(UPDATE 8:31 PM)- MacLean fell short in the Jack Adams vote and Pacioretty took the Masterton. Daniel Alfredsson will not go home empty handed as he was awarded the King Clancy Award for leadership and community contribution.
(UPDATE 7:13 PM)- The Professional Hockey Writer's Association got it right! After an outstanding season, Erik Karlsson has been named the league's best defenceman and been awarded the Norris Trophy. Incredible couple days for the kid!
Tonight the NHL will hold its annual awards event in Las Vegas.
Unlike past years, where most Sens fans would be tuning in to see the scintillating musical styling’s of whatever B-List Canadian rock group was scheduled to perform (NICKLEBACK!) , tonight we tune in to see which of our guys will be taking home the hardware.
- Jack Adams Award
The Jack Adams Award is an annual award presented by the National Hockey League Broadcasters' Association to the NHL coach judged to have contributed the most to his team's success.
Nominees: Ken Hitchcock, John Tortorella, Paul MacLean
Who Should Win: Paul MacLean
There is no doubt in my mind that Paul MacLean deserves to win. Taking over a team that finished bottom 5 in league standings one year prior and were pegged to finish even lower this season was not going to be a simple task. Paul MacLean came in from day one and vowed that this team would get better one day at a time, and start to build a foundation on winning and putting in hard work. The fact that they even made the playoffs, let alone taking the first place New York Rangers to 7 games was an incredible feat all based off of the mentality that MacLean put in place from the second he was hired to turn this club around. If you’re looking for a guy who “contributed the most to his team’s success” look no further than Paul MacLean.
Who Will Win: Hitchcock
He’s a 4 time nominee who led a pretty likeable Blues team to their first 100pt season. He’s been around a long time and did a pretty solid job getting the most out of his players. He did such a good job instituting a defensive system in St. Louis that Brian Elliot actually looked like a potential Vezina nominee for the majority of the season (until the playoffs when he turned back into a pumpkin).
- James Norris Memorial Trophy
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.
Nominees: Zdeno “Not Wade Redden” Chara, Shea “Beard of the year” Weber, Erik “45.5 Million Dollar Man” Karlsson
Who Should Win: Erik Karlsson
He put up 78 pts. He’s 22. He’s a Defenseman. He has the physical build of a 14 year old girl. AND HE STILL DOMINATED. Karlsson was unstoppable this season to the point that looking at defensive scoring
stats became a joke about half way through the season. His ability to play to his strengths and have a solid and reliable strategy to manage his weaknesses made him a dangerous player to play against. And for all of you who say he can’t play defence, if you dig a little deeper you will see that this simply isn’t the case.
Who Will Win: Shea Weber
Weber seems to be the golden boy among the writers that vote for this award. It seems like every single writer has already decided that Erik Karlsson is the world’s worst defender because he isn’t a 6`5 behemoth who crushes people to the ice whenever they cross the blueline. If you are looking for a well-around defenseman, on the surface Weber is your guy, but dig a little deeper and Karlsson is the obvious choice.
- Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is an annual award under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is given to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
Nominees: Joffrey “Don’t Call me Jeffrey” Lupul, Max “Movie Critic” Pacioretty, Daniel “Motherf***ing” Alfredsson
Who Should Win: Max Pacioretty
The guy almost got his head ripped off by arguably the most terrifying physical presence in the NHL. Zdeno Chara almost killed this guy and Pacioretty came back this to have the best season of his career and lead the Montreal Canadiens in scoring.
Who Will Win: Max Pacioretty
Pacioretty will probably end up taking this award home because when looking at the ballot, his reason for being on it is probably the only one that is immediately obvious. Everyone knows why he is on the list, and everyone knows what he went through to be there. Patches take this one hands down.
So those are my thoughts on how the awards concerning the Senators will play out tonight. Let me know in the comments section who you think will win and why, or send me a note @TomSENS on twitter!
