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2021 NHL Awards: PHT’s ballots for the remaining major trophies

NHL Awards

Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images

NHLI via Getty Images

The NHL will be announcing the remaining winners of the 2020-21 awards Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN (livestream).

Co-hosted by NBC Sports’ Kenny Albert and Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas with the help of current and former NHL stars, the 30-minute show will reveal the winners of the Calder Trophy, Hart Trophy, James Norris Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Vezina Trophy.

Prior to the start of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Pro Hockey Talk team submitted their ballots for the major individual NHL awards. (Note: No PHT staff who are part of the Professional Hockey Writers Association had a vote in this season’s NHL awards.)

Here’s our voting breakdown for what’s left using the NHL’s 5-3-1 points allocation for places:

HART TROPHY - “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”

Voted on by members of the PHWA

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton - 25 points (5-0-0)
2. Auston Matthews, Toronto - 12 points (0-4-0)
3. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado - 4 points (0-1-1)
4. Brad Marchand, Boston - 3 points (0-0-3)
5. Juuse Saros, Nashville - 1 point (0-0-1)

James O’Brien, NHL writer

1. Connor McDavid
2. Auston Matthews
3. Brad Marchand

Anyone picking a player other than McDavid for the Hart Trophy should do some real soul-searching, because seriously. This McDavid season competes only with the best individual accomplishments we’ve seen in NHL history. From there, it’s Auston Matthews and everyone else.

Marisa Ingemi, NHL writer

1. Connor McDavid
2. Auston Matthews
3. Brad Marchand

Sean Leahy, NHL writer

1. Connor McDavid
2. Auston Matthews
3. Juuse Saros

An historic season for the NHL’s best player. The only player with 100 points and the closest competitor was teammate Leon Draisaitl who was 21 points away. McDavid averaged 1.88 points per game in this shortened season with 68 of his points coming at even strength. In any other year, Matthews might walk away with the MVP. Not this one.

Michael Finewax, NBC Sports Edge Senior Hockey Writer/Editor

1. Connor McDavid
2. Auston Matthews
3. Nathan MacKinnon

Adam Gretz, NHL writer

1. Connor McDavid
2. Nathan MacKinnon
3. Brad Marchand

[COVERAGE OF THE 2021 NHL AWARDS SHOW BEGINS AT 7:30 P.M. ET - NBCSN]

kaprizov

Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images

NHLI via Getty Images

CALDER TROPHY - “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.”

Voted on by members of the PHWA

1. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota - 25 points (5-0-0)
2. Jason Robertson, Dallas - 13 points (0-4-1)
3. Alex Nedeljkovic, Carolina - 5 points (0-1-2)
4. Igor Shesterkin, Edmonton - 2 points (0-0-2)

Michael Finewax, NBC Sports Edge Senior Hockey Writer/Editor

1. Kirill Kaprizov
2. Alex Nedeljkovic
3. Jason Robertson

Kaprizov had 27 goals and 51 points this season, finishing eighth among NHL goal scorers. That was more than enough to win the Calder, although Nedeljkovic made it very close at the end with a 1.90 GAA as well as a .932 save percentage.

James O’Brien, NHL writer

1. Kirill Kaprizov
2. Jason Robertson
3. Alex Nedeljkovic

It was ... cute that Robertson made it seem like Kaprizov might have some Calder competition, and it’s fascinating to wonder if Nedeljkovic would have made a bigger push if he wasn’t battling for starts. But Kaprizov made a huge impact -- both in how we view the Wild, and just by being one of the best forwards in the NHL this season.

Marisa Ingemi, NHL writer

1. Kirill Kaprizov
2. Jason Robertson
3. Igor Shesterkin

Sean Leahy, NHL writer

1. Kirill Kaprizov
2. Jason Robertson
3. Alex Nedeljkovic

The Russian star gave the Wild a shot of energy they needed. Kaprizov led all rookies with 27 goals, 51 points, 0.93 points per game, and was one even strength point (39) behind Robertson for the lead among all rookies.

Adam Gretz, NHL writer

1. Kirill Kaprizov
2. Jason Robertson
3. Igor Shesterkin

NORRIS TROPHY - “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”

Voted on by members of the PHWA

1. Adam Fox, New York Rangers - 23 points (4-1-0)
2. Cale Makar, Colorado - 9 points (0-3-0)
3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay - 8 points (1-1-0)
4. Charlie McAvoy, Boston - 2 points (0-0-2)
5. Adam Pelech, Dougie Hamilton, Shea Theodore - 1 point (0-0-1)

Marisa Ingemi, NHL writer

1. Adam Fox
2. Victor Hedman
3. Charlie McAvoy

Fox led all defensemen in scoring, but more than that, he was on the ice in every situation. He picked up six additional minutes in ice time this season, too, so his strengths have developed with more time on the ice. Hedman comes in second because he had a Hedman type of season, and the McAvoy, who keeps getting closer to being the top defenseman in the league.

