What If the NHL Had a Best Sidekick Award?

Warm weather and playoff hockey. Is there anything better?

It's also the NHL's awards season, where the most talented players and personnel are named finalists and winners of the top accolades. In 2022, we saw Tampa host the event; this year, it's taking place in Nashville on June 26.

Awards such as the Hart, Norris, and Vezina are handed out to the NHL MVP, best defenseman, and best goaltender, respectively.

Those are just a few of the 17 awards from the evening, but is there room for one more? The award that was last inducted was the Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award in 2017-18, so hopefully, they'll still be open to new ideas.

The NHL has consistently awarded its greatest goal-scorers by having them compete for the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy since 1999, but have you ever wondered who was with them along the way?

If the NHL awarded the best Robin to their Batman, or the best setup player, it would be long overdue.

We've seen many examples of dynamic duos in the past and present, where the goal-scorer gets the glory, and the setup guy is often forgotten. 

Let's go back to the 1990-91 season when Brett Hull led the league in goal-scoring with 86 goals with the St. Louis Blues. It's a fantastic feat and one that should be looked back on as a phenomenal season from a Hall of Famer.

Something you have to wonder, though, is how many goals Hull would have scored in that season if it wasn't for the help of his linemate, Adam Oates. Oates played a little over 1,300 NHL games for seven different teams and is also a Hall of Famer. He was known for being one of the game's greatest pure playmakers and showed that, playing alongside Hull in 1990-91 as he had 90 assists that season.

Their success didn't end there. From 1989-90 to 1991-92, Hull scored at least 70 goals in a single season, and other than those years, he never reached 70 again in his career. Sure enough, Oates' tenure with the Blues only lasted from 1989 to 1992 before going on to play six seasons with the Bruins, where he continued to pile up the helpers, as he had a 97-assist season in 1992-93.

Hull would've won the Rocket Richard Trophy that year if it was around, and if he did, Oates should’ve been right there next to him to receive an award for the best sidekick. This is just one example.

We see another with the Toronto Maple Leafs with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. They are one of the best duos in today's game, and Matthews has won the Rocket in back-to-back seasons starting in 2020-21 and '21-22. He then won the Ted Lindsay in 2021-22, an award handed out to the most outstanding player, and in the same year won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player to his team.

These are great accomplishments from Matthews, as he notched 41 goals in the 56-game 2020-21 season and then 60 in the next season to earn those awards, but that couldn't come without the help of his linemate Marner. 

Marner notched 47 assists in 2020-2021 and then 62 the following season. Not as good as Oates in terms of numbers because of the difference in scoring eras, but it’s still pretty impressive.

Then there's Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The longtime Washington Capitals have played with each other for practically their entire careers.

Another classic example of a goal-scorer and his setup partner. Don’t get me wrong, Ovechkin's nine Rockets shouldn't go unrecognized. It's incredible, and he will go down as one of the game's greatest goal-scorers ever.

You have to wonder the same thing you do with every other great goal scorer. Who was right there with them? In Ovechkin's case, Backstrom was his playmaker. Out of the nine Rocket seasons Ovechkin has won, Backstrom recorded over 50 assists in seven, three of which he notched 60 or more.

Backstrom has been with Ovechkin throughout his success but doesn't get that recognition. Will Ovechkin shout out Backstrom in his speech when he beats Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record? Maybe, maybe not.

Speaking of Gretzky, he had a partner in crime in Jari Kurri, who was one of the game’s purest goal-scorers ever and mainly in part because he played on Gretzky's wing, and what about Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier? I could go on forever.

In terms of a name, it should be named after one of the names I already mentioned. How about the Adam Oates Award, handed out to the most outstanding setup man? Awards are named after other past players like Ted Lindsay and Georges Vezina, so why not Oates? I guess I'm trying to say that the goal-scorers should get their flowers, but so should the setup guy because without them, where would our game's greatest goal-scorers be?