Ryan: Breaking down my ballot for the 2021-22 NHL Awards

It’s that time of year again.

The time when NHL beat writers spend most of their evening bracing for the venom spewed their way from scorned fanbases online after their NHL Awards ballots have been published. 

Being granted the responsibility to vote and have a say in some of the NHL’s annual awards is a serious honor — one that often leads to hours upon hours of painstaking research as we all try to compile the top-five candidates in what are almost always crowded pools of talent.

Count me among that fortunate few this season, as the PHWA gave me the honor of voting for the 2022 NHL Awards — in particular, the Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy, Calder Trophy, Selke Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy and both the NHL All-Star and All-Rookie Teams.

Let’s just say … it wasn’t easy.

But with the NHL finally doling out the actual hardware on Tuesday night, now sure feels like the proper time to delve into my NHL Awards ballot. 

Without further ado, here is my ballot, the reasoning for my votes, and of course — the actual voting results, as announced by the NHL. 

HART TROPHY - Given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team

MY BALLOT

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
4. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
5. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators 

THE OFFICIAL TOP-FIVE BALLOT

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
3. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
4. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
5. Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers 

Well, when a guy who tallied 123 points (the third-most in cap-era history) finishes third overall in your ballot — it means that this field of Hart-Trophy candidates was stacked.

Ultimately, I went with Matthews, the league’s first 60-goal scorer in over a decade. While that lofty goal total (his 0.82 goals per game this season was the highest of any player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96) is what set him apart from many others, Matthews was about as complete of a forward as you could want in the NHL this season — excelling in other areas such as high-danger passes, entries, center-lane drives and plenty other smaller facets of his overall repertoire. 

Still, I was extremely torn between Matthews and Shesterkin — who might have finished third overall in official voting, but still managed to garner 24 first-place votes from PHWA members. And yes, while Shesterkin was going to be a lock for the Vezina Trophy (not voted on by the PHWA), you could make the case that the Rangers would have been up the creek without the young Russian between the pipes — with Shesterkin leading all goalies in the regular season in save percentage (.935), GAA (2.07) and goals saved above average (44.83) in all situations (per Natural Stat Trick).

Yes, New York (a pretty flawed team away from power-play reps) likely would have been porked without Shesterkin bailing them out. But when it comes to the most impressive performer this season, I’m going with Matthews, who dominated both on the traditional stat sheet and in the underlying metrics.

That means McDavid and his 123 points finish third in my ballot (*sad trombone*) while Johnny Gaudreau (who casually racked up 90 even-strength points for Calgary this season) finishes fourth — when the BC alum likely would have been a lock as a top-three finalist any other season. For my fifth pick, I opted for Roman Josi, who posted 96 points this past season, the most by a defenseman since Ray Bourque’s 91 points during the 1993-94 season. An impressive campaign for the Nashville captain, no doubt.

NORRIS TROPHY - Given to the defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.

MY BALLOT

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
2. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
3. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
4. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
5. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes 

THE OFFICIAL TOP-FIVE BALLOT

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
2. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
5. Adam Fox, New York Rangers

If you thought the Hart Trophy was tough to sort through, it doesn’t get any easier with a stacked Norris-Trophy field. 

It seems as though my fellow voters shared a similar sentiment, considering that Makar edged out Josi by only 26 points — with Josi actually finishing with more first-place votes.

Let’s face it, the NHL is now inundated with top-flight, impactful defensemen — and with my ballot, I did what I could to recognize a few blueliners who don’t quite get their due nationally due to the fact that they don’t light up the scoresheet quite like a Makar.

As such, I opted for McAvoy with my No. 2 selection and gave Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin (arguably the most underrated player in the league - if not perhaps the best overall shutdown D) a fifth-place nod. It’s a shame that McAvoy, who might be the most well-rounded D in the NHL when factoring in his workload, shutdown talents, transition ability, physicality and O-zone production, will probably never get regarded as a Norris favorite — not when you’ve got other D-men racking up 90+ points in a season). 

Still, as tough as that is for players like McAvoy — you can’t ignore the type of monstrous season that Makar put together this past season. With his O-zone instincts, lethal shot and that superb skating talent — Makar is an offensive behemoth and a complete game-changer whenever he has the puck on his stick. 

Meanwhile, Josi finishes third for me (fantastic offensive totals, but his defensive metrics dip quite a bit, especially when weighed against another offensive D like Makar), while Victor Hedman takes fourth in another strong season where the Bolts D-man racked up a casual 85 points.

Again, just an absurd list of worthy candidates this season. 

CALDER TROPHY - Given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the NHL.

MY BALLOT

1. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
2. Trevor Zegras, Anaheim Ducks
3. Michael Bunting, Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers
5. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings

THE OFFICIAL TOP-FIVE BALLOT

1. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
2. Trevor Zegras, Anaheim Ducks
3. Michael Bunting, Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings
5. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins 

Yes, Zegras was a flashier player and Bunting might have racked up more points … but when it comes to the top rookie in the NHL this past season? It was Seider, and I don’t think it was very close.

