World Order is Restored at the 2012 NHL Awards

Las Vegas. There’s gambling, even when the odds are certain.

Were we really debating whether Evgeni Malkin was going to win the Hart? Whether Erik Karlsson would win the Norris? Whether Hank would win the Vezina?

Certainly, they seemed like locks. Karlsson, not so much. Of course, he deserved the trophy. His point totals were obscene, and his defensive play is actually quite fine. Oh, sure, it’s not as good as Weber’s or Chara’s, but it doesn’t have to be. He’s better than they are at the other end.

The guy who should have actually come second was Alex Pietrangelo, but folks are robbed of Norris consideration all the time.

Same goes for the Frank J. Selke trophy, which was nabbed – and, probably deservedly – by Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. That said, Bergeron probably got this award more for his performance during the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs than he did for the 2012 season. Boston fell of the wagon after December, and Bergeron wasn’t exactly fool-proof all over the ice, as winners of this award are supposed to be.

When Ryan Kesler won this in 2011, he was so good he could have claimed Hart consideration.

Datsyuk deserved this one, this year, again.

How about the Vezina, where it seemed like everyone was ready to give Jonathan Quick just about everything for the way he performed during the Kings’ “unexpected” Cup run?

Of course, you can’t count playoffs for the NHL’s awards. These honour the regular season, and Quick already won the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP.


Trust us, that’s how it should be. Give Quick an ESPY if you really want. Lundqvist deserved it, and he’s been through this dance a lot. He’s the best goaltender in the world most nights, and he finally got recognized for it.

Now, for Pekka Rinne…

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And, how about Geno?

People were talking about whether he really, truly deserved it, but we hope that was just argument for argument’s sake. After all, the guy dominated every game he played in, and he made the Calder Trophy winner look like an O-Pee-Chee special edition card while doing it.

They threw Stamkos out there, and Lundqvist. They could have thrown Claude Giroux and Jason Spezza into the mix, too. Maybe even Taylor Pyatt.

It doesn’t matter who else they threw in, because this was Geno’s from start to finish.

He had pole position, and he delivered. Props.