MacKinnon, Makar and Crosby Are Some of Our NHL Mid-Season Award Picks – Plus AHL & More

Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos give their mid-season picks for the NHL's top awards, and each THN team site selected winners for their squads. Plus, fantasy, gaming, AHL, ECHL and WHL picks.

The NHL All-Star Game is coming up, which means one thing: we’re at the mid-way point of the season.

With that, it’s time to take a look around the NHL and see who’s been deserving of some accolades. Here’s what we know: Auston Matthews is on pace for 70 goals, Nathan MacKinnon still hasn’t gone a game without registering a point at home, and Connor Hellebuyck has stopped more pucks than should be humanly possible.

As for who should win the Hart Trophy or Jack Adams Award, we turn to our NHL experts for some mid-season picks:

Ryan Kennedy: For me, the front-runner is Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado. He’s one of the top scorers in the league. Obviously, he’s had those wicked point streaks going in, particularly at Ball Arena. I just think that the Ads are on a mission. They lose in the first round last year to Seattle after winning the Stanley Cup, you know that they want to go deep again — and to get the Cup again. And MacKinnon has obviously been the driving force there.

Michael Traikos: I love Nikita Kucherov. I was looking at the stats before this and he’s got 32 goals and 85 points in 49 games. Those are almost end-of-the-season totals. It’s insane. The only caveat is that the Tampa Bay Lightning are not having a typical Lightning type of season. Right now, they are jockeying for a wild card spot, which may not be surprising … but I just love the play of Kucherov. The one thing you can maybe quibble with is that he’s only a plus-5.

Other considerations: Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak.

RK: Obviously, the two are Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. I’m still going with Quinn Hughes right now. I’ve just been so impressed with how he has helped the Canucks become what they have been so far this season.

MT: I like Quinn Hughes, but that being said we’re seeing PDO and the underlying stats starting to come down to earth for the Canucks. I still think he’s going to put up a ton of points where he’s going to be either one or two in that voting. But when you’re talking about who the best defenceman is — like, if you were starting a franchise — I bet you nine out of 10 people would say Makar. He’s the best defenceman since Bobby Orr. Maybe this is the run where we’re looking back at a guy who has won seven or eight Norris Trophies.

Other considerations: Noah Dobson, Josh Morrisey.

RK: It feels like it’s almost a lock at this point. If you look at goals saved above expected, Connor Hellebuyck is light years ahead of the competition … I would say that the other solid candidate is Thatcher Demko in Vancouver. Another guy who is second in goals saved above expected.

MT: Where would the Winnipeg Jets be had they not signed Connor Hellebuyck last summer? And where would they be if wasn’t putting up the numbers he’s been putting up? He’s the best goalie in the world right now.

Other considerations: Adin Hill, Connor Ingram, Jeremy Swayman, Cam Talbot.

RK: First half, it’s Connor Bedard. Second half, it’s really going to depend on how many games he plays and how quickly he can get up to speed once he returns. It will be an interesting race, because Brock Faber is playing a ton of ice time for Minnesota on the defence — and getting good results as well. He’s getting points, he’s preventing goals, so it’s not just a matter of him being thrown to the wolves. He’s doing very well on defence with this big-time minutes.

MT: If we’re talking mid-season, I don’t think there’s been a better rookie in the NHL than Connor Bedard. Obviously, the injury sort of changes things as we look ahead to the second half, but he was on pace for one of the best rookie seasons from a No. 1 pick since Matthews. You take away the broken jaw and we would be talking about Connor Bedard even more. Even with the injury, he’s still the rookie points leader.

Other considerations: Joel Hofer, Marco Rossi.

RK: An option that is pretty interesting to me are Sidney Crosby, who’s got a really good 5-on-5 goals-for and goals-against ratio. And I think we’ve heard this in the past, but this is an award that Crosby really wants to win. He’s really invested in the defensive side of his game. Obviously, he’s a great offensive player. But we know that he’s probably one of the best two-way players ever, and yet because of Bergeron he doesn’t have a Selke.

MT: The award should be named the Patrice Bergeron Trophy, but this year it’s going to belong to Sean Couturier. The Flyers are a playoff team. And when you look at why they are a playoff team and how it happened, you have to look at the PK. One of the worst penalty kills last season and this year it’s the second-best. This is a substantially better defensive team — and it’s not like the goaltending has been carrying them.

Other considerations: Aleksander Barkov, Zach Hyman, Anze Kopitar.

RK: What Rick Bowness has been able to do with squad has been impressive. And I do feel that any Rick Bowness team is a team that you don’t want to face in the first-round of the playoffs, because they can lock it down and shut it down.

MT: Not a day goes by without me seeing a John Tortorella clip. The Flyers are a top-3 team in the heavily contested Metro. Usually, you say find me a good coach and I’ll show you a really good goaltender. I think that’s true in Vancouver. I think it’s true in Winnipeg. With Philadelphia, I just think Torts has implemented a real culture there and he’s much deserving.

Other considerations: Jim Montgomery, Rick Tocchet.

RK: I’m going to go with Noah Cates in Philly. I don’t think he’s taken any penalties this year. And he’s a defensive forward.

MT: I like Auston Matthews. He’s only taken two penalties this year. But I also like Morgan Rielly, who only taken four penalties. It almost seems like there’s a trend these days where the Lady Byng has almost become the Selke Trophy for defencemen, so if you’re a defensive defenceman or you playing big minutes and don’t allow a lot of penalties, you’re going to get some love.

Other considerations: Kyle Connor.

The Hockey News' team and theme sites had their take on which player is the best candidate for each award, whether it's choosing from players from the team they cover, a fantasy hockey or gaming perspective, or from the league they cover outside the NHL.

Gaming: Jared Brown and Steven McGoey jump into NHL 24's franchise mode to simulate who should win each award by the all-star break. How does it line up with real life?

Fantasy Hockey: Jason Chen takes into account the relative values of players in fantasy hockey. The best fantasy player likely won't win the Hart Trophy in real life, but managers who need someone to produce in multiple categories, including scoring and bangers, won't be surprised by his pick.

AHL: Dillon Collins names who he'd select as the mid-season award winners in the AHL as it heads to its All-Star Classic. There are a handful of exciting prospects and familiar names who earn recognition, including Logan Stankoven, Adam Gaudette and more.

ECHL: The ECHL has already had its All-Star Classic in January, but there are a bunch of people proving their worth as the playoff push commences. Whether you're an avid ECHL follower or looking to learn more about the players and staff that make this league exciting, players like Brandon Hawkins and 22-year-old netminder Taylor Gauthier are featured.

WHL: Adam Kierszenblat's monthly predictions series lines up with our overall mid-season predictions. Jagger Firkus, Luca Cagnoni and 16-year-old Gavin McKenna are among those who earned a mention.

NCAA: Dylan Loucks imagines what a skills competition and All-Star Game featuring the top collegiate players would look like and when it would take place.