Time to Hand Out the Hardware

The regular season has wrapped-up, and that means three things:

1. The Playoffs are upon us.
2. The Maple Leafs are lining up tee-times.
3. The debate for the NHL Regular season awards has all the necessary information to heat up.

Here's who I believe should be taking home the goods:

Hart Trophy
Nominees: Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin
Winner: Alex Ovechkin
Reasoning: In what I feel is a three-way race between three very talented, but very different, Russians, the Great8 takes this one home. While Malkin's steady stream of points has the fans in Steel-town serenating him with chants of "M-V-P, M-V-P," and Datsyuk's smooth dekes and top-end defensive play have helped lead the Wings to another excellent season, Ovechkin's goal-scoring ability, and more importantly, his appitude for scoring timely goals, separates him from the pack.

Norris Trophy
Nominees: Mike Green, Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara
Winner: Zdeno Chara
Reasoning: While Mike Green's offensive exploits have been nothing short of spectacular (8 straight games with atleast one goal from the back-end...C'MON!), it's Big Z's ability to play in both ends of the ice that wins him the trophy. Without Chara, I can't imagine what the Bruins would look like.

Vezina Trophy
Nominees: Henrik Lundqvist, Tim Thomas, Cam Ward
Winner: Tim Thomas
Reasoning: Cam Ward has been arguably the best player in the NHL over the past two months. The King has me hearing "HEN-RIK, HEN-RIK" in my sleep. Both goalies have powered their teams into the playoffs....but it's the steady play of Thomas that has the Bruins thinking Stanley Cup. He's been consistent throughout, and garners the best stats, by far.

Calder Trophy
Nominees: Steve Mason, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan
Winner: Bobby Ryan
Reasoning: Okay, I know what you're thinking. It has to be Mason. He led his team into the playoffs, which gives him the edge over Rinne...plus he leads the league in shut-outs. That's all well and good, but there is no way the Ducks crack the West's top eight without the goal-scoring of Big Bobby Ryan. Ryan's 31 goals and 57 points in 64 games supply the Ducks with a deadly top unit when they play him with Getzlaf and Perry, or some much needed secondary scoring help when they move him down a line to balance things out.

Selke Trophy
Nominees: Pavel Datsyuk, Mikko Koivu, Mike Richards
Winner: Pavel Datsyuk
Reasoning: Koivu's had a heckuva season, and Mike Richards is slowly turning into one of the best leaders in the NHL with his two-way play, but Datsyuk wins this award again...and with ease. 97 points. +34. 56.0% on face-offs. 89 Take-aways (down from last year, but still amazing). He's also added a more physical element to his game this season. He's still getting better. I don't think it's close.

Jack Adams Trophy
Nomineese: Ken Hitchcock, Paul Maurice, Todd McLellan, Andy Murray
Winner: Ken Hitchcock
Reasoning: Columbus had never made the playoffs. Before this season, I doubt the average fan could name anyone on their squad not named "Rick Nash." The bottom line is Hitch got his club into the playoffs with a twenty year-old rookie goaltender, a defense that is greater than the sum of its parts (due in large part to the system Hitchcock employs), and timely scoring.