Why Bruins Should ‘Clean Up’ NHL End Of Season Awards
The Bruins should win several awards this summer
The Bruins are in the midst of a magical season.
They have been dominant from the first game of the season, when they defeated the Washington Capitals 5-2 on the road. And they weren’t supposed to be dominant, they were supposed simply tread water while Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk rehabbed from offseason surgery.
The Black and Gold obviously didn’t get the memo and went 8-1-0 in the first month of the season and they continued to climb, suffering their first loss at home on Dec. 5 to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and it was a shootout loss, not even regulation. The first regulation home loss didn’t come until the calendar year flipped with the Seattle Kraken shutting out the Bruins 3-0 on TD Garden Ice.
Aside from all the team accolades of being the fastest team to 30 wins, and then 50 wins and then the fastest team to 100 points; the Bruins have had individual performances that according to Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, should have the Bruins clean up the end of season awards.
Let’s take a look at some of those awards.
Norris Trophy
Most of the NHL experts are picking Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks to take the trophy home simply because he’s been the most productive offensively. The veteran defenseman has 98 points, but is a minus-16 so if the award is supposed to be for all-around play at the position then Hampus Lindholm should be in the discussion. Lindholm has 51 points and is a plus-46. Unfortunately, the voters don’t even have Lindholm as one of the finalists.
Charlie McAvoy (+6000) and Hampus Lindholm (+20000) have the seventh and tenth best odds, respectively, to win the award, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Selke Trophy
There is no doubt that Patrice Bergeron should win his record-setting sixth Selke Trophy with his faceoff percentage above 60% and plus/minus of plus-33.
Jack Adams Award
Setting the NHL record for most wins for a first-year coach (59) and leading the Bruins behind the bench for their historical season is the reason Jim Montgomery should and will win the Jack Adams Award. Montgomery was the odds leader at DraftKings Sportsbook before they pulled the odds.
Jim Gregory GM of the Year
It’s hard to even consider anyone other than Don Sweeney for this award. He traded Erik Haula to the New Jersey Devils for Pavel Zacha, he re-signed Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci on team friendly contracts. At the trade deadline he brought in Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals for Craig Smith and then snagged Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings in a move no one saw coming. Not one other GM pulled off what Sweeney has pulled off.
Vezina Trophy
No shock here, Linus Ullmark should be the runaway favorite to win this year’s trophy. Leading the league in wins (38), save percentage (.937) and goals against average (1.90), Ullmark checks off all the boxes and should win his first ever Vezina for top goalie in the league. He leads the way at both FanDuel (-4000) and DraftKings (-3000).
Hart Trophy
There is no doubt Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid will win this award. With 62 goals and 147 points he will get the most first-place votes, and he should, however, you can make an argument that David Pastrnak could win the award simply because he has been the most productive player on the Bruins roster with 57 goals and 104 points. It is possible that McDavid wins the Hart Trophy and Pastrnak takes home the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player voted by the NHLPA. If not, the Lindsay award might be a lot closer in votes.
Individual accolades aside, the Bruins, as a team, have a mission and that is to win the Stanley Cup. In a seven game series, it’s hard to imagine any team besting them four times. They could be the first team since the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks to get past the Presidents’ Trophy curse.
