The NHLPA announced on Wednesday their yearly awards which were chosen by over 600 NHL Players who were asked a 20 question survey. These awards are voted on by the players for the players and range for on-ice accomplishments to off-ice as well. Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins topped the on-ice list, each getting two of the top spots.
Crosby led all players in taking home three of the 20 awards that were handed out on Wednesday. Now let’s get to the award winners in detail.
On-Ice Awards:
Best On Ice Forward: Connor McDavid (68.35%)
For the second straight year, Connor McDavid was named the best on-ice forward among players. This comes as no surprise as McDavid has been one of the elite skaters since entering the league in 2015. He’s put up 162 goals and 307 assists for 469 points in 351 games. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native currently leads the NHL, averaging almost one assist per game.
Best Defencemen: Victor Hedman (37.88%)
Just like McDavid, Hedman was also chosen as the best defenceman for the second straight year. Hedman continues to be a driving force on the Bolts blue-line which led them to the President’s Trophy during the 2018-19 season. He plays a very solid game defensively and is a guy who will find the scoresheet, but isn’t going to put up major numbers. The Tampa Bay blue-liner has 11 goals and 44 assists for 55 points this season in 66 games.
Best Goaltender: Carey Price (41.55%)
Despite having an off-year, Carey Price was named the NHL’s best goaltender for the second straight year and was named hardest to score against during the 2017-18 season. Price is one of the elite goaltenders in the league and has been for the past few seasons despite not having a solid defensive core in front of him. It’s likely that it was Price’s reputation that got him the honour of the best goaltender this season among players.
Most Complete Player: Sidney Crosby (45.56%)
Sidney Crosby was named the most complete player, earning almost half the votes in this category. He’s one of those players that will not only be a superstar offensively, but will be a guy whose gonna get back and protect in his own end as well. Crosby has had a recent history with concussions which have limited him to only 41 games this season, but his production hasn’t taken a hit.
In those games, he’s picked up 16 goals and 31 assists for 47 points. He was also named the player everyone wanted to have on their team (44.03%) which doesn’t come as a surprise as they named him the most complete player. Crosby was also named the player who players want to see on social media, but isn’t.
Best/Worst Trash Talker: Brad Marchand
Anyone who knows Brad Marchand isn’t shocked by this. The Bruins forward has always been a thorn to opponents and can be found in the front of the net, stirring the pot and causing a commotion. His most memorable moment came last season when he was accused of licking opposing players multiple times and was warned by the NHLDOPS that he would be punished if he did it again.
Best Female Player: Marie-Philip Poulin (39.92%)
The best female player was Marie-Philip Poulin. Poulin had the Golden Goal for Canada in both the 2010 and 2014 Olympic games. The 29-year-old center had 23 goals and 27 assists for 50 points in 26 games in the year prior to the CWHL folding. This led to her being named MVP in the CWHL and led the league with those 50 points.
Off-Ice Awards and Arenas
Some of the other surprises that came out of the survey were that 40.57% of the players would like to see customized skates if the NHL allowed it to express some of the player personalities. Almost 3/4 of players are in favour of having a more laid back dress code like the NBA has. Tomas “Tuna” Tatar won best nickname with 8.08% of the votes.
Among arenas, the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, got 31.75 % for having the best ice while Rogers Place, home of the Oilers, got 38% of the votes for having the best visiting locker room in the NHL.
The full list can be found here.