T1B

Major Awards
Hart: Martin Brodeur...this could be his best season considering the young defense in front of him and the Devils have scored the fewest goals in the East
Vezina: Brodeur...leading the NHL in wins, shutouts and GAA and second to Mason in SV%; also has faced the most shots and played the most minutes as well
Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom...biased pick but the guy is still the best at what he does plus he's had to take on the captain responsibilities in Detroit
Calder: Evgeni Malkin...started red hot and is 10 points ahead of Kopitar in 8 fewer games played
Adams: Barry Trotz...the Predators aren't just a solid playoff team, they're a legit cup contender; continued to win with Vokoun injured

Playoff Projections
Eastern Conference
1. Buffalo
2. New Jersey
3. Atlanta
4. Ottawa
5. Carolina
6. N.Y. Rangers
7. Tampa Bay
8. Montreal

Western Conference
1. Anaheim
2. Nashville
3. Vancouver
4. Detroit
5. San Jose
6. Calgary
7. Dallas
8. Edmonton

Stanley Cup Finals
Buffalo over Nashville

Other Predictions and Thoughts
*Crosby and Ovechkin will finish 1-2 in scoring; both will eclipse 110 points
*5 players will break the 50-goal plateau; Selanne will win the Rocket Richard Trophy with 55 goals
*Brodeur will finish with career highs in wins (43 - 3 times) and shutouts (11 in '03-04)
*Souray will finish with at least 25 goals

Major Awards
Hart: Sidney Crosby...has a bad Penguins team in the play-offs. Makes everyone on the team so much better that scrubs are fooling people into thinking they are legit players and that Crosby has stuff to work with.
Vezina: Brodeur...Surprised that he is still playing this well at his age but hard to argue with what he has done this year
Norris: Scott Niedermeyer...He has been great when Pronger was there and even better since he has been out.
Calder: Evgeni Malkin...he has played better than I expected and really come on lately. Still takes way too many games/plays off
Adams: Alain Vignault...Vancouver does not have much talent and the fact that he has got some of those guys to buy into the system has been amazing to me. Too bad they will fall off in the second half and he will get no consideration and the end of the year, but for the first half he has done wonders.

Playoff Projections
Eastern Conference
1. Buffalo
2. New Jersey
3. Atlanta
4. Carolina
5. Ottawa
6. Montreal
7. Tampa Bay
8. N.Y. Rangers

Western Conference
1. Anaheim
2. Nashville
3. Calgary
4. San Jose
5. Detroit
6. Dallas
7. Minnesota
8. Vancouver

Stanley Cup Finals
Calgary over Buffalo

A certain somebody is going to take issue with that Crosby for Hart take...I've just got this feeling.

I resisted to pick Crosby when you think of the collection of talented young players developing with him. Crosby is playing well beyond his years but hard to say he's any more valuable than Ovechkin is to Washington considering he has less of a supporting cast and they are so close to each other in the standings...both teams are on the fringe of making the playoffs but no guarantees either club will. I'm sure Washington and Pittsburgh will be perennial playoff teams within one or two years with those two leading the way. Once Backstrom comes over from Sweden to be Ovechkin's linemate...I think his numbers will go up even more.

The MVP debate is really no different than in any other sport. I see it going to the player who is most responsible for their team's success and if they were hypothetically taken off the team, the team would suffer. To me, no team benefits from the play of one player more than the Devils. I didn't see this team leading their division and sitting in the top 10 in the league standings considering what they had on paper. The fact they have such a weak offense, their defense is pretty thin once you go beyond Rafalski and White, and the sure strength of Brodeur's numbers...I think he's a no-brainer for the Hart Trophy right now. I was getting ready to do declare Hasek the leader at the All-Star break before I broke down what he's got in front of him in Detroit compared to what Brodeur has in front of him in Jersey. When I've got the Norris Trophy going to a Wings defenseman, that pretty much eliminates Hasek from the argument although he's gotta be a top 5 choice right now for MVP given how well he's played.

If I put together a top 5 for the Hart right now, it would probably be:
1. Brodeur
2. Ovechkin
3. Crosby
4. Hasek
5. Luongo

When this is game has turned back towards offense, quality goaltending is even more valuable and it's hard to pick against a goalie on a team lacking in offense as the MVP right now.

Shoalzie wrote:A certain somebody is going to take issue with that Crosby for Hart take...I've just got this feeling.

Which makes it all the more fun to type. :D

Ovechkin plays with the quality players the he has in Washington. Crosby rarely plays with Malkin. I think both have shown that last year was only the start of their careers and that they will continue to improve the teams and teammates. For me Crosby has enough more points and in fewer games and Pittsburgh look like they are making a push for the play-offs, while Washington looks to be falling out of the race that it is clearly Crosby over Ovechkin.

I would rank it as:

1. Crosby
2. Brodeur
3. Niedermeyer

I would have Iginla third had he not been injured. Watching him play this year he has been great and although Kipper has been great as well, he is not playing at the level that he previously has and the Flames defense has been awful at times this year. The Flames have shown they can win without Iginla but when he was playing he was carrying this team throughout much of the season and at times just not letting them lose games.

It is amazing to me that although not playing as well as he has the past two seasons that Kiprusoff is still the second best goalie in the league and it is only because of the second best goalie of all-time having an unreal season that he isn't the top goalie in the league.

Oh ya, Hasek sucks and if there was a god he would not only blow out both of his knees but die as well. :twisted:

Major Awards
Hart: Crosby - He won't be an MVP if the Pens team don't make the playoff. If they fall short see my Venzina my choice.
Vezina: Luongo or Kipper. Which ever wins the NW Divison
Norris: Pronger should, the man is a horse. However he will split votes with Nieds and Lidstrom will win
Calder: Kopitar has played more games but with less talent... Who am I kidding, Malkin will win
Adams: Gretzky if the Yotes can keep doing what they are doing.


Fleecing of the year: Bertuzzi for Luongo. Bertuzzi was hurt all season and is a UFA at the end of the year.
(Pronger for Smid, Lupul & two 1st rounders is also bad but lets see how the kids develop)