<p>We’ve reached the point of the NHL season where teams have now played 20-plus games, which not only means that we can start to look at the results with a little bit more legitimacy, but we can also take a look at what players have accomplished up to this point of the season. Sure, you can do that at any point of the season, but doing so at the quarter-mark has more formality to it.</p>



<p>Now that we’re a quarter through the season, we here at Daily Faceoff are looking at the early frontrunners for each of the major awards. While no award is locked up at this point, it does give us a good idea as to who might find themselves in the hunt down the final stretch, and whom to keep an eye on as the season carries on.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="141"></div>



<p>With that, we’ll dive into who we think would win the six major trophies (the Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, Selke Trophy, Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Jack Adams Award) at this point of the season. To do so, I called upon the help of some of my colleagues at Daily Faceoff to submit their own ballots. Seven people voted on all the awards (except for the Selke, which one voter elected not to vote on due to not having the bandwidth to properly dive into the best defensive forwards), giving their top five picks for each one (except for the Vezina and Jack Adams, which was only three), and then the ballots were scored like they are in real life.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Hart Trophy: Kirill Kaprizov (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/minnesota-wild/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Minnesota Wild</a>)</h2>



<p><strong>Finalists:</strong> Nathan MacKinnon (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/colorado-avalanche/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colorado Avalanche</a>), Connor Hellebuyck (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/winnipeg-jets/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Winnipeg Jets</a>)<br><strong>Other Votes: </strong>Sam Reinhart, Nikita Kucherov, Martin Necas, Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, Mitch Marner, Artemi Panarin, Cale Makar, Connor McDavid</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="148"></div>



<p>Last season gave us one of the craziest races for the Hart Trophy we’d seen in years, with Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews all putting up excellent cases for the award. This year, it’s not only even crazier, but it’s more wide open. As we still try to figure out what teams are made of, there are several cases for who’s been most valuable to their team.</p>



<p>However, it’s Kaprizov who has had the upper hand so far, receiving first-place votes from four of our seven panelists. The fact he sits just two points off of the league lead so far this season is a strong enough case for the Hart, but combine that with the Wild’s surprise start to the season, and it’s easy to see why he’s the frontrunner so far.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="137"></div>



<p>MacKinnon was an easy second place with one first-place and four second-place votes, and it’s not only because of the reputation he holds as last year’s winner. He’s currently tied with Kaprizov for second in scoring, and while he does have some elite running mates in Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, MacKinnon has been carrying this Avs team to their current mid-table form despite all the injury and goaltending woes that they’ve had to deal with.</p>



<p>Hellebuyck rounds out the top three, and he was the player who received my own first-place vote. While there’s been a tight race for the best skater in the league, he’s the clear-cut best goaltender in the league with a .928 save percentage and 17.69 goals saved above expected, which are second and first in the league. But what really won me over was the fact that he’s played a big role in turning a Jets team who sits 20th in 5v5 expected goal share with 49.23% into a team with an 18-5-0 record and has a 57.24% 5v5 goal share. Without him, this team is probably nowhere close to the record they have right now.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="192"></div>



<p>Reinhart received the only other first-place vote among our voters, as he currently has the league lead in goals with 17 and played a huge role in keeping the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/florida-panthers/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Florida Panthers</a> afloat while Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov were hurt (see: Selke Trophy). Beyond that, Kucherov, Necas and Eichel found themselves in the top three of a few ballots, while the rest only received a vote or two in fourth or fifth, including the usual favourite for the Hart in McDavid.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Calder Trophy: Dustin Wolf (<a href="https://flamesnation.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Calgary Flames</a>)</h2>



<p><strong>Finalists: </strong>Matvei Michkov (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/philadelphia-flyers/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Philadelphia Flyers</a>), Logan Stankoven (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/dallas-stars/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dallas Stars</a>)<br><strong>Other Votes: </strong>Macklin Celebrini, Lane Hutson, Maxim Tsyplakov, Joel Blomqvist</p>



