Monday 19 March 2012

Hart, Veizna, Calder OH MY!

What.A.Season the NHL has provided so far. It has had its fair share of ups and downs, surprises and let downs, but what has been one hot topic this season are who should take home the seasonal NHL awards. The Hart,  the Vezina and Calder are the ones i will be focusing on.

The Hart is the MVP of the NHL, awarded to the player who has been the most valuable to their franchise. The one player who has shown excellence and consistency towards the 82 long season. This has been a long and intriguing debate whether it should be Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Malkin or the young sniper Steven Stamkos. These players have been made some sparkling plays whether it be a Malkin dangle, a Stamkos snipe, or a Lundqvist glove save. These players have been a pleasure and a privilege to watch here is my selection to win the Hart Trophy
Henrik Lundqvist

There has not been a goalie on a roll like the King has been on. He his the heart Soul of the Rangers and gets that team moving. He leads the NHL in shutouts has 32 wins fourth on that list and is third in GAA wit ha 1.89 and is second on save percentage with a 934. percentage. The Rangers do not score a lot there offense is not the most fun to watch that's why King Henrik is as good as he is because having little offense has more meaning and more importance to have a goalie like Henrik who can  have the constancy to go night in and night out and have a stellar performance. He makes the Rangers legit Stanley Cup contenders right now and is the solo reason why he and the Broadway blue shirts are where they are.







    
The Calder: The Calder is handed out yearly to the player who has excelled the most in his first full NHL season. IMO there has been really 2 solid candidates Gabriel Landeskog and Adam Henrique. You could really make the argue that both could get the award but i don't think that would sit well so there can be only one and here is my thoughts.

I think Gabriel Landeskog has been deserved the Calder. He has kept Colorado in the playoff hunt and is leading the rookie scoring with 47 points (21 goals and 26 assists) and has 17 points in his last 16 games, where a year that many thought Oilers draft pick Ryan Nugent Hopkins would take home the Calder injuries has set back this young man, with that Landeskog has taken advantage and sprung into the scene and made his mark in the NHL.


Vezina:

The Vezina is rewarded to the most impressive goaltender of the NHL. In this current NHL goal tending  has been more important than it has ever been. So with that being said here is my nomination
Brian Elliot

Brian Elliot of the St Louis Blues is my pick for the Vezina he has been part of what has been a Cinderella story in leading the Blues to first in the Western Conference and atop the NHL with 100 points and clinching the NHLs first playoff birth this season and the first time since 2009. The defense minded Blues have made a believer out of many hockey fans and the main reason is the aforementioned Brian Elliot he leads the league in both GAA and save percentage so that shows he makes saves at the most key times. This season has been huge for Elliot who only a season before got chirped and called out on being inconsistent and not a winner when he played for Ottawa, but after moving to a much smaller market in Missouri the less media tension he has recovered has defiantly motivated him and put less pressure on the young goalie and it has resulted beautifully.  He will have to perform in the playoffs to keep his motivation alive.

those are my picks for those certain awards i hope you have an opinion on this.