NHL 'Olympic Break Awards'

Yesterday, we went on a trip around the National Hockey League to see where everything stands at the Olympic break. Now, we are going to have some fun and give out our “Olympic Break Awards.” We’ll break down who deserves the big four traditional postseason awards at this point in the season. There is about 30% of the regular-season schedule remaining, so it will be fun to watch how these award races shake out between now and mid-April.

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player)

This season’s Hart Trophy field is wide open, but many of the usual suspects are in the running. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Nikita Kucherov are the favorites. Macklin Celebrini has joined the conversation with his 81 points. When the San Jose Sharks were in a playoff spot a couple of weeks ago, the second-year pro had a good case, but they have since fallen off the pace. If he can drag a flawed team into the postseason, he will get a ton of votes, but that is going to be an extremely difficult feat to pull off.

My pick for the Olympic break Hart winner is Kucherov. He leads the league with 62 assists and is only five points behind McDavid for the overall NHL lead in scoring. The Lightning only have three players who have dressed in all 55 games, but Kucherov has them tied for the most points in the Eastern Conference. He has more multi-point games (31) than games with one or no points (21). The Russian star has 12 games with at least three points, six with at least four, and one five-point game. He went nine straight games with at least two points from Dec. 22 until Jan. 12.

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)

Every season, the need for a defenseman who can be a major offensive contributor becomes more vital to success. That is why the Blackhawks selected Artyom Levshunov second overall in 2024. Seven of the eight leading scorers among defensemen are on teams that are in a playoff spot. While Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers leads all blueliners with 63, I don’t consider him a Norris favorite because he lacks a solid defensive game. The same can be said of Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens, who is third with 58 points. They are both terrific players, but I want my Norris winner to be more effective in their own end of the ice.

To me, the three best overall defensemen in the NHL right now are Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild, and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. For my money, Werenski is the Norris Trophy winner heading into the Olympic break. He is putting his team on his back and has them back in contention for playoff. He’s not just doing it offensively, but in all three zones of the ice and all three facets of the game.

Calder Trophy (Best Rookie)

This season’s crop of rookies is extremely talented. Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov leads all rookies with 34 assists and 46 points. Beckett Sennecke is showing why the Anaheim Ducks took him ahead of Demidov. He’s tied for the rookie lead in goals with Oliver Kapanen, another Canadiens rookie sensation, with 18. He’s second in rookie points with 44. As great as that duo has been, they are still behind New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer.

Schaefer was the consensus number one pick of last June’s draft, and he might even be better than advertised. What he’s doing as an 18-year-old is impressive. What he’s doing as an 18-year-old defenseman is nearly unheard of. He’s third in rookie goals (16), assists (23), and points (39). He is a big reason the Islanders are in a playoff spot at the Olympic break and will be a superstar for years to come.

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)

With Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets having a disappointing season, the race for the Vezina Trophy is wide open. Brandon Bussi has come out of nowhere to become the Hurricanes’ top netminder. He’s started his career with a 23-3-1 record, and his 2.16 goals-against average (GAA) is second in the NHL. Another young goaltender, Jesper Wallstedt of the Wild, got off to a great start. He’s sixth in the NHL with a .914 save percentage (SV%) and tied for the second-most shutouts with four. The Avalanche’s Makenzie Blackwood has a strong case with a 2.25 GAA and .916 SV%, but he may have missed too many games due to injury. That leaves us with Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning.

The Lightning are atop the Atlantic Division by accident, and their future Hall of Fame netminder is a big part of their success. It’s crazy to think that some people were starting to write him off after the 2023-24 season when he “struggled” with a 2.90 GAA and .900 SV%. He currently leads the league in wins (27) and GAA (2.11) and is second in SV% (.920). He’s my pick for the Vezina at the Olympic break and should win his second award at the end of the season.