Midseason NHL Awards Watch: Mackinnon, Makar, Rising Rookies & Vezina Toss-Up
As promised, it's time to take a look at which players have positioned themselves well for awards in the middle of the season. Anything can happen in the second half, but the players included here have done well to make an impression early on.
I'll get right into it with my midseason Hart Trophy pick, and Nathan MacKinnon is the one to get the nod in my eyes. He's been the best player overall throughout the season, and even though he's on the best team, he's still far above the rest. He's at 36 goals, 78 points, 205 shots on net and a plus-48 rating this season, leading or co-leading the NHL in all of those categories. It took until January for him to have a two-game stretch without a point, but he's also had 12 outings of at least three points. Connor McDavid is definitely in the conversation here, entering the new week on an 18-game point streak, as is Macklin Celebrini, who has elevated himself to superstar status as a 19-year-old.
Calder Trophy Race Bulldogs: Rookie Breakouts like Schaefer, Sennecke, Demidov
As usual, the rookie class is making a great impression this year. There are at least five players with legitimate cases for the Calder Trophy. Matthew Schaefer, the 2025 No. 1 pick, is still the favorite for me, but it's not by a wide margin. The fact that he's amassed 12 goals and 29
Midseason NHL Awards Watch: Mackinnon, Makar, Rising Rookies & Vezina Toss-Up
As promised, it's time to take a look at which players have positioned themselves well for awards in the middle of the season. Anything can happen in the second half, but the players included here have done well to make an impression early on.
I'll get right into it with my midseason Hart Trophy pick, and Nathan MacKinnon is the one to get the nod in my eyes. He's been the best player overall throughout the season, and even though he's on the best team, he's still far above the rest. He's at 36 goals, 78 points, 205 shots on net and a plus-48 rating this season, leading or co-leading the NHL in all of those categories. It took until January for him to have a two-game stretch without a point, but he's also had 12 outings of at least three points. Connor McDavid is definitely in the conversation here, entering the new week on an 18-game point streak, as is Macklin Celebrini, who has elevated himself to superstar status as a 19-year-old.
Calder Trophy Race Bulldogs: Rookie Breakouts like Schaefer, Sennecke, Demidov
As usual, the rookie class is making a great impression this year. There are at least five players with legitimate cases for the Calder Trophy. Matthew Schaefer, the 2025 No. 1 pick, is still the favorite for me, but it's not by a wide margin. The fact that he's amassed 12 goals and 29 points, as well as 115 shots on net, 62 blocked shots and a plus-9 rating as an 18-year-old defenseman is impressive. He's also averaging 23:58 of ice time, and it seemed to take maybe a week for him to earn top billing on the Islanders' blue line. That said, Beckett Sennecke and Ivan Demidov have been high-scoring wingers for their respective teams. Sennecke has 34 points and a minus-6 rating over 45 contests with the Ducks, while Demidov leads all rookies with 36 points and a plus-6 rating in 45 outings. If Schaefer fades in the second half, Sennecke's extra ice time (16:55 to 15:17 per game compared to Demidov) gives him the edge.
For the Norris Trophy, it's looking like Cale Makar's award to lose. Makar is up to 13 goals, 51 points and a plus-30 rating over 44 appearances this season, with only three other blueliners (Zach Werenski, Lane Hutson and Evan Bouchard) above the 40-point mark. Makar's excellence is well-known, but he's playing superb defense without sacrificing any offense. The Avalanche's potent scoring certainly helps, but Makar is more than pulling his weight. As long as he stays healthy, Makar earning the Norris is likely the safest bet.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's really no clear leader for the Vezina Trophy so far. Typically, the Vezina requires a strong mix of performance and workload, and that leaves me with a choice between Logan Thompson and Andrei Vasilevskiy at this stage of the season. Thompson has a 2.35 GAA and a .916 save percentage while going 16-12-4 in 32 games. Meanwhile, Andrei Vasilevskiy is at a 2.33 GAA and a .912 save percentage with an 18-7-2 record over 27 outings. In the end, the wins could be the difference, which gives Vasilevskiy a slight edge for now, though Ilya Sorokin or Filip Gustavsson could also push their way into the conversation.
When it comes to gentlemanly play, Jack Hughes is doing his part. He's been a point-per-game player (11 goals, 16 helpers in 27 games) and has yet to take a penalty this season. Through Sunday's action, only Vancouver's Liam Ohgren (31) and Toronto's Nicholas Robertson (42) have played in more games than Hughes without taking a penalty. However, there's a slight bias to big-name players, and Hughes fits the bill in that regard -- as long as he continues to behave himself on the ice amid a frustrating season for the Devils.
With Aleksander Barkov (knee) out and Anze Kopitar struggling this year, the race for the Selke Trophy is as wide open as it has been in years. This is an award I struggle with in this annual column. It boils down to faceoff success and possession numbers for me. On the faceoff side of things, Dylan Strome, John Tavares, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, J.T. Miller, Jonathan Toews, Auston Matthews and Bo Horvat have taken enough draws at a high enough win rate to get consideration. Meanwhile, the possession side of things has a lot of Hurricanes red on it, headlined by Sebastian Aho, but he's having a poorer year than usual at the dot. The Selke can sometimes manifest as an award to honor a strong career rather than just one season, so pencil me in for Tavares for now, but this is one that is very much up for grabs with the usual suspects out of contention.
