You can tell a hockey fan is starved for hockey news when try actually blog about being excited for an annual awards show.  I’m not a big fan of any awards shows, but in this case, the NHL’s Las Vegas awards show might give me a 2 hour hockey fix.

Between the awards show, the latest on Jim Balsillie and Bryan Burke ripping Dany Heatley, I’m hoping its enough to tide us hockey fans before next weekend’s NHL Entry Draft in Montreal.  If not, we could always bring back Handshake-gate.

So anyways, with the NHL awards hours away and since we need to make up for some less-than-stellar Stanley Cup playoff picks, here’s my shot at predicting the award winners, without any noise (logic, reasoning, etc…).

What do your picks look  like?
 

Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player, voted by media)
Winner: Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Runners up: Pavel Datsyuk – Detroit Red Wings,  Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins

Vezina Trophy (goaltender of the year)
Winner: Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins
Runners up: Steve Mason – Columbus Blue Jackets, Niklas Backstrom – Minnesota Wild

Norris Trophy (defenseman of the year)
Winner:  Zdeno Chara – Boston Bruins
Runners up: Nicklas Lidstrom – Detroit Red Wings, Mike Green – Washington Captials

Calder Trophy (rookie of the year)
Winner: Steve Mason – Columbus Blue Jackets
Runners up: Bobby Ryan – Anaheim Ducks, Kris Versteeg – Chicago Blackhawks

Selke Trophy (best defensive forward)
Winner: Pavel Datsyuk – Detroit Red Wings
Runners up: Ryan Kessler – Vancouver Canucks, Mike Richards – Philadelphia Flyers

Jack Adams Trophy (coach of the year)
Winner: Todd Mclellan – San Jose Sharks
Runners up: Claude Julien – Boston Bruins, Andy Murray – St. Louis Blues 

Lady Byng Trophy (most sportsman player at an elite level)
Winner: Pavel Datsyuk – Detroit Red Wings
Runners up: Marty St. Louis – Tampa Bay Lightning, Zach Parise – New Jersey Devils

Lester B. Pearson Trophy (MVP, voted by players)
Winner: Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Runners up: Pavel Datsyuk – Detroit Red Wings,  Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins 

Bill Masterson Trophy (perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey)
Winner: Richard Zednik – Florida Panthers
Runners up: Steve Sullivan – Nashville Predators, Chris Chelios – Detroit Red Wings 

The most intriguing award of the night will be the Rookie of the Year; Bobby Ryan vs Steve Mason… though call.  Ultimately, Mason bailed out the Blue Jackets and got them into the playoffs.

Stay classy, NHL award ceremonies held in Las Vegas

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