Worst choices for award winners

[Ogopogo*]

I remember there being dispute over the '88/89 Calder trophy going to Leetch and some say it should have gone to Linden, but looking at the stats I don't see why. Can anyone elaborate?

The Canucks had never won anything in their lives so, the people of Vancouver were rabid and desperate to force the voters into voting for Linden. But, like the Canucks putrid history, he did not deserve the award and did not get the award.

I still have a button that says "I vote Trevor Linden for Rookie of the year 1989" that the Canucks put out.

 

[MS]

Pavol Demitra winning the Lady Byng in 2000. Often this award has just been given to the player with the best ratio of most points to fewest PIM, and this is the most glaring case. This is supposed to be an award to honour 'gentlemanly conduct', and I have a difficult time equating that term with Demitra after the way he publicly rubbished the AHL and PEI when in Ottawa's system.

Rick Meagher's Selke in 1990 was equally bad (not to sound like I'm picking on St. Louis guys or anything). Good utility player, but the guy was 37 and on his last legs in the NHL at a time when guys like Tikkanen and Carbonneau were in their primes. Awful choice. Was he really the top defensive forward in the NHL in 1990, when he was out of the NHL in 1991?

Blake's Norris, Bill Barber's Jack Adams were bad as well.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

COME ON GUYS! How could you miss the worse choice for an award in the history
of the game.Booby Orr wins the scoring race (and does much more) and the Hart
trophy goes to Bobby Clarke.Quite frankly Orr was robbed several years because
their were sports writers that thought he shouldn't get votes for the Hart because
he got them for the Norris.Some of those sports writers saw the hart as being for
the Most Valuable Forward.However 1975 is well recognized as the worst selection of all time.

In 1974-74 Clarke was the best player on the best team in hockey, and Orr also had Espo and his 61 goals on his team.

 

[pei fan]

In 1974-74 Clarke was the best player on the best team in hockey, and Orr also had Espo and his 61 goals on his team.

The Hart is for MVP of the league not of the best team in the league.If that was
the case then several hart winners would have to be changed.Orr was the catalyst
of that team not Espo.As soon as Orr was gone Espo's production plummeted
including the times Orr was out with injury.Also the Bruins record was horrible
when Orr was out with injury compared to when he was playing.

Anyway since 1974-75 a defenseman has not even come close to winning the
scoring race.Plus he scored a record for defenseman 46 goals.What a shame
that his achievement is not recognized by a Hart Trophy.
He was also good defensively and had the highest +/- in the league.
Clarke by the way had 27 goals that year.

 

[Mothra]

The Hart is for MVP of the league not of the best team in the league.If that was
the case then several hart winners would have to be changed.Orr was the catalyst
of that team not Espo.As soon as Orr was gone Espo's production plummeted
including the times Orr was out with injury.Also the Bruins record was horrible
when Orr was out with injury compared to when he was playing.

Anyway since 1974-75 a defenseman has not even come close to winning the
scoring race.Plus he scored a record for defenseman 46 goals.What a shame
that his achievement is not recognized by a Hart Trophy.
He was also good defensively and had the highest +/- in the league.
Clarke by the way had 27 goals that year.

For me Bobby Orr is the best player I ever saw...and its not really that close.....but I cant argue (too much) with Clarke getting the Hart that season. You could have given the Hart to Orr every year he played and it wouldnt be wrong... but Clarke was the Flyers and everything they were about....the ultimate captain

 

[pei fan]

IMO Fred Shero was the flyers.They were his invention.It was a system team
(if you want to call pounding the crap out of the other guy's a system).Clarke
was just his prototype.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

The Hart is for MVP of the league not of the best team in the league.If that was
the case then several hart winners would have to be changed.Orr was the catalyst
of that team not Espo.As soon as Orr was gone Espo's production plummeted
including the times Orr was out with injury.Also the Bruins record was horrible
when Orr was out with injury compared to when he was playing.

Anyway since 1974-75 a defenseman has not even come close to winning the
scoring race.Plus he scored a record for defenseman 46 goals.What a shame
that his achievement is not recognized by a Hart Trophy.
He was also good defensively and had the highest +/- in the league.
Clarke by the way had 27 goals that year.

If the Hart trophy was awarded to the best player, than it would be Orr hands down. It's not best player, but most valuable, and Clarke was more valuable to the Flyers than Orr was to the Bruins in that particular year.

 

[Mothra]

IMO Fred Shero was the flyers.They were his invention.It was a system team
(if you want to call pounding the crap out of the other guy's a system).Clarke
was just his prototype.

Why stop there.....lets just say Snyder was the Flyers....he was the one that wanted the tough team....wasnt it after a Blues game where the Flyers got pounded that he said "never again".

