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Colorado Avalanche Awards 2017-18

McMetal

McMetal

Writer of Wrongs
Sep 29, 2015
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So, I think it's time for a season-end review of the players. Regardless of whether MacKinnon wins the actual Hart, I think he's a runaway winner for the team. Aside from that though, who gets to take home the other imaginary trophies?

Calder?
Norris?
Selke?
Vezina?
Lady Byng?

And, since we actually played some playoff games this year, we should vote on a Conn Smythe too! No pressure, just vote for your winners!
Click to read more...
 
McMetal

McMetal

Writer of Wrongs
Sep 29, 2015
14,142
12,130
My votes:

Calder: Samuel Girard - It's not just his awesome defense, but the dynamic play from the back end really changes the Avs attack and makes it harder to defend against them. That kind of creativity is rare and will only get more valuable.
Norris: Erik Johnson - For most of the year, he was an integral part of the defense and the complete package defensively. Z started to show some of that defensive dominance at the end of the year, but EJ was the man back there when he was playing.
Selke: Blake Comeau - Mostly for the penalty kill, he was absolutely relentless there and was the best defensive player on our checking line as well. That line was huge for our success this year and although Soderberg and Nieto deserve credit, Blake was the guy who did the heavy defensive lifting.
Vezina: Semyon Varlamov - Bernier's winning streak aside, Varley was the top dog, I don't understand why so many are ready to move on from the best goalie this team has had since Roy.
Lady Byng: Tyson Jost - It's not about the PIMs for me, but Jost definitely embodies sportsmanship to me. Clean play, good attitude, and showing the beginnings of a promising offensive career too.
Conn Smythe: Gabriel Landeskog - MacKinnon may have led the way through the regular season, but Gabe put us on his back in the playoffs. Clutch play everywhere.
 
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Pierce Hawthorne

Pierce Hawthorne

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Calder: Alex Kerfoot. I think most people are going to vote for Girard but I dont think that's really accurate. Dont get me wrong Girard was very good and especially in the playoffs took his game up a notch, but in the regular season where these votes matter, I felt he was very meh for a long period of time. Kerfoot hit a rookie wall no question, but he was very productive the first half of the year and towards the end of the season started to get things going again. Other nominations would go to Girard and Jost.


Norris: Tyson Barrie. Was extremely close between he and Zadorov, but you cant ignore the production he had this year and how strongly he stepped up in the regular season when EJ went down(Although Zads did this as well). Other nominations would be Zadorov and EJ a distant 3rd


Selke: Gabe Landeskog. his work and defensive play was a huge reason Mack and Rantanen had the freedom to do what they did on that line. Other nominees would be Soderberg and Nieto a very distant 3rd.

Vezina: Varlamov. Health is the only real concern when it comes to his game. Think he proved to everyone this year that when he's at 100% he's still a stud of a Goalie and a legit #1. Just unfortunate that injuries are becoming more and more of a problem with him and his game.

Lady Byng: Nikita Zadorov :sarcasm: Sam Girard gets this one. 68 games played and only 3 minor penalties taken. Impressive stats for a Dman, especially one of his size who has to rely on his stick work more then most other Dmen. Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson the other nominations.



Conn Smythe: Gabriel Landeskog. Plain and simple this guy was an absolute monster for us in the playoffs. We've always known that playoff hockey is the style of game for Landeskog to shine in. We saw glimpses of it in the series against the Wild 4 years ago, and this year should be a reminder of what playoff mode Landeskog is all about. It takes Viking Landeskog to an entirely new level. Mackinnon and Zadorov get the other nominations for this one.
 
CobraAcesS

CobraAcesS

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McMetal said:
So, I think it's time for a season-end review of the players. Regardless of whether MacKinnon wins the actual Hart, I think he's a runaway winner for the team. Aside from that though, who gets to take home the other imaginary trophies?

Calder?
Norris?
Selke?
Vezina?
Lady Byng?

And, since we actually played some playoff games this year, we should vote on a Conn Smythe too! No pressure, just vote for your winners!
Click to expand...

Calder; Giard, not even close. Especially when considering his position, what he did when Barrie was injured, and his age. No other rookie maintained a high level for the entire season except him either.

Norris; EJ, but it would be Barrie if you used the NHL's evaluation of the award. Z and Barrie are tied after that. One brought top notch defense, and the other top notch offense, but both only occasionally flashed the other half for short stretches.

Selke; Landeskog, and it's not close. What he did for that top line all season was exactly what the Selke embodies.

Vezina; Varly gets it for the something like 22 games he started consecutively down the stretch.

Lady Byng; Girard, just all business all the time

Conn Smythe; Landeskog, followed by MacKinnon, followed by Z, followed by Girard

Fun fact; Z is the only top player who was a plus player in the playoffs. Ghetto the only forward.
 
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ASmileyFace

ASmileyFace

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Feb 13, 2014
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Calder: Girard slightly edges out Kerfoot for me due to his age.

Norris: Barrie. He had is typical brain fart games but he really stepped up when EJ was out and with how he elevated Nate's game the award has to go to him.

Selke: Landy for sure.

Vezina: Hammond :sarcasm: but really it has to be Varly.

Lady Byng: Girard wins this one too.

Conn Smythe: Landeskog was such a beast leading up to and in the playoffs. Viking mode was built for the post season and I hope to see it again next season.
 
