Awards Review

There are some that I want to quibble about.

Hart: Corey Perry

Of the finalists, I liked Perry, too. But I would've cast Tim Thomas in first and put Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Toews in there somewhere, too.

Selke: Ryan Kesler

Total joke. I know Kesler is elite defensively (as shown by Vigneault putting him against top lines during the playoffs, even in Malhotra's absence), but he wasn't asked to play much defense this season. Datsyuk was a total stud but missed time, and Toews was more deserving as well, playing borderline top-line competition. I had Callahan as my pick.

Vezina: Tim Thomas

Legit.

Lindsay: Daniel Sedin

Weak class this year, so I won't argue much here. I think Daniel Sedin is better than Henrik Sedin, and although I think Corey Perry is a better player, the difference isn't all that big (the guys in the class of players above the Sedins and Perry all had various issues, like Crosby with injury, Backstrom and Ovechkin with an ineffective power play, etc).

Calder: Jeff Skinner

I would've picked Grabner, Skinner, Couture, but all three were good choices. John Carlson would've been a better choice, though. Oh, well.

GM of the Year: Mike Gillis (VAN)

I guess this is okay--he did construct a great roster. Peter Chiarelli (BOS) probably would be my pick, though, for his aggressive dealings throughout the season, especially at the deadline, which obviously proved successful (hindsight is a beautiful thing).

Norris: Nicklas Lidstrom

I had Lidstrom second behind Chara, but Lidstrom is one of my favorite non-Caps, so I'm not mad about this at all. Chara's now won an undeserved Norris (2009) and lost a deserved one (2011).

Adams: Dan Bylsma

Good pick. Being short two of your vaunted three centers almost the entire year (I think the Winter Classic was the only game for which all three were healthy) and putting up the best underlying numbers and getting close to winning the conference is quite the accomplishment.

All-Rookie Team: G Corey Crawford, D John Carlson, D PK Subban, C Jeff Skinner, C Logan Couture, LW Michael Grabner

Solid picks here. In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky and Michal Neuvirth would have been fine choices as well, and on defense, Cam Fowler and Kevin Shattenkirk, too. But I think they got this one right.

First All-Star Team: LW Daniel Sedin, C Henrik Sedin, RW Corey Perry, D Nicklas Lidstrom, D Shea Weber, G Tim Thomas

Second All-Star Team: LW Alex Ovechkin, C Steven Stamkos, RW Martin St. Louis, D Zdeno Chara, D Lubomir Visnovsky, G Pekka Rinne

I would've swapped Weber with Chara; otherwise, these look fine. Jarome Iginla (43-43-86 in 82), Teemu Selanne (31-49-80 in 73), Henrik Zetterberg (24-56-80 in 80), Jonathan Toews (32-44-76 in 80), Claude Giroux (25-51-76 in 82), and Ryan Getzlaf (19-57-76 in 67) all had strong seasons as well (all but the Sedins and Ovechkin played power-against-power in some form, most against top lines). In fact, Toews' rate stats are very close to the Sedins' at 5v5.