The top contenders for the 2017-18 NHL awards

The New Jersey Devils made the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season, and it is almost entirely because of Taylor Hall. It is not often that you see a forward carry a team to the playoffs like this, but when you consider that the next closest Devil was 41 points behind him (and that player was a 19-year-old rookie), it is pretty hard to argue that anyone other than Hall should be at the top of the MVP discussion. If he didn’t miss six games, he would have had a real shot at 100 points, putting up 93 in 76 contests. 

Even though this is already his fifth NHL season, it is easy to forget that MacKinnon is still only 22 years old, meaning that he really has not even hit the prime of his career yet. Perhaps this season was the start of that. He had a breakout year for the Avalanche that drove him into the top five of the league in scoring and helped turn Colorado into an actual competitive hockey team after finishing the 2016-17 season as one of the worst teams in recent league memory. 

What a magnificent year for Giroux. He not only set new career highs in goals and points, but he was one of three players to hit the 100-point mark and was as impactful as any player in the league. When he was not on the ice this season during 5-on-5 play, the Flyers were outscored by more than 20 goals. When he was on the ice, they outscored their opponents by 28 goals. 

The big question has been whether or not a player on a team that missed the playoffs by a mile can be a finalist for the award or even win it. Voters will probably say no, but value is value no matter what the rest of the team does. McDavid won the scoring title — and topped the 100-point mark — for the second year in a row. He probably singlehandedly won the Oilers eight or nine games this season. It is not his fault his team’s front office failed him when it came to building a team around him. 

Kopitar’s production from an offensive perspective was among the best in the league. He did that while playing shutdown minutes against other teams' top players every night and getting significant time on the penalty kill. Given that he has been the best player on two Stanley Cup-winning teams, it is astonishing he does not get more recognition around the league. 

It looked like he was going to run away with the MVP and Art Ross for most of the season, and while he slowed a bit, Kucherov finished as one of only three players with 100 points and the top offensive player on one of the top teams in the league. His Hart Trophy argument probably slipped a bit in the second half due to the surges from Hall and MacKinnon, but he is a worthy finalist. 

Still the NHL’s top goal scorer and the go-to guy for a team that won its third straight division title, Ovechkin was a huge part of Washington's success. One of the biggest reasons the Capitals were able to win the Metropolitan Division again after losing five key players from last year’s team was a huge year from Ovechkin, particularly when it came to his bounce-back as a 5-on-5 goal-scorer. 

It is going to be tough for Malkin to get MVP votes when he plays on a team that has Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel, who are top 10 scorers in the NHL this season, but he was a dominant offensive player all year for the Penguins and finished in the top five in total points, points per game and total goals. 

Hedman was a finalist for the Norris Trophy a year ago and has been just as dominant this season. His point total dropped a little, but he scored more goals, played more minutes and was incredible defensively for a Lightning team that returned to the top of the Eastern Conference standings. When it comes to the NHL’s best all-around defensemen, Hedman is on the short list of the absolute best thanks to his dynamic offensive ability and shutdown defensive play. 

Still perhaps the best defensive player in the league, Doughty complemented that distinction this season with a career high in points, reaching the 60-point mark for the first time in his career (maybe he just needed to get out of a Darryl Sutter system to shine offensively).

Subban is the best defenseman on the league’s best defense — a defense that is the focal point and backbone of the team with the league’s best record. In Montreal, he was viewed as a high-risk player who took too many chances, but he has become a true shutdown defender while not losing any of the offense that made him a superstar. 

What a bounce-back year for Klingberg. His play seemed to regress a bit a year ago, but he came back in 2017-18 and was one of the best blue liners in the league, finishing as one of the top-scoring defenders while also playing the best defensive hockey of his career. It is just a shame his performance was lost on an otherwise disappointing Stars team. 