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MarkT

MarkT

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Nov 11, 2017
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Calder: Girard for sure. Kerfoot's point totals are impressive, but playing defense at the level Girard did as a rookie is way more impressive to me.
Norris: Barrie because the Norris is an award for the best offensive defenseman in the league. if it were for best defenseman it should go to EJ.
Selke: Soderberg. It was close in my mind between him, Comeau and Nieto, but this award almost always goes to centers because they tend to have more defensive responsibility.
Vezina: Varly. Better stats and overall performance. If he was healthy I think we'd have won at least one more game against the Preds.
Lady Byng: Rantanen - has to be a top player, and of our top guys he's the one I see as the most gentlemanly.
Masterton: Soderberg - nobody had a bigger positive change from last season to this one.
Messier Leadership Award: EJ. As much as Landeskog sometimes carried the team in key games, I felt he shared the leadership of the forwards a lot with MacKinnon. EJ was the clear leader of the defense core, and really led the way with his play.
Jack Adams: Bednar, although both assistants deserved consideration.
Ted Lindsay: MacKinnon
Hart: MacKinnon
King Clancy: This one I don't know because I don't live in Denver and I'm not aware of who does the most community work.
Conn Smyth: Landeskog. He definitely brought his game to another level in that series.
 
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expatriatedtexan

expatriatedtexan

Habitual Line Stepper
Aug 17, 2005
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Calder: Girard
Norris: EJ
Selke: Barrie (just kidding) Comeau
Vezina: Hammond (led the team in GA, GAA, and Sv%)....again just kidding, it's gotta be Varly as much as I like Bernier.
Lady Byng: Going off the board here and picking Girard...I've been impressed at his ability to use his small frame and make hits that are effective and not take penalties.
Masterson: Warsofsky...How he was able to play 16 games in the NHL without a brain is pretty incredible.
Messier: EJ
Adams: Bednar is one of only two people on the team worthy of an award this year...too bad Gallant got fired by an incredibly incompetent Panthers team last season.
Lindsay: MacKinnon is the second of only two people people on the team worthy of an award...and this should be his. Yes, I am biased but screw it. I'll actually be disappointed if he doesn't win.
King Clancy: N/A...players don't wont to be recognized for this stuff....they do it because they feel like it is the right thing to do...not to get awarded for it.
Conn Smyth: N/A Insufficient data (based on what we had, Landeskog).

Side note....I really hope one day the NHL gets rid of the Byng, Masterson and Clancy awards and come up with three trophies that are actually geared towards the game. My suggestions:
1. Orr: Awarded to the player who scored the goal of the year (think Orr's flying goal, Ovechkin's on his back rolling around, etc..)
2. Mark Howe: Awarded to the best defensive d-man (this dude played 30 consecutive games without a goal against at even strength.)
3. Hasek: Awarded to the goalie who made the save of the year.
 
Cousin Eddie

Cousin Eddie

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Nov 3, 2006
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I agree with most people’s votes aside from the collection of people voting Soderberg for the Selke. It’s Landeskog AINEC. It’s not even close to being close.
 
MarkT

MarkT

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Nov 11, 2017
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Cousin Eddie said:
I agree with most people’s votes aside from the collection of people voting Soderberg for the Selke. It’s Landeskog AINEC. It’s not even close to being close.
Click to expand...

Landeskog has a reputation of being good defensively, but I can't even count the number of times a goal against happened where they guy who scored was Landeskog's responsibility. He's good once he's back and on his guy, but he seems to have a ton of lapses in actually getting in position in time. Soderberg meanwhile was one of our top penalty killers and anchored our top defensive line. If you want to award overall two-way play I'd give it to Landy, but as an award for a defensive forward it has to be someone from the Soda line at least.
 
Cousin Eddie

Cousin Eddie

You Serious Clark?
Nov 3, 2006
40,147
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MarkT said:
Landeskog has a reputation of being good defensively, but I can't even count the number of times a goal against happened where they guy who scored was Landeskog's responsibility. He's good once he's back and on his guy, but he seems to have a ton of lapses in actually getting in position in time. Soderberg meanwhile was one of our top penalty killers and anchored our top defensive line. If you want to award overall two-way play I'd give it to Landy, but as an award for a defensive forward it has to be someone from the Soda line at least.
Click to expand...

I couldn’t disagree more. Of course he has occasional lapses. He plays 5 more minutes a game than Soderberg lol. And yes, from January onward Bednar tried matching Soderberg against other teams top lines but that only happened at home. From October to January Landeskog faced all teams top lines. From January to April he still continued to do so on the road.

I have called Landeskog’s defensive game overrated throughout his entire career. He was always good and was the best defensive player on the Avs (post Staz/ROR) but was still not great and thought he got too much credit. This year he stepped up big time. I think he was one of the best defensive wingers in the NHL. The Wheelers and Stone’s are in a tier of their own but Landy was in the next one.

In my opinion there wasn’t a player on the Avalanche anywhere close to Landeskog in defensive impact this year. Like I mean if Landeskog was a 9 out of 10 the next best would have to be a 5.5 at best.
 
MarkT

MarkT

Heretic
Nov 11, 2017
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Cousin Eddie said:
I couldn’t disagree more. Of course he has occasional lapses. He plays 5 more minutes a game than Soderberg lol. And yes, from January onward Bednar tried matching Soderberg against other teams top lines but that only happened at home. From October to January Landeskog faced all teams top lines. From January to April he still continued to do so on the road.

I have called Landeskog’s defensive game overrated throughout his entire career. He was always good and was the best defensive player on the Avs (post Staz/ROR) but was still not great and thought he got too much credit. This year he stepped up big time. I think he was one of the best defensive wingers in the NHL. The Wheelers and Stone’s are in a tier of their own but Landy was in the next one.

In my opinion there wasn’t a player on the Avalanche anywhere close to Landeskog in defensive impact this year. Like I mean if Landeskog was a 9 out of 10 the next best would have to be a 5.5 at best.
Click to expand...

We can agree to disagree. It's not a huge deal to me honestly.
 
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