Much like McAvoy, Seider did it all for a rebuilding Red Wings team — be it logging heavy minutes (23:03 TOI), generating offense (seven goals, 50 total points) and even adding some thump. Add in the fact that his overall metrics managed to shine on a Detroit club that gave up 3.78 goals per game (31st in the NHL), and this one was easy vote for me. 

The challenge, of course, was finding the next four rookies who warranted votes. Zegras was an offensive sparkplug for Anaheim, drove play effectively and also made the NHL a loooooot of money with his knack for generating clicks and traction with his highlight-reel plays with the puck.  

Bunting was a very tough one to gauge. Yes, on paper — it’s hard to knock the baseline numbers. Even though he was logging heavy minutes with Matthews this past season, he does deserve plenty of credit for breaking out in 2020-21 with Arizona (remember when I mentioned him as a potential low-value pickup for Boston?) and for making good on the heavy minutes he earned with the Leafs.

That being said, in an already VERY crowded field (both Jeremy Swayman and Tanner Jeannot juuuuuust missed the cut for me), I wasn’t slotting a 25-year-old forward who had spent over six seasons in pro hockey (AHL/NHL) over a player like Seider — who only first made the jump to North American back in 2020.

For Swayman, there was an awful lot to like about some various segments of his first full season in the NHL — especially that heater he went on after returning from Providence (5-1-1, .960 save percentage in February). However, be it some of those inconsistent stretches (including one in late April that cost him the starting job at the start of the Carolina series), his usage when compared to everyday NHLers like Seider and Zegras and his so-so underlying metrics this year when it came to goals saved above expected, Swayman just missed my top-five picks.

However, that doesn't mean Swayman shouldn’t be viewed as the goalie of the future for this Bruins club. There’s an awful lot to like about his game, and he’s only going to get better.

SELKE TROPHY - Given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.

MY BALLOT

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
2. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
4. Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames
5. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild 

THE OFFICIAL TOP-FIVE BALLOT

1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
2. Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames
3. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
4. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
5. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning 

This was Patrice Bergeron’s award to lose — and it wasn’t even close. Next.

We’ve already harped quite a bit on Bergeron casually putting together an all-time, two-way clinic in his 18th season in the NHL, but I will note that sorting through the rest of the field wasn’t easy — especially with pretty deserving candidates like Jordan Staal, Phillip Danault, Valeri Nichushkin and even Brad Marchand further down on the voting results. 

LADY BYNG TROPHY - Awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”. 

MY BALLOT 

1. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
2. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
3. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
4.  Alex Iafallo, Los Angeles Kings
5. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues 

THE OFFICIAL TOP-FIVE BALLOT

1. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
2. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
3. Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild
4. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers

No real surprise that Connor was awarded the Lady Byng a few weeks back — considering the Jets sniper was only whistled for two penalties all season in a year where he played 79 games, averaged 21:47 of ice time per game and also posted 47 goals and 93 points. That’s just silly.

NHL All-Star Team

MY BALLOT

Center

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
3. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

Right Wing

1. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
3. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche  

Left Wing

1. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
2. Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
3. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnestoa Wild 

Defense

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
2. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
3. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
4. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
5. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
6. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers 

Goaltender

1. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
2. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
3. Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Center

First Team: Auston Matthews, Toronto
Second Team: Connor McDavid, Edmonton

Left Wing

First Team: Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary
Second Team: Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida 

Right Wing

First Team: Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
Second Team: Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames

Defensemen:

First Team: Cale Makar, Colorado / Roman Josi, Nashville
Second Team: Victor Hedman, Tampa / Charlie McAvoy, Boston

Goalies: 

First Team: Igor Shesterkin, New York
Second Team: Jacob Markstrom, Calgary

NHL All-Rookie Team

MY BALLOT:

Forward 

1. Trevor Zegras, Anaheim Ducks
2. Michael Bunting, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers 

 Defense

1. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
2. Alexandre Carrier, Nashville Predators 

 Goaltender

1. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Forwards: 

Trevor Zegras, Anaheim
Michael Bunting, Toronto
Lucas Raymond, Detroit

Defenseman:

Moritz Seider, Detroit
Alexandre Carrier, Nashville

Goaltender:

Jeremy Swayman, Boston

OTHER NHL AWARDS ANNOUNCED TUESDAY

Of course, there were a few other NHL Awards handed out on Tuesday night. Here’s is the rest of the list: 

Vezina Trophy - awarded “to the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position,” as selected by NHL general managers.

Winner: Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

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Ted Lindsay Award - presented “to the most outstanding player in the NHL,” as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.

Winner: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs