Mid-Season Awards

We're halfway through the year.Here's my take on what the potential award nominees would be if the season ended today.

Hart Trophy: League MVP
Sidney Crosby, Pit: All you really need to look at to understand why Crosby should, and most likely will, be up for this trophy is the last three games by the Penguins. They have earned one of six possible points, have scored three goals, and allowed the Bruins to score four goals in the final four minutes in a 4-2 loss. As I stated in a recent post about Crosby, he is everything to the Penguins and with Evgeni Malkin still playing to a sub-par standard, the Penguins better hope Crosby's concussion is not serious.

Brad Richards, Dal: Richards has been a consistent offensive force for the surprising Stars. He is on pace to set career highs is goals and points and has helped the Stars to the top of their division, six points ahead of the Coyotes. He's the main reason Loui Eriksson has developed into a dangerous two-way sniper. Joe Nieuwendyk has a tough decision to make before the February 28 trade deadline; keep Richards for the playoff run and risk losing him for nothing to free agency, or trade him if they can't come to terms with a new deal and lose a highly experienced playoff performer (he won the Conn Smythe when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004).

Eric Staal, Car: After Ray Whitney left via free agency, Staal was the only bona-fide and proven scorer left on the team. After 42 games, he has the Hurricanes 2 points behind the Thrashers, with three games in hand, for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. He is also on pace for 41 goals, an important mark because the only two times his team has made the playoffs have come after his only two 40 goal seasons. He gets the nod over Steven Stamkos who gets the benefit of playing with Martin St. Louis.

My pick: Sidney Crosby. If Malkin were playing like he did two years ago this may be a different story, but he is struggling and the Penguins simply do not win with out Crosby in the lineup.

Vezina Trophy: Top Goaltender
Tim Thomas, Bos: Thomas started off on fire and hasn't slowed down yet. He has rebounded from an off year, but has taken the starting role back from Tuuka Rask and it doesn't look like he will be handing it back any time soon. He is head and shoulders above every other goalie ion the league with a .946 save percentage and 1.77 goals against average and has the Bruins sitting on top of the Northeast Division.

Jonas Hiller, Ana: He has faced more shots than any other goalie in the league (1,245), and is still third with a .929  save percentage to go along with a 2.39 GAA. They are getting great seasons from Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne, but Hiller is keeping them in playoff position and giving them reliable performances each night while costing the Ducks less than former goalie J.S. Giguere. With a record of 21-14-3, he is one of four goalies with 20 wins on the season.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Pit: He has been giving the Penguins reliable goaltending and has been having the best season of his career. He is 18-11-2 with a .919 save percentage and 2.31 GAA; taking away his poor start, those numbers improve to 17-5-2, a .934 save percentage, and a 1.96 GAA. With his play, the Penguins currently have the second most points in the Eastern Conference.

My pick: Tim Thomas. A lot of the time stats don't tell the story, but his are too good to ignore.

Calder Trophy: Best Rookie
Jeff Skinner, Car: This 18 year old is currently second on the Hurricanes in goals (14) and third in points (33); among rookies he is second in goals and first in assists (19) and points. He has given the 'Canes surprising offensive depth after Staal and Tuomo Ruutu. He beats out Logan Couture because, despite his 19 goals and +9 rating, he has been streaky. Take away his two three-game goal scoring streaks in which he scored four goals both times, he has 11 goals in the remaining 38 games.

Corey Crawford, Chi: The Marty Turco experiment has failed, but Crawford has given stability to the Blackhawks goaltending situation. Of the three rookie goalies who have started at least 20 games, he has the best stat line with a .917 save percentage and 2.23 GAA. Expect Crawford to get the majority of the remaining starts if the Blackhawks wish avoid becoming just the third team since 1995 to win the Stanley Cup and miss the playoffs the next season.

Sergei Bobrovsky, Phi: In the year of the rookie goalie, Bobrovsky has been one of the most important freshman in the league. An undrafted 22 year old from Russia, Bob has given Flyers fans long-term hope in goal for the first time since partner Brian Boucher was a rookie 11 years ago. Its too early to say for sure he is the answer in Philly (anyone remember Roman Cechmanek?), but his 16-6-3 record, .917 save percentage, and 2.55 GAA show plenty of promise.

My pick: Corey Crawford. After last year's roster purge, the Blackhawks no longer have the deep lineup that won them the Cup, making Crawford's play all the more important.

Jack Adams Award: Best Coach
Guy Boucher, TB: The rookie coach has been instrumental in turning the Lightning around. Tampa Bay currently sits on top of a surprisingly strong Southeast Division despite injuries and sub-par performances to Vincent Lecavalier, Steve Downie, and Simon Gagne and inconsistent goaltending. They are 25-13-5 this year after going 34-36-12 and finishing 12th in the East last year.

Barry Trotz, Nsh: Only the Canadiens have scored fewer goals than the Predators among teams in playoff position and only the Bruins have given up fewer goals overall. They boast a record of 23-13-6 and yet they do not have one player on pace for 50 points.

Joe Sacco, Col: Neither Craig Anderson nor Peter Budaj has a GAA under 3.0, but Colorado is still 22-15-6. They are getting solid contributions across the lineup and do not lack a scoring punch, even with the absence of Chris Stewart who had 11 goals and 25 points in 23 games before breaking his hand.

My pick: Barry Trotz. It's just about time he won this, no coach does more with less.

James Norris Trophy: Best Defenseman
Kris Letang, Pit: The Penguins chose not to resign veteran Sergei Gonchar, banking on further development by Letang. He has rewarded them by already setting career highs in assists and points while tying Crosby and Alex Goligoski for the team lead at +20. He also leads the team in ice time, averaging 23:39 per game.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Det: Someone needs to tell Lidstrom that a player's skills are supposed to decline as they get into their 40s. He is tied for first among defensemen with 30 assists with Tobias Enstrom (14 years his junior) and Letang (17 years) and is tied with Dustin Byfuglien (15 years) for most points with 41. He continues to play more than any other Red Wing at 23:44 per game.

Dustin Byfuglien, Atl: Byfuglien may be the surprise player of the year, leading the Thrashers is goals and points. Not leading the defensemen, leading the entire team. He is also tied for the league lead with six game winning goals and is a plus player for just the second time in his career. His physical play and playoff experience has been one of the main reasons for the Thrashers' play this season.

My pick: Kris Letang. Only partner Alex Goligoski has as good a plus/minus rating among the top 20 scoring defensemen.

Hating Sidney Crosby a Waste of Time

I've said it. Probably hundreds of times. My mom, dad, and brother have said it. Pretty much everyone that doesn't go to games with a streaking penguin on their chest has said it at one point or another. "Crosby sucks." And you know what? We're all wasting our breath. Like it or not, Sid the Kid is the face of the NHL and rightfully so seeing as he is the best player in the game. It is not a title he ever asked for, rather one that was thrust upon him at an early age. He had some growing up to do early in his career but hey, haven't we all? Here are some reasons to just start enjoying his play.