Sean Leahy, NHL writer

1. Adam Fox
2. Cale Makar
3. Adam Pelech

Adam Gretz, NHL writer

1. Adam Fox
2. Cale Makar
3. Shea Theodore

The Rangers are absolutely loaded with young talent and as long as they do not screw it up I think much better days are ahead. Out of all the young players they have nobody has been more impressive so far than Fox. He is not just one of the league’s best young defensemen. He is one of the league’s best defensemen. Period. He is absolutely worthy of winning the Norris this season. Great defensively, impact player offensively. This is actually a tough decision because I thought Makar is right there this year as well, but I gave Fox the edge because he played more games and did not have as much talent around him.

James O’Brien, NHL writer

1. Adam Fox
2. Cale Makar
3. Charlie McAvoy

This is so, so close, because while Makar missed time, Fox and a handful others only produced a bit more than he did overall. Fox and Makar are a coin flip; throw Dougie Hamilton in that trio as three defensemen whose total value (offense and defense) were pretty mind-blowing. Maybe chalk it up to the Hurricanes’ wealth of options, but Hamilton didn’t serve as a workhorse to the same degree as McAvoy, whose defensive impact remains extremely impressive. Truly, there were some great candidates for the Norris Trophy this year, but Fox’s mix of quality and quantity gets him the 2020-21 nod. If Makar can stay healthy, he might win a bucket of these, though.

Michael Finewax, NBC Sports Edge Senior Hockey Writer/Editor

1. Victor Hedman
2. Adam Fox
3. Dougie Hamilton

Hedman is still the best all-around defenseman in the NHL and would have outscored everyone had he not played through his injury. Fox was outstanding for six weeks, as was Hamilton. Cale Makar would have received more consideration had not injuries taken its toll on his season.

Vasilevskiy

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Getty Images

VEZINA TROPHY - “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at this position”

Voted on by the NHL’s general managers

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay - 25 points (5-0-0)
2. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas - 13 points (0-4-1)
3. Juuse Saros, Nashville - 6 points (0-1-3)
4. Philipp Grubauer, Colorado - 1 point (0-0-1)

James O’Brien, NHL writer

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy
2. Marc-Andre Fleury
3. Juuse Saros

For some time, Vasilevskiy was a no-brainer, and very well might have bumped Brad Marchand as my third Hart Trophy finalist. Maybe chalk it up to an excessive workload, but Vasilevskiy slipped -- just not far enough to lose the Vezina in my eyes. That said, there were four goalies (at least) with Vezina chops: Vasilevskiy, MAF, Saros, and Semyon Varlamov.

Adam Gretz, NHL writer

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy
2. Marc-Andre Fleury
3. Juuse Saros

Keep saying this over and over, but it is almost unfair that a team as good as the Lightning has a goalie as good as Vasilevskiy. He is not only the best goalie in the league, he also takes on a huge workload in terms of starts and appearances and never seems to slow down. The best goalie in hockey overall, and he played like it again this year.

Marisa Ingemi, NHL writer

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy
2. Marc-Andre Fleury
3. Juuse Saros

Sometimes how dominant Vasilevskiy has been during his era isn’t quantified properly. He’s been one of the most elite goalies in the game for years now, and this season was arguably his best yet. Fleury has continued to be one of the elite goalies in the game as well, and what Saros did to lead Nashville into the playoffs, with the second-best saves above expected in the league.

Michael Finewax, NBC Sports Edge Senior Hockey Writer/Editor

1. Andre Vasilevskiy
2. Marc-Andre Fleury
3. Philipp Grubauer

Sean Leahy, NHL writer

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy
2. Juuse Saros
3. Marc-Andre Fleury

2021 NHL Award finalists and winners:

Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon
Norris Trophy: Adam Fox, Victor Hedman, Cale Makar
Calder Memorial Trophy: Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Nedeljkovic, Jason Robertson
Vezina Trophy: Marc-Andre Fleury, Philipp Grubauer, Andrei Vasilevskiy

Ted Lindsay Award: Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid
King Clancy: Pekka Rinne
Jack Adams Award: Rod Brind’Amour
Selke Trophy: Aleksander Barkov
Masterton Trophy: Oskar Lindblom
Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award: Lou Lamoriello
Lady Byng Trophy: Jaccob Slavin
Mark Messier Leadership Award: Patrice Bergeron
Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award: Kevin Hodgson