NHL Awards 2012: Jonathan Quick and This Year's Most Deserving Nominees

As the NHL's annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas looms just hours away, there are quite obviously a few players who are more deserving of recognition for their 2011-12 campaigns than others.

This year's surprising postseason—when the eighth-seeded Kings destroyed everyone in their path en route to their first Stanley Cup—revealed that regular-season achievements mean nothing when the playoffs begin, yet the voting doesn't take into account postseason performances. That means  many of the most spectacular pressure performers might get snubbed, but at least some of them have championship rings to show for their troubles. 

The most deserving nominees might not get what's rightfully theirs, but here's a look at them anyway.

Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender): Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Other nominees: Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) and Pekka Rinne (NSH)

Quick probably won't win the Vezina, and when he doesn't, it will be a joke. He was the most significant factor in the Kings' Stanley Cup win this postseason because it was almost impossible to score more than twice on him, and opponents needed more than two goals to counteract LA's offense.

Quick finished the 2012 postseason with a 1.41 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage, while going 16-4 with zero overtime losses and three shutouts. In the regular season, he posted a 1.95 GAA and a fifth-best .929 save percentage. 

Since voting happened after the conclusion of the regular season, the award will most likely go to Lundqvist, who posted a 1.97 GAA and eight shutouts for the Atlantic Division's first-place Rangers. It's okay, though. It's probably safe to say Quick would rather have the Cup.

Hart Trophy (MVP): Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Other nominees: Henrik Lundqvist (NYR), Steven Stamkos (TBL)

In a year when Sidney Crosby played only 22 games due to injury, the Pens needed someone to step up and carry them to the playoffs. They needed to look no further than Malkin. He stepped up and carried Pittsburgh to a No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and led the NHL in points with 109.

The Penguins' postseason campaign ended in disappointment with a first-round loss to the Flyers, but as far as the regular season goes, Malkin faced the toughest task of anyone in replacing Crosby's production. He led the team in both goals and assists, and helped them get to the playoffs, despite being in a division where four of five teams finished with 100 points or more.

In a year when Alex Ovechkin (finally) isn't up for the award, it's Malkin's time to shine.

Lady Byng Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player): Just kidding.

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman): Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Other nominees: Zdeno Chara (BOS), Shea Weber (NSH)

Zdeno Chara is always a favorite to take home the Norris, but this year, it's time for the 22-year-old Karlsson to shine. His plus-minus isn't as good as Chara's (33) or Weber's (21), but he had 19 goals and a team-leading 59 assists this season for the Senators, who finished second in the Northeast Division behind Boston.

Karlsson's 78 points were 25 more than those tallied by the defensemen with the second-highest totals, and as the London Free Press' Don Brennan points out, Karlsson's plus-minus isn't all that inferior when you consider that his team's plus-minus was just nine. He might suffer, however, at the hands of the argument that he wasn't on the ice enough against opponents' top players.