2012 NHL Award Predictions

Winning an NHL Award not only provides your fans with bragging rights over rivals, but it also leaves players with a spot in the NHL history books. 

Another NHL season is almost in the books and while a few of the awards were locked months ago, others are still up for debate. 

Because it's so darn fun to predict things, here are some guesses as to who'll be walking away with the hardware in 2012:

Lady Byng: Most Gentlemanly Player

Predicted Nominees:

Jordan Eberle - Edmonton Oilers

Matt Moulson - New York Islanders

Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay Lightning

Since the Lady Byng is given not only to the "most gentlemanly player"—which, by the way, makes the entire New Orleans Saints franchise ineligible—but also to a player who "exhibits a high standard of playing ability," each of Moulson, St. Louis, and Eberle are more than worthy.

However, the award is somewhat random and is pretty much left up to voters. St. Louis has clearly gained favour amongst voters, as he won the award in 2010 and 2011.

Winner: St. Louis - The voters go with what they know

Selke: Best Defensive Forward

Predicted Nominees:

Patrice Bergeron - Boston Bruins

Pavel Datsyuk - Detroit Red Wings

Marian Hossa - Chicago Blackhawks

Selke winners need to kill penalties, win faceoffs, score goals and block shots.

Datsyuk and Hossa do all of those things but Bergeron, has been in a class of his own this season in terms of all-around play. He leads the league in faceoff percentage and +/- and it would be very surprising to see him passed over yet again. 

Winner: Bergeron - One of the clearest Selke winners in years

Calder: Rookie of the Year

Predicted Nominees:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Edmonton Oilers

Gabriel Landeskog - Colorado Avalanche

Adam Henrique - New Jersey Devils

Nugent-Hopkins likely would have won the award easily if he hadn't been sidelined twice with shoulder problems, but all three of these forwards have been excellent.

Henrique carried the Devils while Zach Parise struggled early on and Landeskog has been the best player for Colorado, period. 

Winner: Landeskog - Most complete rookie and default winner after RNH's injuries.  

Jack Adams: Coach of the Year

Predicted Nominees:

Ken Hitchcock - St. Louis Blues

Barry Trotz - Nashville Predators

John Tortorella - New York Rangers

Hitchcock single-handedly turned the Blues around, turning them from a bottom-dweller team to a President's Trophy contender. 

Trotz and Tortorella have both had success despite question marks in their lineups. The Rangers have played a flawless system around Tortorella and Trotz just keeps winning despite being overshadowed in Nashville. 

Winner: Hitchcock - The voters love turnaround stories and the Blues fit right into that category. 

Norris: Best Defenseman

Predicted Nominees:

Erik Karlsson - Ottawa Senators

Shea Weber - Nashville Predators

Zdeno Chara - Boston Bruins

While Karlsson has had one of the best offensive seasons for a defenseman in years, the Norris Trophy is still up for debate. 

Some would argue correctly that Weber and Chara are much more complete players.

While Weber and Chara kill more penalties and block more shots, it's really a matter of whether the voters think that Karlsson's offensive numbers are staggering enough.

Winner: Karlsson - Top 10 in scoring as a blue-liner is too much to ignore.

Vezina: Best Goaltender

Predicted Nominees:

Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers

Jonathan Quick - Los Angeles Kings

Jaroslav Halak - St. Louis Blues

This is assuming only one Blues goalie will be nominated.

Brian Elliott has arguably been more impressive than Halak, but he's unfortunately only played 36 games.

Lundqvist and Quick will have both played over 60 games, making them the easy front-runners. They have very similar stat-lines and Quick deserves more credit around the league, but Lundqvist has been the Rangers' best player all season. 

Winner: Lundqvist - He's a serious candidate for the Hart Trophy and can play the guitar pretty well, too. 

Hart: Most Valuable Player

Predicted Nominees:

Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins

Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers

Steven Stamkos - Tampa Bay Lightning

While Lundqvist and Stamkos have had exceptional years, Malkin is the easy choice for the Hart Trophy.

With Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Jordan Staal all injured for large portions of the season, Malkin, like all great players, raised his game and held the Penguins together. 

I could bring up stats, but anyone who has watched Malkin play knows he's been the best player in the NHL this season. 

Winner: Malkin

Other Awards

Now for some lesser-known award predictions:

Mark Messier Award (Leadership): Ryan Callahan - New York Rangers

Ted Lindsay (MVP as voted by the NHLPA): Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins

Bill Masterton Trophy (Perseverance): Max Pacioretty - Montreal Canadiens

NHL General Manager of the Year: Brian Burke...wait, no, David Poile - Nashville Predators

Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP): Sidney Crosby... but that's another story entirely