theScore's picks for the 2022-23 NHL Awards
We've been evaluating several of the NHL's award races all season long, so with the 82-game schedule in the rearview mirror, it's time to pick the winners and finalists. Our team of hockey editors - Kyle Cushman, Mike Dickson, Kayla Douglas, Josh Gold-Smith, Sean O'Leary, and Josh Wegman - has assembled to do exactly that.
In the interest of transparency, we've included the voting point totals and a glimpse at each editor's hypothetical ballot - remember, these aren't official and we won't be voting in the real thing - for the six most significant individual regular season honors.
Our voting points system matches the standard one, but with an exception. As in years past, since we only have six participants, we've given additional voting power to the individual editors who covered each of the four awards we've been examining with monthly rankings.
The normal first-place picks were worth three points, the conventional second-place votes were worth two, and the standard third-place votes were worth one. The expert votes were worth double compared to everyone else's selections, so six points, four, and two for first, second, and third, respectively. The expert editors are denoted by asterisks in the charts.
Here's who we think deserves to take home the hardware:
Jack Adams Award
Boston Globe / Boston Globe / Getty| Place | Head Coach | Voting Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Montgomery | 16 |
| 2 | Lindy Ruff | 12 |
| 3 | Jared Bednar | 3 |
| T4 | Rod Brind'Amour | 2 |
| T4 | Dean Evason | 2 |
| 6 | Bruce Cassidy | 1 |
| Editor | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushman | Montgomery | Ruff | Bednar |
| Dickson | Montgomery | Ruff | Brind'Amour |
| Douglas | Montgomery | Ruff | Brind'Amour |
| Gold-Smith | Ruff | Bednar | Montgomery |
| O'Leary | Montgomery | Ruff | Cassidy |
| Wegman | Montgomery | Evason | Ruff |
Montgomery nearly wins the NHL's coach of the year award unanimously by our estimation, and for good reason. His juggernaut Boston Bruins steamrolled the rest of the league during the regular season, setting numerous records in the process. He also deserves credit for effectively guiding a club that was without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy at the start of the campaign.
The 53-year-old should be lauded for accomplishing all that, especially in his first season with Boston. But the Bruins are absolutely loaded with talent. They boast a Hart Trophy candidate, the Vezina and Selke favorites, other stars both up front and on defense, and an extremely deep squad as a whole. So it could be argued - as Gold-Smith essentially does here - that other coaches are more deserving because they had less to work with.
Enter Ruff, whose New Jersey Devils exceeded expectations this season. They have a solid stable of skilled players led by budding superstar Jack Hughes, but few predicted this team would be among the cream of the Eastern Conference crop before the campaign began. Bednar should also get some recognition for helping the perpetually injury-riddled Colorado Avalanche remain competitive.
Selke Trophy
Brian Fluharty / Getty Images Sport / Getty| Player | Voting Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrice Bergeron | 18 |
| 2 | Mitch Marner | 7 |
| T3 | Aleksander Barkov | 3 |
| T3 | Nico Hischier | 3 |
| T3 | Jordan Staal | 3 |
| T6 | Mikael Backlund | 1 |
| T6 | Joel Eriksson Ek | 1 |
| Editor | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushman | Bergeron | Hischier | Barkov |
| Dickson | Bergeron | Marner | Hischier |
| Douglas | Bergeron | Marner | Backlund |
| Gold-Smith | Bergeron | Marner | J. Staal |
| O'Leary | Bergeron | J. Staal | Eriksson Ek |
| Wegman | Bergeron | Barkov | Marner |
This one is unanimous, as we all believe Bergeron deserves to pad his NHL record for Selke wins by being voted the best defensive forward for the sixth time. The 37-year-old Bruins center has long been a paragon of consistency on both sides of the puck. He kept that going in 2022-23, ranking near the top of the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes among qualified forwards while posting favorable numbers in many other categories.
Marner led all NHL forwards in takeaways per 60 among those who played at least six games and also placed among the league's best in terms of both wins above replacement and goals above replacement.
We didn't cover this award on a monthly basis, so we don't have an editor's expert points that could've broken the tie for third. But Barkov, Hischier, and Staal all warrant some real votes for their consistently elite two-way play.
Calder Trophy
Steph Chambers / Getty Images Sport / Getty| Player | Voting Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matty Beniers | 21 |
| 2 | Owen Power | 12 |
| 3 | Matias Maccelli | 4 |
| 4 | Stuart Skinner | 3 |
| 5 | Logan Thompson | 2 |
| Editor | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushman | Beniers | Power | Skinner |
| Dickson | Beniers | Maccelli | Power |
| Douglas* | Beniers | Power | L. Thompson |
| Gold-Smith | Beniers | Power | Maccelli |
| O'Leary | Beniers | Power | Maccelli |
| Wegman | Beniers | Skinner | Power |
Beniers is the clear choice to be voted top rookie. The 20-year-old led the class in goal-scoring and points while centering the top line for the playoff-bound Seattle Kraken. Beniers' development is a major reason Seattle has taken a much larger step forward this season than most expected.
