Tonight is the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show starts at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBCSN. Representing the Boston Bruins tonight as nominees will be Patrice Bergeron for the Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) and Bruce Cassidy for the Jack Adams Trophy (best coach).
Bergeron is a Selke finalist for a record seventh consecutive year and is going for his fifth win, which would pass Bob Gainey for the most since the award was presented in 1978. Bergeron is not as convincingly the winner this time around, but he certainly makes a strong case. At this point, it really should be renamed the Bergeron award because he embodies everything the award stands for.
He’s up against some tough competition with Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier and Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar. Despite Couturier having a +34 rating, Bergy should win this award. Only way he doesn’t is if the games he missed end up getting held against him.
If this was any other year, Cassidy would win the Jack Adams. In his first full year as head coach of the B’s he overhauled the offensive system and was able to successfully implement young guys into the lineup. With a record of 50-20-12 (112 points), Cassidy coached the Bruins to fourth in the NHL standings.
However, there’s no way that Gerard Gallant doesn’t win this award. Gallant took an expansion team of misfits to the Stanley Cup Finals. He coached his team to a 51-24-7 (109 points) record which was good enough to win the Pacific Division.
Here are predictions for all of the other awards from me and Bruins Insider Jimmy Murphy.
Vezina Trophy (Best goalie): Connor Hellebuyck, Pekka Rinne, Andrei Vasilevskiy
Marinofsky: Pekka Rinne
Murphy: Connor Hellebuyck
Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward): Patrice Bergeron, Anze Kopitar, Sean Couturier
Marinofsky: Patrice Bergeron
Murphy: Anze Kopitar
Norris Trophy (Best defenseman): Victor Hedman, P.K. Subban, Drew Doughty
Marinofsky: Victor Hedman
Murphy: Victor Hedman
Lady Byng Trophy (Skill and gentlemanly play): Aleksander Barkov, William Karlsson, Ryan O’Reilly
Marinofsky: William Karlsson
Murphy: William Karlsson
Masterton Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship, dedication to hockey): Brian Boyle, Jordan Staal, Roberto Luongo
Marinofsky: Brian Boyle
Murphy: Brian Boyle
Calder Trophy (Best rookie): Mathew Barzal, Brock Boeser, Clayton Keller
Marinofsky: Mathew Barzal
Murphy: Brock Boeser
Messier Trophy (Leadership): Wayne Simmonds, Deryk Engelland, Blake Wheeler
Marinofsky: Deryk Engelland
Murphy: Deryk Engelland
Jack Adams Award (Best coach): Bruce Cassidy, Gerard Gallant, Jared Bednar
Marinofsky: Gerard Gallant
Murphy: Gerard Gallant
Ted Lindsay Award (NHLPA MVP): Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall, Nathan MacKinnon
Marinofsky: Connor McDavid
Murphy: Connor McDavid
Hart Trophy (MVP): Taylor Hall, Nathan MacKinnon, Anze Kopitar
Marinofsky: Taylor Hall
Murphy: Nathan MacKinnon
King Clancy Award (Humanitarian honor): Daniel & Henrik Sedin, P.K. Subban, Jason Zucker
Marinofsky: Daniel Sedin & Henrik Sedin
Murphy: Daniel Sedin & Henrik Sedin
General Manager of the Year: George McPhee, Steve Yzerman, Kevin Cheveldayoff
Marinofsky: George McPhee
Murphy: George McPhee
