NHL trophy races
Apr 3, 2004 5:54:51 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Apr 3, 2004 5:54:51 GMT -5
Following is a capsule look at the NHL trophy races (voting to be completed by next Tuesday, or before the playoffs begin):
Hart (MVP): 1. St. Louis, Tpa. 2. Kiprusoff, Cgy. 3. Sakic, Col. For all of the reasons cited above.
Norris (best defenceman): 1. Scott Niedermayer, N.J. 2. Zdeno Chara, Ott. 3. Rob Blake, Col. One of seven defencemen who will finish with 50 points of more, Niedermayer is the most accomplished two-way defenceman in the game. In the absence of team captain Scott Stevens, he logs close to 30 minutes a night for a team on pace to surrender the fewest goals ever allowed in an 82-game season.
Calder (best rookie): 1. Andrew Raycroft, Bos. 2. Michael Ryder, Mtl. 3. Trent Hunter, NYI. Ryder has been an important part of Montreal's offence-by-committee, but Raycroft gave the Bruins a steadying influence between the pipes for the first time in a decade and is one of the reasons why real optimism existed in Beantown for the first time in a long time.
Selke (best defensive forward): 1. Alyn McCauley, SJ; 2. Kris Draper, Det. 3. Keith Primeau, Pha. Always a difficult award to select, but McCauley gets the nod because he's a high plus player on a defensively sound Sharks team that quietly put together the best season in franchise history.
Lady Byng (sportsmanship): 1. Brad Richards, Tpa. 2. Brett Hull, Det. 3. Milan Hedjuk, Col. Richards has quietly evolved into one of the best No. 2 centres in the league, playing an effective two-way game, without running into any penalty problems.
Vezina (best goalie, voted on by NHL GMs): 1. Kiprusoff, Cgy. 2. Martin Brodeur, N.J.,3. Ed Belfour, Tor. The GMs tend to follow a funny voting pattern. Despite being one of the best of all time, Brodeur won only his first Vezina last year, losing to among others, Jim Carey, back in 1996. Kiprusoff will finish first in most of the major statistical categories, but the fact that he played fewer than 40 games may work against him.
Jack Adams (coach of the year, selected by NHL broadcasters): 1. Darryl Sutter, Cgy. 2. Mike Sullivan, Bos. 3. Ron Wilson, SJ. L.A.'s Andy Murray was the front runner for much of the season, but his chances will be diminished by the Kings' fade over the final month. Sutter, meanwhile, brought the Flames back from the dead (or more precisely, a seven-year playoff absence), while Sullivan kept the Bruins in the race all season and Wilson engineered a dramatic one-year, about-face in San Jose. All three would be worthy winners.
- taken from this article by Eric Duhatschek
Hart (MVP): 1. St. Louis, Tpa. 2. Kiprusoff, Cgy. 3. Sakic, Col. For all of the reasons cited above.
Norris (best defenceman): 1. Scott Niedermayer, N.J. 2. Zdeno Chara, Ott. 3. Rob Blake, Col. One of seven defencemen who will finish with 50 points of more, Niedermayer is the most accomplished two-way defenceman in the game. In the absence of team captain Scott Stevens, he logs close to 30 minutes a night for a team on pace to surrender the fewest goals ever allowed in an 82-game season.
Calder (best rookie): 1. Andrew Raycroft, Bos. 2. Michael Ryder, Mtl. 3. Trent Hunter, NYI. Ryder has been an important part of Montreal's offence-by-committee, but Raycroft gave the Bruins a steadying influence between the pipes for the first time in a decade and is one of the reasons why real optimism existed in Beantown for the first time in a long time.
Selke (best defensive forward): 1. Alyn McCauley, SJ; 2. Kris Draper, Det. 3. Keith Primeau, Pha. Always a difficult award to select, but McCauley gets the nod because he's a high plus player on a defensively sound Sharks team that quietly put together the best season in franchise history.
Lady Byng (sportsmanship): 1. Brad Richards, Tpa. 2. Brett Hull, Det. 3. Milan Hedjuk, Col. Richards has quietly evolved into one of the best No. 2 centres in the league, playing an effective two-way game, without running into any penalty problems.
Vezina (best goalie, voted on by NHL GMs): 1. Kiprusoff, Cgy. 2. Martin Brodeur, N.J.,3. Ed Belfour, Tor. The GMs tend to follow a funny voting pattern. Despite being one of the best of all time, Brodeur won only his first Vezina last year, losing to among others, Jim Carey, back in 1996. Kiprusoff will finish first in most of the major statistical categories, but the fact that he played fewer than 40 games may work against him.
Jack Adams (coach of the year, selected by NHL broadcasters): 1. Darryl Sutter, Cgy. 2. Mike Sullivan, Bos. 3. Ron Wilson, SJ. L.A.'s Andy Murray was the front runner for much of the season, but his chances will be diminished by the Kings' fade over the final month. Sutter, meanwhile, brought the Flames back from the dead (or more precisely, a seven-year playoff absence), while Sullivan kept the Bruins in the race all season and Wilson engineered a dramatic one-year, about-face in San Jose. All three would be worthy winners.
- taken from this article by Eric Duhatschek
