Fantasy Hockey: Predictions for every major award for the NHL season
By Jason Chen, RotoWire
Special to Yahoo Sports
It’s always fun making end-of-season predictions, especially before the puck has even dropped in the first game of the campaign.
With that in mind, here are some award predictions heading into 2018-19 to help fantasy players choose the right stars in their drafts this season:
Hart Memorial Trophy – Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
There are a number of players who could win this award, including perennial favorites Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, and those on the cusp of superstardom like Aleksander Barkov and Mitch Marner. Seguin isn’t really either of those, but the Stars are expected to improve and last year, all three Hart nominees played on teams that made a leap in the standings. Seguin is an all-around offensive star who isn’t shy about shooting the puck and has a talented supporting cast with weapons like Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov and John Klingberg at his disposal.
[Yahoo Fantasy Hockey leagues are open: Sign up now for free]
Ted Lindsay Award – Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
This is awarded to the best player as voted by the players association, and it’s usually a guy who’s a beast on offense or a goalie having a ridiculously good season. There is no consensus No. 1 goalie and Sidney Crosby is always a threat, but McDavid always has the edge in points and everyone around the league raves about him. If McDavid wins his third straight Lindsay this season, it would be the first time a player has done so since Wayne Gretzky in 1984.
Art Ross Trophy – Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Who doesn’t want to see him win three straight? Hockey’s most exciting player is a generational talent and even the fastest players in history can’t drive the play like him. Throughout the preseason, the “McNuttie” line of McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and two-time AHL all-star Ty Rattie combined for an incredible 24 points. McDavid could be the first to win the Art Ross three years in a row since Jaromir Jagr did it in 2000. Like Lebron or Gretzky, sometimes it’s just fun to watch players flat-out dominate.
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
There was that time he drove his truck into a coffee shop, but on the ice the veteran two-way forward is a gentleman — in 651 career regular-season games, he’s been tabbed for just 84 PIM. He took a grand total of ONE penalty last season, and it was a coincidental minor against the Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg. In three seasons with the Sabres, O’Reilly tallied just 20 PIM, which is the lowest total in the league. Things shouldn’t change much in Missouri.
Vezina Trophy – Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Pekka Rinne edged Hellebuyck for the award last year, but entering his age-36 season it’ll be hard to replicate his performance and play 60 games without burning out in the playoffs. The Jets don’t mind trading chances with their opposition, but they’ve got an excellent defense in front of Hellebuyck.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is the main challenger, but the Lightning defense is too reliant on Victor Hedman and were surprisingly loose in their own end, having some of the worst coverage in the slot among top teams.
Calder Memorial Trophy – Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
It’s as much about opportunity as it is about talent, and Pettersson has the edge over Rasmus Dahlin. Pettersson is already a top-six player and a power-play threat for the offensively challenged Canucks. Dahlin projects as a franchise defenseman, but he’ll have to unseat Rasmus Ristolainen at the top of the Sabres depth chart, and it will take some time for Dahlin to adjust regardless of his talent. It’ll be a tight race if Pettersson leads the Canucks in scoring and if Dahlin logs a lot of minutes, but Pettersson should have the edge for an award that has historically favored forwards.
[Make sports predictions to win cash prizes with Yahoo Fantasy Slate. Play for free]
James Norris Memorial Trophy – Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Doughty is one of the few defensemen you can truly build a team around because he does everything. He scored 60 points with 127 blocks and 127 hits, and he’ll get more help this season with an improved roster. Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson might split the vote while playing on the same team, and expectations for Victor Hedman are high; very few in history have taken the Norris home in consecutive seasons. The dark horse is Morgan Rielly, who is going to quarterback a lethal power play and should average over 23 minutes of ice time.
Frank J. Selke Award – Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
The newest Panthers captain placed fourth in Selke voting last year and averaged over 22 minutes of ice time — as a forward. One of Barkov’s greatest strengths is his consistency, so much so that we’ll call him the Eastern Conference Anze Kopitar based on his size and ability to use both skill and strength to take over games. Sean Couturier is another favorite, but he’s starting the season in questionable health, and veterans Patrice Bergeron and Mikko Koivu are getting further from their prime.
William M. Jennings Trophy – Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
The Jennings is awarded to individual goalies but it’s based on a team stat, so the winner is basically the team that allows the fewest goals. Rask may be inconsistent, but his overall numbers are still good, and when he’s on, he’s one of the game’s best.
His talented young defense will be one year older, and Bergeron should be healthy to start the season, so he’ll have lots of help. Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonathan Quick, and Martin Jones will be part of the conversation as well.
Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy – Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s hard to knock Alex Ovechkin off this spot, and John Tavares will gobble up his share of goals in Toronto, but Matthews potted 40 last year and is only getting better. He’s also in a contract year and the Leafs have yet to name a captain, so there’s a lot of incentive for Matthews to have a good season. Even with more mouths to feed, Matthews should be able to get around 300 shots on net with more ice time, better face-off percentages, and a role on the top power-play unit.
