Hutch's Hockey: Midseason Awards

It's a little earlier than in previous seasons, but it's a great time for my annual midseason awards picks. The NHL is a little light for the week ahead with the holiday break, though the days where there are games are packed pretty well. Normally, it takes me a little longer to build a strong opinion for awards, but there have been clear standouts in most areas even though we're a couple weeks away from the official midpoint. 

Due to the short week ahead, it'll be a bit of a shorter waiver-wire list for this week. Those recommendations are at the bottom -- if you need a move now, check there and then come back up for the awards talk. 

First up, it's the Hart Trophy for the league's MVP. There's four obvious leaders so far -- Nathan MacKinnon, Kirill Kaprizov, Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov. All are playing in peak form, with 100-point campaigns on the horizon. The difference here will hinge on the value part. Kaprizov is far and away the best player on his team, while each of the other three have a linemate or multiple teammates who are arguably just as valuable. Kaprizov is 19 points clear of his next closest teammate (Matt Boldy). I got it wrong on the Wild in preseason, but I'm not discounting them now, and Kaprizov's career-year pace is a big reason I've changed my position on the team. 

The Calder Trophy is just as exciting of a race. Once again, I can narrow it down to four strong candidates, with goalie Dustin Wolf joining Logan Stankoven, Matvei Michkov and Macklin Celebrini. When it comes to Rookie of the Year, I'm still backing Michkov. Celebrini has made this a closer battle than I thought it would be, with 23 points over 24 contests. Michkov, however, has 27 points in 32 appearances and has overcome the challenge of head coach John Tortorella's brand of accountability. Only one can win the award, but both have extremely bright futures ahead as the cornerstones of their franchises' respective rebuilds. As for now, there's one other rookie to keep an eye on in Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, but his all-around game hasn't risen to the level of being a major Calder contender yet. 

The Norris Trophy battle for top defenseman looks as it has in recent years. Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes lead the way, and Zach Werenski and Josh Morrissey have a good chance of competing for the third finalist spot. Hughes is the reigning winner, and both he and Makar have one Norris win to their names, though that number is likely to rise for both of them over the next decade. For now, I'd give a slight edge to Hughes, but this figures to be one of the closest races in the league. If they stay healthy, both Hughes and Makar have realistic chances for 100-point seasons. 

Between the pipes, Connor Hellebuyck is once again the early favorite for the Vezina. He's always in the conversation, but this year, he's been a pillar of the Jets' early success, earning 21 wins in his first 27 starts. It's not just cheap victories either -- he leads qualified goalies with a 2.07 GAA and a a .927 save percentage, and he also leads the league with four shutouts. He has the results and the workload to be the midseason leader, and he has the track record to make it believable that he can sustain those numbers. The Wild's Filip Gustavsson has often been second-best this season, and goalies like Linus Ullmark, Anthony Stolarz and Jacob Markstrom have strong cases as well, though none as ironclad as Hellebuyck's. 

For defensive forwards, there's the Selke Trophy. This comes with the annual caveat that I'm not a particularly strong evaluator of defensive skill. That said, I don't need to be a genius to appreciate Aleksander Barkov's work. While a lot of advanced stats are a product of team success as much as individual abilities, Barkov's long been an obvious driver of play in the right direction. This year, when he's on the ice, the Panthers take 62 percent of shot attempts and 62.6 percent of unblocked shot attempts. That team-based angle also lends itself to strong cases for Hurricanes forwards, namely Sebastian Aho, to get Selke consideration. The Oilers' system has also worked well despite mixed results for the team this year. Another measure brought up in Selke talk is faceoff success, and that's one more feather in Barkov's cap. Among players who have taken at least 200 draws this season, Barkov ranks third with a 61.3 percent win rate. 

For the Lady Byng, which is the award for gentlemanly play, there's also a clear leader. Anze Kopitar is above a point-per-game pace for the first time since 2017-18, and he's also yet to take a penalty through 34 games this season. Rarely does a non-notable player win the Lady Byng. Kopitar's won it twice before, and while there are other solid candidates like the Vegas duo of Mark Stone and William Karlsson, a lot can change over the rest of the campaign. 