 

[Dr Love]

Kris Draper winning the Selke last year. If he didn't score 24 goals, which has nothing to do with the award, he doesn't win it.

The Adams award, like any coach of the year award in any sport, is a bit of a joke, it always goes to a heavily improved team, regardless of how well they were coached.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Why stop there.....lets just say Snyder was the Flyers....he was the one that wanted the tough team....wasnt it after a Blues game where the Flyers got pounded that he said "never again".

Yes, Snider, and Allen as well were the ones that decided the team had to get much bigger and tougher. It happened after the Blues (Plager brothers et. al) swept the Flyers in the 68-69 playoffs. The Flyers were completely manhandled.

The next Flyers draft has Clarke, Schutlz and Saleski ... Bob Kelly came the following draft.

Those drafts along with the aquistion of Moose Dupont changed the physical nature of the club.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

IMO Fred Shero was the flyers.They were his invention.It was a system team
(if you want to call pounding the crap out of the other guy's a system).Clarke
was just his prototype.

Shero certainly encouraged the rough stuff, but the Flyers did play a system back then, much more so than most teams. Shero was a huge Anatoli Tarason (sp?) fan .... and the Flyers practiced breakout religously ... when most teams relied more on talent to carry the puck out of the zone.

 

[MrMastodonFarm*]

Theodore actually took his team to the playoffs. During the that final 20 game stretch in '02 and parts of the ensuing playoffs, he gave off the most impressive goaltending run I've ever witnessed.

He was also very average in the first half of the season. Khabibulin was better then Thedore in the first half that season, and the "what have you done for me lately" thought process took over and Theodore won the Vezina. If Theo would have switched halves he never would have won anything.

 

[Wisent]

Certainly not the worst choice, but why didn't Hasek get the Smythe during the Sabres playoff-run?

 

[pei fan]

Shero certainly encouraged the rough stuff, but the Flyers did play a system back then, much more so than most teams. Shero was a huge Anatoli Tarason (sp?) fan .... and the Flyers practiced breakout religously ... when most teams relied more on talent to carry the puck out of the zone.

I understand they had a system and I was serious about that part and somewhat joking about the "beating the crap" part.You're obviously a big flyer fan and so I'm
not going to convince you but do you understand that some sportswriters didn't
even give a vote(not even a 2nd, 3rd place etc. vote)to Orr because they didn't
think a defenseman should win the award.

 

[Mothra]

I understand they had a system and I was serious about that part and somewhat joking about the "beating the crap" part.You're obviously a big flyer fan and so I'm
not going to convince you but do you understand that some sportswriters didn't
even give a vote(not even a 2nd, 3rd,4th place vote)to Orr because they didn't
think a defenseman should win the award.

again...a bigger Orr fan you will not find....but how do you know this? Seeing how Orr had won the award 3 times in a row very recently before this I find it hard to believe that....would be interesting to see the voting results on this

 

[VanIslander]

Certainly not the worst choice, but why didn't Hasek get the Smythe during the Sabres playoff-run?

Because of a non-goal?

Seriously, Nieuwendyk was easily as deserving.

 

[Kritter471]

Certainly not the worst choice, but why didn't Hasek get the Smythe during the Sabres playoff-run?

Because Nieuwendyk tied a playoff record with 6 game-winning goals.

Had the Sabres won, I could see Hasek easily winning the Conn Smythe. Heck, there was a fairly sizable debate over whether the Smythe should have gone to Belfour over Nieuwendyk, since the voting was tabulated in the second intermission before the Overtime that Never Ended.

 

[Ronald Pagan]

Ray Bourque's 1991 Norris.

Big Al should have won that. Bourque had a good season, but it wasn't as good as Al's. Eastern bias strikes again.

 

[Roughneck]

Not giving Iginla the Hart because one writer left him off the ballot.

Screw the playoff argument, he should at least have given a vote for Iginla. This doens't mean Theodore wasn't a deserving winner, but the way Iginla lost the award was just a joke.

 

[pei fan]

again...a bigger Orr fan you will not find....but how do you know this? Seeing how Orr had won the award 3 times in a row very recently before this I find it hard to believe that....would be interesting to see the voting results on this

I don't know if they still do but they used to post the voting results every year.
I think they still do for the baseball mvp's-I seem to remember seeing that.

 

[Ronald Pagan]

1990 Calder to Sergei Makarov.

Wasn't he like 33 years old or something? They changed the rules after his win.

 

[Ogopogo*]

1990 Calder to Sergei Makarov.

Wasn't he like 33 years old or something? They changed the rules after his win.

Ray Bourque's calder in 1980 was a complete farce. They wouldn't give it to Gretzky because he played a season in the WHA. They honestly believed that Makarov was not a professional player in Russia?