The Blackhawks not only missed out on the playoffs last season, but the NHL’s big awards too. What will happen this season? Let’s dive into Second City Hockey’s staff predictions for the NHL’s biggest annual individual honors.
Taylor Hall came out of nowhere and won the Hart Trophy in 2018 with 39 goals and 93 points for the Devils — 41 more than his next closest teammate for the widest margin in the NHL since 2007-08. Hall beat out Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Kings center Anze Kopitar for the award. Last year’s finalists aren’t receiving any love as names like Nikita Kucherov (Lightning), Connor McDavid (Edmonton) and John Tavares (Maple Leafs) are dominating the discussion.
There are some familiar faces among the picks with a few surprises. Victor Hedman (Lightning), Erik Karlsson (Sharks) and P.K. Subban (Predators) are all picked to win another Norris Trophy, while goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (Jets) is a near unanimous pick to win the Vezina Trophy. Jets head coach Paul Maurice received two votes for Jack Adams, and the staff is split between winger Andrei Svechnikov (Hurricanes) and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres) for the Calder Trophy. The biggest surprise is no one picked Patrice Bergeron (Bruins) to win a record fifth Selke Trophy.
Here are the full picks for the SCH staff. Share your picks in the comments!
SCH’s 2018-19 NHL award picks
| Voter | Hart | Art Ross | Norris | Selke | Vezina | Calder | Rocket Richard | Jack Adams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Repplinger | Connor McDavid | Evgeni Malkin | Victor Hedman | Ryan O’Reilly | Connor Hellebuyck | Andrei Svechnikov | Evgeni Malkin | Rick Tocchet |
| Brandon Cain | Nikita Kucherov | Connor McDavid | Victor Hedman | Aleksander Barkov | Connor Hellebuyck | Andrei Svechnikov | Patrik Laine | Bob Boughner |
| Dave Melton | John Tavares | Connor McDavid | Erik Karlsson | Sean Couturier | Sergei Bobrovsky | Rasmus Dahlin | Alex Ovechkin | Paul Maurice |
| Nick Rogers | John Tavares | Patrik Laine | PK Subban | Anze Kopitar | Connor Hellebuyck | Rasmus Dahlin | Connor McDavid | Paul Maurice |