<p>Wolf was well-received amongst our voters, as five of the seven gave him a first-place vote to make him the heavy favorite in the early parts of the season. It was quite close between him and Michkov, especially considering how vital both players have been to their new teams, but Wolf is already playing like an elite goaltender, and as a result, the Flames are much higher in the standings than many expected.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="172"></div>



<p>While the order differed for some, a majority of the ballots for the Calder had the same five players, as Tsyplakov and Blomqvist only had one vote each. Stankoven rounded out the finalists in third-place thanks to sharing the rookie league in scoring with Michkov, although Macklin Celebrini is knocking on the door and probably would have gotten third place if not for the injury he suffered during training camp. Hutson has also gotten a lot of love for his play with the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/montreal-canadiens/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Montreal Canadiens</a>, but despite all of the hype surrounding him on social media, he was never higher than fourth on anyone’s ballots.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Selke Trophy: Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers)</h2>



<p><strong>Finalists: </strong>Nico Hischier (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Jersey Devils</a>), Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers)<br><strong>Other Votes: </strong>Jordan Staal, Anthony Cirelli, Mitch Marner, Alex Tuch, Adam Lowry, Tim Stutzle, Leon Draisaitl, Phillip Danault, Claude Giroux, Jack Hughes, Logan O’Connor</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="138"></div>



<p>While Barkov has slowly replaced Patrice Bergeron as the consistent top contender for the Selke, it’s his linemate in Reinhart that got the most love from us at the quarter mark. He only got one first-place vote, but he got five votes total from the six who voted on the Selke, which gave him the 32 points to edge him over Nico Hischier’s three first-place votes and 30 points. I was actually the one that gave Reinhart the first place vote, largely because he was top 10 among forwards in defensive GAR with 2.4, which was even more than his teammate and Hischier. Hischier was hit or miss among the voters, either finishing in first or not on the ballot at all, while Barkov also got votes from five different voters, just not as high up on the ballots as Reinhart overall.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="142"></div>



<p>Staal was another popular choice, also making five different ballots, but never higher than third place. Beyond that, there was a plethora of players who only got a vote or two that you wouldn’t be surprised to see on a Selke ballot like Marner, Cirelli, Danault or Giroux. Draisaitl is normally a more polarizing selection for the Selke considering his defensive underlying numbers are usually terrible, but he actually finds himself with a quite solid defensive GAR of 1.3.</p>



<p>As for me, I had a couple more surprise candidates on my ballot, as I gave my fourth vote to Hughes and my fifth place vote to O’Connor. For Hughes, he’s one had one of the better defensive impacts among the elite players (tied for 14th in defensive GAR with 2.2), and was much better than Hischier (-0.1) in that regard this season, so he easily made my ballot over his fellow centerman. Meanwhile, O’Connor got a shoutout from me for leading all forwards in defensive GAR with 3.8, especially in the wake of Colorado’s current injury situation.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="7" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="177"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Norris Trophy: Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)</h2>



<p><strong>Finalists:</strong> Quinn Hughes (<a href="https://canucksarmy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vancouver Canucks</a>), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets)<br><strong>Other Votes: </strong>Zach Werenski, Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, Dougie Hamilton, Thomas Chabot, Evan Bouchard, Adam Fox, Roman Josi, John Carlson, Rasmus Sandin</p>



<p>It looks like Hughes’ bid to take back-to-back Norris trophies may fall just short according to our voters. While the Canucks defenseman has been excellent defensively and is scoring at above a point-per-game pace, Makar was the unanimous winner of the award, receiving first-place votes from all seven voters. While his defensive impact (0.3 defensive goals above replacement) hasn’t been quite as good as Hughes’ (1.7), Makar has still been fine defensively, and has more than made up for it by how much he’s pulled ahead of the scoring race for defenders with 30 points in 23 games, which currently has him on pace for 106 points.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="8" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="137"></div>



