THN Writers Poll: Predicting Who Will Win the NHL's Top Trophies

NHL predictions season continues, and 34 THN web staffers make their picks for the major awards, including the Hart and Stanley Cup. How many awards is Connor McDavid predicted to win?

It's training camp time on the ice as NHL predictions season continues to thrive for fans and media alike. 

The Hockey News polled most of its web staff on a bunch of questions, from predictions on the top honors to the hot seats. Part 1 of a three-part series goes through the 34 responses provided for 11 NHL individual and team trophies, with links to find some of the reactions to the results from THN.com's team site managers.

Without further ado, we begin with some blowouts:

Almost 80 percent of respondents think Connor McDavid will pick up his fourth Hart Trophy by going back-to-back, something that hasn't happened since Alexander Ovechkin pulled off the feat in 2008 and 2009. McDavid won the MVP title by unanimous vote in 2021 and received 195 of 196 first-place votes in 2023.

Connor McDavid takes a larger slice of the pie in the Art Ross Trophy poll, falling one vote short of a unanimous result. The 26-year-old's won three straight points titles since the shortened 2020-21 season, and he became the first player in 27 years to reach the 150-point single-season mark last campaign, finishing with 153. Ten voters think he'll surpass that number next season. McDavid's teammate on the Edmonton Oilers, Leon Draisaitl, was the only other player to earn a vote.

Reaction:

- Art Ross & Richard Trophies are McDavid's to Lose (Caleb Kerney of THN's Edmonton site)

In a much closer vote, Connor McDavid beats Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews 13-11 to receive the most votes in the 'Rocket' Richard Trophy poll. Matthews made hockey fans take notice when he captured the title in 2021-22, becoming the first player since Steven Stamkos in 2011-12 to reach 60 goals. If Matthews scored at the same pace and played all 82 games that season instead of 73, he could've had 67 goals, edging out last season's top two goal-scorers: McDavid's 64 and Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak's 61.

Reaction:

- Art Ross & Richard Trophies are McDavid's to Lose (Caleb Kerney of THN's Edmonton site)

Eight different defensemen received votes for the Norris Trophy, but more than half the respondents selected Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche to win the award for the second time. The New York Rangers' Adam Fox, Buffalo Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin and Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen tied for second place with four votes apiece. Last season's Norris Trophy winner, Erik Karlsson, only received one vote to defend his title after the San Jose Sharks traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in August.

Reaction:

- THN Pre-Season Predictions: Colorado Avalanche Get Nod for Several Trophies (Colleen Flynn of THN's Colorado site)

Jake Oettinger continues to gain attention across the NHL – last season was the first time the 24-year-old received Vezina votes at the NHL Awards after finishing 2022-23 tied for third in wins (37) and backstopping the Stars to the Western Conference final. The Bruins' Linus Ullmark is a notable omission, with the voters not expecting the defending Vezina Trophy winner to keep up his performance after significant changes to Boston's roster.

Reaction:

- Jake Oettinger Favorite to Win Vezina Trophy, According to THN Poll (Matt Cudzinowski of THN's Dallas site)

- Juuse Saros Likely to Be in Vezina Conversation, According to THN Poll (Ann Kimmel of THN's Nashville site)

There's little surprise the Chicago Blackhawks' Connor Bedard is the far-and-away favorite to be the NHL's top rookie in 2023-24. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick continued to hype up hockey fans across the league with a hat trick at an NHL rookie tournament. But No. 3 pick Adam Fantilli recorded a hat trick and added two assists in Traverse City, Mich., and the Arizona Coyotes' Logan Cooley scored an outstanding spin-o-rama goal in Australia. It could end up closer than we think.

Six-time Selke winner Patrice Bergeron retired having won the award in the past two years. More than 40 percent of respondents think Nico Hischier will be the first New Jersey Devils player to win the award since John Madden in 2001. Six voters think Mitch Marner could be a rare winger to win the award, while five voters have Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov winning his second. Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar also received a vote – he won the Selke in 2018 and 2016.

Reaction:

- Florida Captain Aleksander Barkov Receives Votes as a Potential Selke Trophy Candidate (David Dwork of THN's Florida site)

- Vegas Golden Knights Shut Out of THN Pre-Season Poll (Paul Delos Santos of THN's Vegas site)

The Jack Adams Award tends to go to coaches who oversee a huge jump forward for their team, and the Buffalo Sabres were the big favorite from THN voters to break out next season (more on that another day). Don Granato is entering his third full season as Sabres coach, and the team improved by 16 points last year. More than a third of the NHL's head coaches received votes, but nobody has Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery defending his award from last season.

Reaction:

- Rod Brind'Amour to Be a Top Candidate for Jack Adams, According to THN Poll (Ryan Henkel of THN's Carolina site)

A total of 23 of 34 voters have an Eastern Conference team winning the regular-season title for the third year in a row and the fifth time in six seasons. But more than half of voters think it'll be a Metropolitan Division team, with Carolina getting the most votes with 10, the Devils tying for second with seven votes and the Rangers getting one tally. The Colorado Avalanche also tied for second – they won the Presidents' Trophy in 2020-21 in a tiebreak scenario after they tied the Vegas Golden Knights with 82 points in 56 games.

Reaction:

- Hurricanes Favorites for Presidents' Trophy, Stanley Cup per THN Poll (Ryan Henkel of THN's Carolina site)

We have a tie for which team is the favorite to win the playoffs – one from each conference. The Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers each received nine votes, but another 12 voters have Carolina making it to the Stanley Cup final and not winning it all. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars weren't far behind, with six votes each. Teams who were picked to make the final but received no Cup votes are the Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

Reaction:

- Hurricanes Favorites for Presidents' Trophy, Stanley Cup per THN Poll (Ryan Henkel of THN's Carolina site)

Fourteen players from seven teams received votes as predicted Conn Smythe Trophy winners. Sebastian Aho and Connor McDavid earned the most votes, with six each. Nathan MacKinnon also got some love to be the playoff MVP for the Colorado Avalanche – Cale Makar earned the honor when the Avs won the Stanley Cup in 2022.