This week in sports has been nothing short of exciting, between the NBA draft, the start of CFL football, the NHL draft, and most importantly, the NHL awards. I was lucky enough to be there live, in Las Vegas to take in the awards and all the excitement that came with it.
I met a multitude of inspiring individuals, including Flames stalwart #1 centre Sean Monahan, entertainment reporter, American model and the cover girl of the famed Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue Camille Kostek, and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, Kevin Weekes of the NHL network. This man spent a genuine and thoughtful 20 minutes after the awards to talk with me, and sparked up a conversation with me through Instagram after I sent him a thank you message for his time. I mean, this guy took the time out of his extremely busy schedule, chatted with me for twenty minutes, and after a long, tiring trip, he still found the energy to reply to my thank you instagram text with a wonderful 20 second voice message that I will never forget. You don’t know how that makes an 11 year old who is obsessed with hockey feel. He’s forever made an impact on my life, and that message will be something I will always cherish. I mean, I had absolutely no relation with him before, and to do something like that really shows that this man is a special person.
Now let’s get down to business and talk about these awards. Let’s start with the biggest award (aside from the Stanley Cup), the Hart trophy. While I agree that Kucherov had a monster season with Tampa Bay, I have to disagree with this one, because the man who really deserved this is Crosby. He single-handedly led an injury-riddled, aging Penguins squad to a playoff berth, and even though they got swept in the first round, the description of the award is the player judged most valuable to his team, not necessarily the best player. So who would win? A player that got carried by his teammates to a 128 point season, or a player that carried his team on his back to a playoff berth they definitely could not have achieved without him? I’m choosing the latter choice all day. Oh, and if you’re wondering why Mcdavid didn’t win it, don’t. He had a weak roster, just like Crosby, yet he didn’t even get close to the playoffs, whereas Crosby did.
Now, let’s talk goalkeepers, the brave individuals who throw themselves in front of a plastic object being fired at them at 100mph on a nightly basis. Even though we all know the sentimental choice was Robin Lehner, after battling through depression and substance abuse, as much as I hate to admit it, the NHL got this one right. Vasilevskiy faced 1713 shots this year, and still managed a save percentage of 925% and a GAA of 2.40, while managing 6 shutouts, good for a tie for 4th in the league. This keeper has been the backbone of a very offensive minded, 80's style Oilers team, while the other two goalies nominated, Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner, were playing on very tight, defensive minded teams.
And the final award I’m going to analyze, the Norris trophy, wasn’t a hard choice at all. If you’re against Giordano winning, I suggest that you watch a Flames game and watch all the little things Giordano does for this hockey club. He doesn’t have Burns’ shot, or Hedman’s flashy Swedish-ness, but he does do all the little things, all the dirty work for a team that would not be where they are now without the work of Mark Giordano. What do I know, though? I’m just an eleven year old aspiring GM.
Leave a comment if you disagree (or agree) with my opinions on the awards this year.
See you next time,
Johnny.