Barzal was a bright spot for Islanders fans in what was a completely forgettable season. He finished as a point-per-game player as a rookie and put together one of the best debut seasons in recent league history. He is going to be a cornerstone player for the next decade. If the Islanders can get John Tavares to re-sign, they would have quite the one-two punch down the middle. 

Had his season not been cut short by an injury 20 games too early, it would have been a fascinating Calder Trophy race between him and Barzal. He probably will not win, but 29 goals (second among rookies) and 55 total points in only 62 games should be more than enough to make him a finalist. 

If the Blackhawks had a better team, DeBrincat would probably get more attention in this race. He finished as the team’s leading goal-scorer as a rookie and at least gives the team some hope for the future. The Blackhawks need an infusion of young talent, and he looks to be the best of the bunch when it comes to their next wave of young players. 

Bergeron has been a staple in this discussion for the better part of the past decade, and even though he missed a significant chunk of the season, he is one of the front-runners yet again. If he wins, he would become the first player to ever win the award five times. Bob Gainey is the only other player to win it at least four times. 

He is going to get MVP votes, and he is going to get Selke Trophy votes. It's worth noting that only one player in league history has won both awards in the same season. That accomplishment belongs to Sergei Fedorov during the 1993-94 season. It seems like a stretch to think that Kopitar is going to do it, but Kopitar will probably come the closest of any player since Fedorov.

Even though it is a defensive award, history suggests you have to also score to get noticed in the voting, which explains why Couturier has only ever finished in the top 10 twice and never higher than eighth. With 31 goals and 76 total points, he definitely did enough offensively to get noticed for his defensive play. That is a ridiculous thing to say, but it is how this award has always worked. Voting history does not lie. 

Koivu came in third in the voting a year ago and was just as good — if not better — this season for the Wild. With Couturier, Kopitar and Bergeron all having great years, the competition is going to be a little bit tougher, but let’s not overlook the season he had for the Wild. 

The scary thing about the Predators is they simply have no weakness. Their forwards go four lines deep, they have the best defense in league, and their goalie — Rinne — is having a career year and been arguably the best backstop in the league. He is the front-runner at the end of the regular season. 

In his first year as Tampa Bay’s unquestioned full-time starter, all Vasilevskiy did was finish tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts while posting a .919 save percentage. It was one of the top goaltending performances in the league. The Lightning won't have to search for a goalie for a long time. 

Injuries limited him to just 46 games, but when he played he was everything the Golden Knights could have hoped for when they made him the focal point of their roster in the expansion draft. He was among the league leaders in save percentage and a key part of the best first-year franchise performance in North American sports history. 

The Jets finally received a quality goaltending performance and when combined with their offense made them one of the best teams in the NHL. Hellebuyck finished near the top of the league in minutes played, wins, save percentage, shutouts and was pretty sensational all year. 

The only knock on Gibson to this point in his career is that he has had trouble staying healthy. When he is on the ice, though, he has already become one of the elite goalies in the league. As the Anaheim roster was decimated by injuries early in the year, strong goaltending helped keep the Ducks afloat and allowed them to go on a second-half run to get in the playoffs. 

How does the coach of the year go to anyone other than him? Vegas entered the season with zero expectations, and all the Golden Knights did was win the Pacific Division, finish as one of the top teams in the league, and play an aggressive, fast, up-tempo style that is a ton of fun to watch. It would be a shock if anyone other than Gallant took home the award. 

Bednar is probably the coach who has the best chance to take the award from Gallant in Vegas. A lot of times the coach of the year award simply comes down to which team did the most to exceed expectations, and other than the Golden Knights, there was probably no team in the league that did that more than the Avalanche. This was the worst team in the league one year ago, one of the worst teams the NHL had seen in decades. Going from that to the playoffs in one year is a huge accomplishment. 

Taylor Hall was probably the biggest reason the Devils snapped their five-year playoff drought, but they relied on a fairly young roster around him with players like Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Will Butcher all playing fairly significant roles. They have transitioned into a speedy, talented team, and Hynes deserves a lot of credit for helping change the identity of the team.