Award Time!

Tonight is the NHL Awards ceremony, and I would have to say that of all the major four sports, hockey is the one that makes the biggest deal out of handing out awards.  After all, where else would you see a red carpet-like show for any of the other major sports.  Baseball takes forever to hand out all its awards, and football and basketball hand those out during the playoffs.  Hockey?  It waits a week until after the playoffs are over and has one big party.  So, who wins the trophies?  Well, I will try my hand (again) at predicting who walks away with what trophy, so without further ado, here we go:

BRIDGESTONE MESSIER LEADERSHIP AWARD: This award is fairly new to the mix, and is given "to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season."  It would hard to argue with Zdeno Chara winning this award, but I think Nicklas Lidstrom will win this one in a narrow vote between the two, with Shane Doan a distant third.

TED LINDSAY AWARD: Previously known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, this is the MVP as voted by the players.  Steven Stamkos will likely finish third in the voting, while Corey Perry and Daniel Sedin will duke it out for the award.  Ultimately, Perry should come out on top, since Sedin had some help along the way.

BILL MASTERTON TROPHY: This is the trophy given to the player that best exemplifies perseverance in the face of adversity.  Ray Emery, Daymond Langkow, and Ian Laperriere are all deserving candidates, but I give the trophy to Emery.

JACK ADAMS AWARD: This is the coaches' trophy.  Barry Trotz is the only coach Nashville has ever known, and deserves a lot of credit for perhaps the best Predators team since its inaugural year.  Dan Bylsma deserves credit for keeping the Penguins together in the face of injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but this trophy belongs to Alain Vigneault, and the numbers the Canucks put up in the regular season point to that.

FRANK SELKE TROPHY:  The best defensive forward gets this trophy.  This has to be Ryan Kesler's year.  He was the Canucks' Mr. Everything, and should have been the Hart Trophy candidate for Vancouver.  However, Pavel Datsyuk has won this trophy before, and won't give it up without a fight.  And don't discount Jonathan Toews, who is the captain of the Blackhawks for a reason.

LADY BYNG TROPHY: The most gentlemanly player, and often the one who stays out of the penalty box the most.  Loui Eriksson faces an uphill battle, as Nicklas Lidstrom and Martin St. Louis have won this trophy before.  St. Louis for the repeat.

CALDER TROPHY: Rookie of the year, but only if you're 26 and under, otherwise known as the "Sergei Makarov rule."  Michael Grabner posted 34 goals for the Islanders, and would be my pick, solely based on the fact that he's an ex-Canuck.  However, Logan Couture had a better all around year, as did Jeff Skinner, who should cap off his all-star year with the Calder.  Safe money is on Skinner.

NORRIS TROPHY: How can this year not have Zdeno Chara's name next to the Norris Trophy?  The best player on the blue line, even though Lidstrom had his usual great year, and Shea Weber was the rock on the Pred's blue line.

VEZINA TROPHY:  Again, this should be a no-brainer.  Tim Thomas was the Bruins' best player all year, and the Conn Smythe is proof of his playoff greatness.  Roberto Luongo had a great regular season, as did Pekka Rinne, but Thomas walks with his second Vezina in three seasons.

HART TROPHY: Martin St. Louis was the engine that made the Tampa Bay Lightning go, but he faces long odds here.  Daniel Sedin was the Canucks' best offensive player, but this year belongs to Corey Perry.