So the NHL regular season is coming to an end and most stat category winners are locked in, as of now. I will discuss the awards that the NHL does not hand out at the annual ceremony but definitely should.
Biggest Disappointment- Most fans would immediately call for Kovalchuk to grab this award, but I disagree. Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals was by far the most disappointing player this season. Kovalchuk is with practically a new team and did not have the overall team skill or players Backstrom had, plus last year Backstrom was a phenom tallying 101 points. This year, only 63 points to his name. He is a great player and I hope he finds his game because he is basically the only normal and respectable player on the Capitals. The trophy for this award would have a statue of Alexandre Daigle on the top.( in case you have no idea who he was-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Daigle)
Biggest Surprise- The grinder Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks easily claims this award. With his probable Rocket Richard win (most goals in a season), he baffled fans everywhere. Also, his roughly 20 point increase from past years help him solidify this win.This trophy would depict Detroit star Henrik Zetterberg, as he was a seventh round pick who surprisingly is now a near elite player.
Most Underrated Player- Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks takes home this award. His current 34 goals makes him a great contributor to the Blackhawks, and he is a big reason they are even in playoff contention. Most people, however, have never even heard of this role player due to stars Patty Kane and Toews on his team overshadowing him. Sharp has fit nicely into this role, and has played it for close to 4 years now. This trophy would be a plaque of Mike Gartner, probably the least known elite player in the history of the league (sixth all time in NHL goals-again, Wikipedia him)
Most Overrated Player- Easily Alexander Ovechkin. This season people spoke of him as they always have, except this year he didn't even come close to his generally great statistics. He barely reached 30 goals and won't come close to 100 points. Still, nonetheless, analysts will call him the greatest of all time and act as if he broke all of Gretzky's records. This trophy would depict Ovechkin due to his epic playoff failures. Regular season stats rarely indicate playoff success so maybe since he did poorly this season his team MAY make it past the first round of the playoffs. However, he is a severe team killer and has consistently proven himself to be the most overrated player in the league.
Rookie Surprise- Few people (including the Canucks and Panthers) could have predicted that on a pitiful team Michael Grabner would score plus-30 goals and show great poise and composure on the ice. After being shopped around and even put on waivers (nice one, Florida) this former 14th overall pick was claimed by the New York Islanders. Here, he played with an above average Tavares, and that's about it. His 31 goals and only 17 assists emphasize the fact that he was doing this all by himself, with little help. This trophy would be a statue of Teemu Selanne, due to his astonishing and amazing rookie season.
Thank you for saying what I have been for years now! Patrick Sharp is very underrated and is one of the best players in the league at the moment. Not only is he very skilled but his work ethic is outstanding! Hopefully they can make a nice run into the playoffs and I know Sharp is good for a couple game winning goals before the Blackhawks season is over.
ReplyDeleteWow my feelings exactly. Backstrom along with Ovi were huge disapointments this year. I always hated Corey Perry, that was until I drafted him to my fantasy team this year. Who saw him scoring 50 goals this season? I've always been a fan of Patrick Sharp, he seems to fly under the radar every year. The Panthers have a nack of giving up good players. Remember when they had Luongo?
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you posted. Ovi did absolutely terrible and this was his time to shine with Crosby out the second half of the season. It is a shame though that Crosby got hurt when it looked like he was going to have a career year this season. Let's hope we can still see him in the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteThis proves that there is a general agreement on the unseen aspects of the NHL among some fans. This is unfortunate, however, because details such as underrated contributors and player surprises provide insight into the league.
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