NHL Awards Ceremony 2015: Date, Start Time, Candidates and Predictions

The NHL's biggest piece of hardware was handed out last week at the United Center when the Chicago Blackhawks earned their third Stanley Cup in the last six years.

However, there are still plenty of accolades to go around as the NHL's luminaries and biggest stars head to the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for its 2015 awards show Wednesday night, June 24.

The event will be broadcast on NBCSN in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada at 7 p.m. ET.

In this piece, we look at the most prestigious awards, the finalists and make a prediction on who will win each trophy

Award	Candidate	Candidate	Candidate	Winner	Skinny
Hart	Alex Ovechkin, Washington	Carey Price, Montreal	John Tavares, N.Y. Islanders	Price	Dominant goaltender with eye-catching consistency
Norris	Drew Doughty, L.A. Kings	Erik Karlsson, Ottawa	P.K. Subban, Montreal	Subban	Booming shot with outstanding puck-possession ability
Vezina	Pekka Rinne, Nashville	Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota	Carey Price, Montreal	Price	Runaway winner in this category
Calder	Aaron Ekblad, Florida	Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary	Mark Stone, Ottawa	Gaudreau	Johnny Hockey gets the edge in tight race
Selke	Patrice Bergeron, Boston	Jonathan Toews, Chicago	Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles	Bergeron	Best faceoff man in the league wins star-studded race
Coach of the Year	Bob Hartley, Calgary	Peter Laviolette, Nashville	Alain Vigneault, N.Y. Rangers	Hartley	Turned Flames into crew of dogged overachievers
GM of the Year	Bob Murray, Anaheim	Glen Sather, NY Rangers	Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay	Yzerman	Star on the ice, star in the front office
Lady Byng	Anze Kopitar, L.A. Kings	Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit	Jiri Hudler, Calgary	Kopitar	Gets nod after failing in Selke race
Masterton	Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota	Andrew Hammond, Ottawa	Kris Letang, Pittsburgh	Letang	Goaltenders split the vote and Letang with the upset

Hart Trophy

The NHL's race for its Most Valuable Player is a three-way affair between Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens and John Tavares of the New York Islanders.

Ovechkin had another banner goal-scoring year as he led the league with 53 goals. It marked the sixth time in his career that Ovechkin has topped the 50-goal mark. Ovechkin is a three-time Hart Trophy winner, and this is his fifth time as a finalist.

Price enjoyed a sensational year in net for the Canadiens, and he was a big reason they were able to finish first in the Atlantic Division. He led the NHL in wins (44), goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.933), and he was the first goalie to lead the league in all three of those categories since Ed Belfour accomplished the feat for the Chicago Blackhawks in 1990-91. 

Tavares scored 38 goals and 86 points, and was the second-leading scorer in the league. He led the Islanders to their best record since 1983-84. Tavares also scored four regular-season overtime goals.

Winner: Price

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Norris Trophy

The Norris Trophy goes to the best defenseman in the league, and the award specifically mentions all-around play by the blueliner. The three candidates for the award are Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators and P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens.

It may be hard for Doughty to get the support he needs to bring the award home since the Kings did not make the playoffs in 2014-15. However, Doughty had excellent individual numbers with seven goals and 39 assists, and the Kings were among the league leaders in goals against. Doughty is creative in the offensive zone and tough inside his own defensive zone.

Karlsson is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league because he is a brilliant skater who can throw pinpoint passes from anywhere on the ice and he has an accurate shot. Karlsson scored 21 goals and 45 assists, and led all defensemen in scoring for the third time in four years. He also played a key role for the Senators in their drive to earn a playoff spot.

Subban had a stellar year with 15 goals and 45 assists, and he also helped the Canadiens hold their opponents to 189 goals last season. Subban is an excellent puck-handler, has a booming shot from the point and has the ability to control play with his solid decision-making in the offensive zone.

Winner: Subban

Vezina Trophy

The Vezina Trophy goes to the best goaltender in the league, and the finalists are Price, Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators. While Dubnyk and Rinne were vital to their teams' success, Price appears to be an easy winner.

Dubnyk played a key role for the Wild in their march into the playoffs. When he started his first game for the Wild on Jan. 15, they were eight points out of the playoffs. Dubnyk was on fire from that point on, as he went 27-9-2 with a 1.78 GAA and a .936 save percentage, and the Wild earned a playoff spot and won their first-round matchup before falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in the conference semifinal.

Rinne bounced back from an injury-plagued 2013-14 season and got off to a sharp start. He led the Preds to a 104-point season and had them back in the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12. Rinne had a 2.18 GAA and a .923 save percentage.

Price was the backbone of the Canadiens throughout the season and in addition to his tremendous goals-against and save percentage, he had nine shutouts and broke the franchise record for victories by a goaltender.

Winner: Price

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Calder Trophy

This should be a terrific race for the league's rookie of the year, because Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau and Senators forward Mark Stone all were terrific and appear to have brilliant futures.

Eklblad was the No. 1 choice in the 2014 draft, and he had 39 points in his rookie season. That's only two points behind the rookie record for a defenseman, which was set by the legendary Bobby Orr. Ekblad is an excellent skater and a physical defender, and he's a player the Panthers looked to for stability despite his lack of experience.

Gaudreau went by the nickname of Johnny Hockey, and he was one of the big reasons the Flames were resurgent in 2014-15 and earned a playoff spot. Gaudreau demonstrated quickness, intelligence on the ice and a knack for putting the puck in the net. He scored 24 goals and 40 assists for the Flames.

Stone was also a big part of a resurgent team, as he helped the Senators rally after a slow start. Ottawa got hot late in the season, and Stone was instrumental with 26 goals and 38 assists. He was blazing down the stretch, as he scored eight goals and five assists in the last nine games of the season.

Winner: Gaudreau

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Selke Trophy

This award seems to be gaining in stature every season. The proof of that is the high-profile players who are up for the award every year. This year, Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings will compete for the award for best defensive forward.

Bergeron has won this award twice, and he is synonymous with outstanding defensive and all-around play. In addition to being a defensive demon, he is remarkable in the faceoff circle. He led the league with a 60.2 winning percentage on draws, and he excels in the puck-possession stats.

Toews had a career-best plus-30 rating and was also quite successful in the circle, winning 56.5 percent of his draws. Toews helped the Blackhawks tie for the league lead in fewest goals allowed.

Kopitar averaged 19:23 of ice time per game, and that was the most of all Kings forwards. He also won 52.6 percent of his draws, and he was the league's top-ranked forward in the NHL's puck-possession stats.

Winner: Bergeron