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Ovechkin. Subban. Marty St. Louis. Alfredsson. These are the names of people who have actually won NHL Awards this year.
We don't care.
Last year was the Blues' year to shine, with Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott winning the Jennings Trophy, Ken Hitchock getting the Jack Adams, Doug Armstrong winning GM of the year, and David Backes being nominated for the Selke. This season? Bupkis, and that's perfectly fine. Who needs the NHL Awards when you have St. Louis Game Time's opinion.
Here from your crack team of Game Timers comes who we feel on the Blues should win NHL Awards, if the NHL Awards were only given out to members of the St. Louis Blues (and yes, I know these aren't all of the awards).
Donut King:
MASTERTON: Brian Elliott, G. Rags, to riches, back to rags, back to riches. All in about a 20-month span. An incredible story, especially after coming back from a horrendous start.
SELKE: David Backes, F. He did not have the offensive season everyone would have liked, but was still Hitchcock's go-to shutdown forward. And he is all that is man.
BYNG: Andy McDonald, F. He's leaving, but no doubt he played hard but fair throughout his career. This season, no different.
MESSIER: David Backes, F. Some questioned his leadership ability early on in the season, but by the end of the season, there was no doubt who the clubhouse leader was.
HART: Alexander Steen, F. He did EVERYTHING for this team when at times the team had nothing. He also filled up the score sheet for a team that couldn't score goals.
CALDER: Jake Allen, G. Allen gets the edge over Vladimir Tarasenko because he actually DID something after the month of January. His appearance and success has led to a bit of a goalie controversy. Which is a good controversy to have.
NORRIS: Alex Pietrangelo, D. At times early on, he looked lost, but he really turned on the jets and dominated late in the shortened season, most noticeably after the Jay Bouwmeester deal. Petro is still the team's best defenseman, though the distance isn't as wide as it was last season.
VEZINA: Brian Elliott, G. You could legitimately make a case for any one of the three guys of this season's goaltending corps to take the team's Vezina, but when the team needed a boost at the goal mouth the most, Elliott provided it. That's why he gets my nod.
Rick Ackerman:
Bill Masterton Memorial – Barret Jackman
Frank J. Selke – Alex Steen
Lady Byng – Patrik Berglund
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award (LEADERSHIP!) – David Backes
Hart Memorial—Brian Elliott
Calder Memorial – Jake Allen
James Norris Memorial—Kevin Shattenkirk
Vezina Trophies – Brian Elliott
I don't take awards seriously. This will show that.
Masterson - Wade Redden. Just last year he was the mocking point of the AHL with his huge NHL contract and AHL skills. But look at him now! In the Stanley Cup Finals.
Selke - Ryan Reaves. He defended the shit out of his teammates on the ice.
Lady Byng - Patrik Berglund. Those hands of finesse were back, and we all know Berglund would never hurt a fly, much less land a hit.
LEADERSHIP - the Fans. The Fans lead the march of the cliff well before the Blues actually did. Some would assume we lead them there.
Hart - I wish this were the Heart Award so Jaden Schwartz got something. He showed up, played and made a positive difference.
Calder - Brendan Gallagher. I really liked watching him play this season. I did not like watching the Blues play most of this season.
Norris - Pietrangelo. Sign him now. Before Philadelphia offersheets the shit out of him.
Vezina - Brian Elliott. The extra "T" is for extra talent.
CrossCheckRaise:
Bill Masterton Memorial --- Jackman
Frank J. Selke -- Backes
Lady Byng -- Jaden Schwartz
Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award -- Steen
Hart Memorial -- Steen
Calder Memorial -- Allen
James Norris Memorial -- Shattenkirk
Vezina -Brian Elliott