Finally, the last award I'll offer an opinion on is the Jack Adams Award for the top coach of the year. I'm bringing it back around to the Wild here as well, as it's time to give John Hynes his due respect. My large criticism of the Wild came from the fact that their roster is under significant cap pressure. They have the highest percentage of dead cap space, and yet Hynes has his team in second in Central Division. He's gotten the best results under less-than ideal circumstances, and that should be rewarded. I also have time to listen on cases for Scott Arniel, Jim Hiller, Sheldon Keefe and Spencer Carbery. The world of coaching can be challenging though -- only two of the last 10 Jack Adams winners are still with the team they coached when they won, and one of those is last year's winner, Vancouver's Rick Tocchet. 

For a couple of fantasy-specific awards, I'll keep it quick here. Kiefer Sherwood is doing some historic work in the hits category -- he's at 198 through 33 games, giving him a good chance at the first official 400-hit season in NHL history. The stat has only officially been tracked since 2005-06, but Sherwood's pace is remarkable at over six per game. As for blocked shots, Chris Tanev leads the way with 99, eight ahead of Rasmus Andersson. Tanev is a one-category guy in fantasy while Andersson is a bit more well-rounded, but both are excellent in the pinnacle of defensive effort. 

Now, to the waiver wire. Again, a short week means a shorter list. First up is a quick reminder for managers in shallow leagues to check on Patrik Laine. He's been a power-play superhero since making his season debut, netting eight goals with the man advantage over nine games. He's added one even-strength assist and 33 shots on net. That scoring pace won't last, but Laine will be motivated when he returns to Columbus for the first time Monday. A big game there will likely mean his rostered rate will move closer to the 80-plus-percent area that it should be at, as opposed to the 62 percent mark he's holding as of Sunday afternoon. 

Remember Shane Pinto? He didn't have a point between Oct. 22 and Dec. 11, missing eight games due to injury in that span while going scoreless in 15 appearances. The 24-year-old has bounced back in a big way, with five goals and an assist over his last six games. I don't like that he's stuck in a third-line role, but he's on the second power-play unit and he's still young enough to be on the upswing. Pinto may not be consistent, but the Senators' offense is deeper than in previous years, and he could always move up if injuries occur in the top six. 

There's no reason for a member of the Jets' top line to be available in over half of leagues. Gabriel Vilardi fits that bill, free for the savvy manager in 52 percent of Yahoo's pools. Sure, he stumbled a bit late in November, but slumps happen. The Jets have rarely mixed lines, and Vilardi has looked just fine playing alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. With 11 points, including five on the power play, over his last nine games, Vilardi is entering must-have territory for any manager in need of pure offense. Only an injury could slow him down, and while that's a real risk for a player with a career high of 63 games in a season, the reward outweighs the risk. 

Owen Power remains on the fantasy fringe, but I'm willing to pick him up. The Sabres are a mess -- there's no denying that. What they do have is three talented blueliners that all coexist fairly well. Power has racked up seven points over his last eight contests, and he's added 18 shots on goal and 15 blocked shots in that span. Much of it has come with Rasmus Dahlin battling a back issue, and while the team is taking a cautious approach with the injury, the risk of the issue persisting is a threat. Power can do enough on his own, but if he's asked to do more, the results on offense should be impressive. Remember, his recent hot stretch has come during Buffalo's 13-game slide. 

For deep leagues, Nick Seeler continues to do just enough for consideration. He's earned five points over nine games in December, which isn't too bad considering his third-pairing role on a team with a middling offense. Seeler's three points shy of his career high with 11 through 29 contests this season. He's added 75 blocked shots, 32 hits and 14 PIM, so he's not short on the rough stuff. 

In goal, Ilya Samsonov may not return immediate value, but it's worth keeping an eye on his production. Over the last month, he's started six of 14 games, winning five of them with a 2.80 GAA and an .899 save percentage in that span. Samsonov's ratios were inflated by a six-goal disaster in his lone loss. Overall, he has a lot of things for fantasy managers to like, namely a strong team in front of him and a defense that can limit his workload. At the least, he's a streaming option when he gets the nod. 

That's all for this week. For those who celebrate any upcoming holidays, I wish you a wonderful season filled with peace and relaxation. I'll be back to a more standard Hutch's Hockey edition next week just in time for the 2025 portion of this season's schedule.