Handing out the Hart, Norris, Vezina (and other NHL trophies) to the best players from the Edmonton Oilers at the All-Star break.

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers kicked off their 2023-24 season with a limp instead of the pop that everyone was expecting. That is all in the rearview mirror now as the Oilers will look to extend their current win streak to 17 games - which would tie an NHL record.

That game won't commence until February 6 - a few days after the All-Star game. In light of the break in-between games, it feels like a good time to give out some "awards" to the Oilers players.

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These are the NHL awards that we typically see awarded in the off-season, but we at The Hockey News thought it would be fun to give out these awards during the season. Not only that, to focus on each individual team and make a case for which player on those teams should win that award for that team.

MID-SEASON AWARDS

ART ROSS: Connor McDavid

With 67 points in 43 games played, Connor McDavid is the clear Art Ross Trophy winner for the team. It's really no surprise as that is "what McDavid does". He's won the Art Ross trophy numerous times in the NHL. The next closest teammate is Leon Draisaitl, who has 57 points.

ROCKET RICHARD: Zach Hyman 30 goals in 44 games

Zach Hyman is out-pacing his best goal scoring season. Last year he notched a career high of 36 goals - and it looks like he will smash that personal best into oblivion this season. He has been the Oilers most consistent forward and should have been an All-Star. The next closest goal scorer on the team is (once again) Draisaitl. His 23 goals in 45 games has him on pace for 42 goals this season - his lowest total since 2020-21, the Covid-shortened season.

HART: Stuart Skinner

The first two awards were based on solely on statistics - now we move on to the fun awards. This might be a bit of a divisive take, but Stuart Skinner has been the Oilers most valuable player to this point of the season. The entire time that Kris Knoblauch has been coach of the team he has been fantastic. So much of this 16 game winning streak has depended on him. If they didn't have him or he was injured the team would have been forced to have a tandem of Jack Campbell and Calvin Pickard. Or they would have to make a panic trade for a goaltender. Without Skinner, this team would not be in a playoff position - period.

NORRIS: Evan Bouchard

Because the NHL typically gives this out to the defenseman with the most points, Evan Bouchard is the winner for the Oilers. He leads the Oilers blue line in goals (11), assists (32), points (43), shots (121) and average time on ice (22:47).

VEZINA: Stuart Skinner

He already took home the MVP award, so it's only fitting that he gets the Vezina as well. He had one of the worst goals against average in the month of December and turned it around (seemingly) on a dime. He was the best goaltender in January in the NHL, and earned the second star of the month honours.

SELKE: Ryan McLeod

For this award I'm going to lean on statistics and analytics. The Selke Trophy goes to the forward who is most proficient in the defensive aspects of the game. Two metrics that are good measures of defensive play are Corsi against and expected goals against. A great way to account for ice time is to look at metrics under the "per 60 minutes" category. Meaning that the time on ice that the player accrues is taken into consideration.

When looking at Evolving Hockey we see that there is one clear frontrunner in both of these metrics, Ryan McLeod. He's nearly three deviations higher than average in Corsi Against per 60 (CA/60) and over one deviation higher in expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60). The next closest in both metrics is McDavid.

CALDER: Vincent Desharnais

The Oilers have no true rookies playing for the team this year. The closest thing they have are a few players with less than 100 NHL games played. Vincent Desharnais has been spectacular as a third pairing defenseman for the Oilers. He has been steady, making plays to break the puck out of the defensive zone while also playing sound defensive hockey.

MASTERTON: Sam Gagner

Sam Gagner is a beloved member of the Oilers. His story is inspiring to teammates and fans alike. He had double hip surgery over the summer, signed a PTO before the season started and has become an impact player when he is in the lineup. Despite only playing in 22 games this year he has 10 points - three points behind Cody Ceci and one point ahead of Corey Perry and Derek Ryan.

LADY BYNG: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

For this award I was hoping that statistics would produce a clear and concise winner. Unfortunately, that is not the case. There are many players on the Oilers who have less penalties, but don't have the amount of ice time (or high level playing ability) that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins possesses. With 24 penalty minutes in 45 games he's far from an angel, but he plays a ton - averaging 20:04 a night.

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