• Crosby's evolution. Players often get better throughout the course of their careers, but few have changed their game the way Crosby has. He has always been an elite playmaker, recording 63 assists as a rookie, not falling below that number until last year when he had 58 during his first 50 goal season (he had 48 assists during his third season in only 53 games, a rate of 74 over a full season). Passing has never been an issue, but there was always knocks against his game; he couldn't score, was not good on faceoffs, and his defensive play wasn't strong enough. Ever since his epic duel against Alex Ovechkin in the 2009 playoffs, a series in which he scored eight goals in seven games, he has been a goal scoring machine. Newfound confidence, along with the switch to a one-piece stick, helped him record 51 goals last season, tying his with Steven Stamkos for the league lead. This year he is on pace to record just the second 60 goal season since 1996, the other belonging to Ovechkin. He has also greatly improved his performance in the faceoff dot. His winning percentage in his rookie season was a measly 45.5%, but has steadily improved and so far this season has a 55.7% on a league high 958 draws, 149 more than the second closest player. Steve Yzerman was one of the greatest players in NHL history, one of the great stories is how he transformed his game from an offensive dynamo (his 155 points in 1988-89 is the highest total for someone not named Gretzky or Lemieux) to being one of the top two-way players in the game, winning the Selke Trophy in 1999-2000. All it took for him to do that was 13 years of playoff disappointments and legendary coach Scotty Bowman. Crosby is only in his sixth season and is one of the most underrated defensive forwards. Don't be surprised when he ends his career with a Selke Trophy or two. As I stated before, Crosby has evolved while most players simply get better. Let's compare Crosby to (surprise, surprise) Ovechkin. Ovie has become one of the most dynamic talents the game has ever seen. However, his game hasn't changed much, making him predictable and easy to stop. He does pass more than he used to but still tries, way too often, to skate up the left wing and snipe a shot on the goalie. As the Canadiens showed in the playoffs last year, if you get in his lanes you stop Ovechkin and, consequently, the Capitals. Crosby has been able to find many different ways, not just to score, but contribute all around the ice. 

• His will to win. Regardless of how much you may hate him, and this is usually because, more often than not, the Penguins are likely to come out on top of yours with Crosby being the main reason why, he is a winner that is going to show up and play his best when games matter most. Included in his resume is the shootout winner in the first Winter Classic, two goals in elimination games against the Flyers and Capitals in the same playoff year, and of course the golden goal in the Olympics last year. He is a player that absolutely hates to lose and will do anything to avoid the agonizing sting of defeat. The bigger the game and the more the crowd is on his back, the better he is going to play. All those geniuses that attend Flyers games probably don't realize that chanting "Crosby sucks" all game only makes him want to win more. They would do better to take a page out of Mystery, Alaska and read newspapers and ignore him when he's on the ice. Any bitterness directed is way only fuels his intensity and motivates him ever further, putting him into a zone that will only end up costing your team. 

• Simply put, Crosby means more to his team than any other player means to theirs in the NHL. Comparing the captains of the two Pennsylvania teams, Mike Richards represents, while Sidney Crosby is. Let me explain. Anyone who watches hockey on a regular basis is familiar with Philadelphia's particular brand of hockey. Hard hitting, fast-paced, in your face, pedal to the metal hockey. They have earned the nickname Broad Street Bullies, with players like Bobby Clarke, Dave Schultz, Rick Tocchet, Scott Mellanby, and Eric Lindros suiting up for them over the years. These players could not only rack up points, but piles of penalty minutes as well. Richards is the new face of the franchise, whose enthusiasm and intensity mirrors the image the Flyers have made for themselves since the early 70s. Richards, however, really is just one contributer, albeit an extremely important one, on a very deep team. When they win, they get contributions from all across the lineup, as clearly shown by the fact the Flyers are tied with the Penguins for the top spot in the Atlantic division, yet only have three players on pace for more than 70 points, however each player on their top three lines has a legitimate shot at 20 goals. By comparison, the Penguins have only three players on pace for 20 goals. Basically, when the Penguins win, Crosby is going to have a major contribution to their scoresheet. During his recent 25 game point streak he recorded 26 goals and 50 points while the Penguins in total scored 88 goals during that span. He scored 30% of the teams goals by himself and had a part in 57% of their total offensive production. Yes, they do have another superstar in Evgeni Malkin, but he hasn't been as spectacular as usual the past year and a half, leaving Crosby to produce the bulk of the offence. The salary cap also leaves GM Ray Shero without room to provide him with quality linemates, meaning he produces most of his point playing between Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis on the top line. They would respectively be second and third liners on most other teams. Crosby absolutely is everything to the Penguins and when he doesn't produce, the team does not win.

So like him or not, Sidney Crosby is the best player in, and the face of, the NHL, and will probably be so for a long time. So you might as well quit the booing and jeering, sit back, and watch Crosby dominate the league, break records and set the new standard for every player coming into the league from now on.