The NHL Awards are just around the corner and not even one member of the Colorado Avalanche team is nominated.
The Colorado Avalanche players were robbed at the NHL Awards this year. You know it, I know it, they know it. For some reason none of the players were nominated for anything this year, only adding to the “was this season even real?” and “this was a very weird season” vibe (I can’t be alone on that, right?).
Last year, our very own Nathan MacKinnon was up for the Hart Trophy and I’m not biased but he should have taken the award home – but Taylor Hall took it instead. He was also nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, which went to Connor McDavid (understandable). Coach Bednar was up for the Jack Adams Award, which Gerard Gallant (Vegas Golden Knights) took home.
So, what happened? It’s not like the Colorado Avalanche didn’t have a good season nor that our players didn’t shine, but the committee decided to just not take them into account. The top line (Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen) was at its best this season, with a combined 261 points and each one reaching new career-highs in points.
Tyson Barrie became franchise leader in goals by a defenseman when he scored his 73rd goal back in March. He also reached a new career-high in points and ended up in 7th place among defensemen league-wide.
But like most things in the NHL, the nominations and the awards in general work in mysterious ways, no matter how much they insist that players are the ones who vote to choose the nominees. Let’s take the Norris Trophy as example.
This year’s nominees are San Jose’s Brent Burns, Calgary’s Mark Giordano, and Tampa’s Victor Hedman. Per the NHL, the Norris Trophy is given to “the defenseman voted to have demonstrated the greatest all-around ability at the position throughout the season”, yet Toronto’s Morgan Rielly didn’t make the cut for whatever reason, even though he pretty much carried the team through most of the season.
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And don’t get me started on the Calder Trophy, where Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen was robbed and replaced by the now Stanley Cup champion Jordan Binnington.
Makes me wonder if the league loves a good narrative instead of actual effort and development, because it’s funny how the Colorado Avalanche players (and coach!) were recognized and praised during the 2017-2018 season when they rose from the ashes (very well deserved attention, not going to lie) yet ignored when they kept their spot among the top 5 in the Central Division.
Not to mention they made it to the second round of the playoffs by beating Conference champions, the Calgary Flames.
There was room for at least one Avs player in the Awards. Of course there was. Nathan MacKinnon could have gotten another shot at the Hart Trophy. Our captain Gabriel Landeskog could have made it to the King Clancy Trophy finalists list (listen, the captain does much more than you think off the ice), as well as for the Mark Messier Leadership Award – if not Landeskog, we have other players who fit perfectly.
Even if the league doesn’t recognize the Colorado Avalanche’s effort at their awards ceremony and all that jazz, the fans do, and they do it during and after the regular season, so there’s that.
The NHL Awards will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on June 19.