Lastly, I'll weigh in on the Jack Adams. With how competitive this season has been, there's no shortage of deserving candidates. Keeping teams competitive through injuries or guiding a team to year-over-year improvement is a massive part of this award. However, sometimes you just need to go with whoever's pulling the strings for the best team in the league. The Avalanche are head-and-shoulders above everyone else, and while the talent on the roster is a big part of it, Jared Bednar has more than earned the right to be considered the top coach. He's also never won the award yet, despite manning the bench of a perennial contender this decade, so what better time than now to honor him?
Waiver Wire Standouts Boosting Fantasy Rosters Like Bertuzzi, Sourdif, Manson
Now to the waiver wire, where Tyler Bertuzzi is gaining momentum. Bertuzzi has rattled off four goals and three assists over six games to start January. Now that Connor Bedard is back from a shoulder injury, the Blackhawks' offense should grow stronger, and Bertuzzi will be a big part of that as well. The winger has already matched his goal total from last year (23), and he should push to reach the 60-point mark for the second time in his career.
The Capitals' Justin Sourdif has really settled in this season, going from a bottom-six forward to a viable second-line center in the absence of Pierre-Luc Dubois (abdomen). Sourdif has taken off with six goals and four helpers over his last seven outings while clicking with Ryan Leonard and Connor McMichael. The Capitals don't have a ton of forward depth, so having Sourdif emerge gives them a valuable second scoring line to work with. Check on Sourdif's status this week before adding him -- he left Sunday's game versus the Predators after taking a puck to the face.
Boone Jenner has 11 points over 15 outings since he returned from a long-term upper-body injury in December. His season is nothing out of the ordinary -- he's missed some time, but he's been productive in a top-six role when healthy. Jenner is averaging more than two hits per game this season while still chipping in offense (21 points in 31 contests overall), making him a valuable power forward in the heart of the Blue Jackets' lineup.
In terms of all-around fantasy impact in a single game, Josh Manson had a pretty big performance Thursday versus the Senators. He put up two goals, two assists, three hits, four blocked shots, seven PIM and a plus-5 rating. That's not ordinary for anyone, but Manson probably isn't the first player anyone would expect to do that. Still, that performance highlights that he's been at his best this year while seeing top-four minutes for the Avalanche. He has 15 points over 19 contests since the start of December, adding a plus-19 rating, 30 PIM, 47 hits and 24 blocked shots in that span. That's a long enough run to make him trustworthy in fantasy, especially in formats that reward his physical play.
It feels like we've been waiting a long time for Matty Beniers to cash in on the potential that comes with being a No. 2 pick. Perhaps that time is now, as he has opened January with five goals, two assists and a plus-2 rating over six contests. The ice time has virtually always been there for Beniers, who is averaging 19:46 per game this year in head coach Lane Lambert's first season behind the bench for the Kraken. Beniers is on pace to top the 50-point mark for the second time in his career, but if he can keep up his hot start to January, a career year is not out of the question. I'm willing to take the chance for now, but I'll be keeping a close eye on him to see if I need to swap later.
Alexandre Texier has been a huge boost for the Canadiens, who have likewise given him his best chance to contribute in the NHL yet. With eight points over six games in January, he's earned a top-six role and power-play time. He's up to a total of 14 points in 23 outings since he joined Montreal after a poor start to the campaign with the Blues.
Penguins and Canadiens Goalie Rotations Create Fantasy Streaming Opportunities
In goal, Stuart Skinner has found a groove with the Penguins. He's alternating starts with Arturs Silovs, but Skinner has been the better goalie, allowing just four goals over his last four games. He took an unlucky 1-0 loss to the Bruins on Sunday, but that won't spoil his recent success. While he's not getting a starter's workload, the alternating starts make his usage predictable. If that pattern continues, Skinner is lined up for matchups versus the Flyers, Kraken and Oilers over the next two weeks.
Sam Montembeault's tough start to the year forced the Canadiens to turn to a three-man rotation in goal. Recently, that's turned into primarily a two-man battle between Montembeault and rookie Jacob Fowler. Since the end of his conditioning stint at AHL Laval, Montembeault has won three straight games, allowing just seven goals on 84 shots (.917 save percentage). If he can get at least half the starts, the 29-year-old should be a fine third goalie in fantasy while playing for a strong team.
That's all for this week. Midseason awards are highly unofficial, and it's important to remember that this is more of a report card than a result. It's a measure of progress toward an end goal. You should feel about the same with your fantasy team at this stage of the season. The middle segment of the campaign is all about evaluating weaknesses and making the right changes to keep things on track. Take stock of where your team is at, and make some moves to help in the week ahead before we check in again next Monday.
Stuck between two players available on the waiver wire? Check out the NHL Player Comparison Tool or the NHL Trending Players to help break the tiebreaker on your waiver wire decisions.
