Like last year when the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup, Vegas’ home team will not be well represented when the league hands out its awards. There’s no player even remotely in the conversation for Hart, Calder, Vezina, or Norris and neither the coach nor front office are likely to receive much recognition either.
So, let’s hand out awards for just the Golden Knights.
Hart Trophy – MVP
Jonathan Marchessault
The reigning Conn Smythe winner backed up his incredible postseason run with the best regular season of his career. He’s set to play all 82 games (one of just three players to do so), may break the VGK single-season goals record, and has posted 69 points. His 8.2 point shares lead the team and as we’ve discussed before, he has a knack for the clutch goal.
Selke Trophy – Best Defensive Forward
William Karlsson
In the Golden Knights’ first season Karlsson finished 6th in the NHL for the award. He won’t reach that high this year but this has probably been his most impressive season defensively in his career. Nearly the entire season Karlsson has been given the role of shutdown center and has done it on a line without other top-six players. He has upped his faceoff percentage and has kept his shift lengths down further showing his responsible play. When the Golden Knights need a big defensive shift in the playoffs, it’ll be Karlsson that gets the nod to go wipe out the opposing team’s best players.
