penalty minutes is more than sufficient qualification for Matthews to add another trophy to his repertoire.
Elias Pettersson, C, Vancouver
The Canucks star pivot tallied 89 points with just 12 penalty minutes. He has never had more than 18 penalty minutes in a season, so he figures to contend for the Lady Byng on a consistent basis.
Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina
Top four in Lady Byng voting in each of the past four seasons, winning in 2021, and just had 37 points and eight penalty minutes while playing nearly 21 minutes per game on the Carolina blueline.
Brayden Point, C, Tampa Bay
One of the finalists in 2023, Point put up 90 points with just 14 penalty minutes while playing more than 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career.
Jesper Bratt, RW, New Jersey
Scored a career-high 83 points with just 12 penalty minutes, which was an impressive campaign for a struggling team.