Power is meeting the lofty expectations he's shouldered as the 2021 first overall pick. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman - who's also 20 years old - paced all rookies in average ice time at nearly 24 minutes and registered nearly half a point per game in 2022-23.
Maccelli flew under the radar this season because he plays for the Arizona Coyotes, but he had a sneakily impressive campaign. The 22-year-old led all rookies in total assists and finished second in the class to Beniers in points by eight despite playing 16 fewer games.
Norris Trophy
Scott Taetsch / Getty Images Sport / Getty| Place | Player | Voting Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erik Karlsson | 21 |
| 2 | Adam Fox | 8 |
| 3 | Rasmus Dahlin | 6 |
| 4 | Dougie Hamilton | 3 |
| 5 | Cale Makar | 2 |
| T6 | Quinn Hughes | 1 |
| T6 | Josh Morrissey | 1 |
| Editor | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushman | Karlsson | Fox | Makar |
| Dickson | Karlsson | Hamilton | Morrissey |
| Douglas | Karlsson | Dahlin | Q. Hughes |
| Gold-Smith | Karlsson | Dahlin | Makar |
| O'Leary | Karlsson | Fox | Hamilton |
| Wegman* | Karlsson | Fox | Dahlin |
If Karlsson doesn't win the Norris, it would frankly be a travesty. This award should never be purely about points, but the veteran blue-liner became the first defenseman to collect 100 in a season since Brian Leetch in 1991-92.
Karlsson was the oldest rearguard to ever accomplish the feat and only the sixth to ever do it. The vast majority of the 32-year-old's production came at even strength, too. He was fourth in the NHL in points in those situations behind only Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, and Connor McDavid. Plus, Karlsson did all this for the lowly San Jose Sharks.
Vezina Trophy
China Wong / National Hockey League / Getty| Place | Player | Voting Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linus Ullmark | 18 |
| 2 | llya Sorokin | 17 |
| 3 | Juuse Saros | 4 |
| 4 | Connor Hellebuyck | 2 |
| 5 | Jake Oettinger | 1 |
| Editor | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushman | Sorokin | Ullmark | Saros |
| Dickson | Ullmark | Sorokin | Oettinger |
| Douglas | Ullmark | Sorokin | Saros |
| Gold-Smith | Sorokin | Ullmark | Saros |
| O'Leary* | Ullmark | Sorokin | Hellebuyck |
| Wegman | Sorokin | Ullmark | Saros |
This was by far the closest vote we conducted. In the normal points system, Sorokin and Ullmark would be tied with 15 points apiece. But this is where our expert system pays off, as O'Leary's more informed opinion gives the Bruins goaltender the narrowest possible victory.
Ullmark was spectacular for the NHL's best team this season. But Sorokin was right there with him in terms of the underlying numbers, and the Islanders netminder bested him by a wide margin in goals saved above expected at five-on-five while leading the league. Sorokin excelled with a less inspiring supporting cast, which explains why he nearly wins here.
Hart Trophy
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty| Place | Player | Voting Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connor McDavid | 21 |
| 2 | David Pastrnak | 10 |
| 3 | Matthew Tkachuk | 10 |
| 4 | Mikko Rantanen | 1 |
| Editor | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cushman | McDavid | Pastrnak | M. Tkachuk |
| Dickson | McDavid | Pastrnak | Rantanen |
| Douglas | McDavid | M. Tkachuk | Pastrnak |
| Gold-Smith* | McDavid | M. Tkachuk | Pastrnak |
| O'Leary | McDavid | M. Tkachuk | Pastrnak |
| Wegman | McDavid | Pastrnak | M. Tkachuk |
There was rightfully no drama when it came to our MVP pick. Much like the Norris Trophy, the Hart shouldn't just be about offensive production. But McDavid crushed the rest of the NHL in that regard, so giving this award to anyone else would just seem wrong.
In our adjusted points system, Pastrnak and Tkachuk find themselves in a dead heat for second place. However, the Bruins winger earns the higher spot in a tiebreaker because he'd have one more voting point than Tkachuk in the real system, and Pastrnak appeared on all six ballots.
Pastrnak was the Bruins' catalyst, and he provided immense value relative to his skilled teammates. Tkachuk was also outstanding in many facets of the game. He was by far the best Panthers skater and only McDavid amassed more wins above replacement and goals above replacement than Tkachuk in the NHL this season.
(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey)
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