<p>Morrissey rounds out the top three, as 20 points in 23 games on a Jets team that has an 18-5-0 record and are allowing the second fewest goals in the league has made him a strong candidate for the award. That said, that’s where I differed among the rest of my colleagues in the top three, as I had Dougie Hamilton in that spot based on both his production (tied for 10th in scoring with 17 points) and his overall impact (eighth in GAR with 6).</p>



<p>Among the other defensemen to receive votes, none should really jump out as a surprise, considering each of them acts as the top dog on their respective teams. My final two votes might be the only ones that stand out, as I had Chabot in fourth and Sandin in fifth. They may seem like votes out of left field to some as they both have only 11 points this season, but both are currently first and second in GAR (10.8 for Sandin in first and 10.3 for Chabot in second), so I think they should both get some recognition for their play this season.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="9" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="190"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Vezina Trophy: Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)</h2>



<p><strong>Finalists: </strong>Lukas Dostal (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/anaheim-ducks/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Anaheim Ducks</a>), Filip Gustavsson (Minnesota Wild)<br><strong>Other Votes: </strong>Jake Oettinger, Anthony Stolarz, Joey Daccord, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Karel Vejmelka</p>



<p>While Hughes was denied back-to-back Norris trophies, Hellebuyck found himself a bit more fortunate and looks to be in better shape to capture his second-straight and third career Vezina trophy. He joins Makar as the only other unanimous winner of the quarterly awards, and for good reason. I already dived into why Hellebuyck was worthy of my first-place Hart vote earlier, so it should be no surprise why he’s the easy favourite for the Vezina thus far.</p>



<p>Gustavsson and Dostal rounded out the finalists with their play so far this season, ranking first and fourth in save percentage, with Dostal getting more favor for his play on a weak Ducks team, as his 16.81 goals saved above expected ranks second behind only Hellebuyck. Dostal got my second-place vote, but it was actually Vejmelka who finished off my ballot in third place for similar reasons to Dostal, as he’s tied with the Ducks netminder in save percentage with .922 and is doing so on a Utah squad ravaged with injuries (particularly on their blueline), as shown with his third-ranked 12.25 GSAx.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="10" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="200"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jack Adams Award: Scott Arniel (Winnipeg Jets)</h2>



<p><strong>Finalists: </strong>Spencer Carbery (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/washington-capitals/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington Capitals</a>), Rod Brind’Amour (<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Carolina Hurricanes</a>)<br><strong>Other Votes: </strong>John Hynes, Craig Berube, Jim Hiller, Ryan Huska</p>



<p>Considering the fact that the Jack Adams award generally goes to the coach on the team that exceeds expectations, there are a ton of candidates at this point of the season with all the teams teams off to surprisingly hot starts that have yet to cool down. It should be no surprise that the favorite among our voters is Arniel, who in his first year with the Jets has helped them to an 18-5-0 record. Carbery is of a similar ilk with the 15-6-1 Capitals, and he finished just one point behind Arniel for the award. While they weren’t finalists, Hynes and Huska find themselves on the ballot for similar reasons due to the early success of the Wild and Flames.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="11" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="139"></div>



<p>Rounding out the finalists is a previous winner in Brind’Amour, who gets a bit more love this year for the fact that the Canes have been right there with the Jets, and also have an added scoring element to them that makes them feel different this season. The playoffs will always be the proving ground for him and the Hurricanes, but there is a different vibe to it. That’s also why Berube got some votes this year for the early results from the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> in spite of all of their injuries.</p>



<p>That said, my ballot came with a different approach, as I subscribe to the notion that the award should go to the coaches that are seeing the best results from their systems in terms of how their teams drive play, especially at even strength considering that that is the game state that they specialize in. For that, Hiller got my first place vote, Brind’Amour got my second, and Carbery my third based on how their teams have played in that regard in the early going.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="12" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="178"></div>



<p>_____</p>



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