Today marks the exact midpoint of the NHL season. And I totally just made that last statement up, but I’m doing this post on midseason awards and predictions for the second half anyway. I’m going to give you a very quick recap of the first half, then just jump into the awards goodness.

Here’s what you need to know: The Wings are good, the Sharks are better, the Bruins are a slight surprise, Washington rocks, Sean Avery sucks, Pittsburgh is on a bad decline, the Winter Classic was awesome, the Islanders are the worst, Marc Savard is so underrated, so is Timmy Thomas, Sundin went to the Canucks, Forsberg wants to go to the Ducks, I made that last part up, the Canadiens stuffed the ASG ballot box, two coaches were fired, Brian Burke went to the Leafs, Ice Girls are the new thing and Malkin leads the league in points…barely.

Now here’s some midseason awards and who will win them in June.

Hart Trophy (MVP)
Top Three: Alex Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla, Evgeni Malkin
Midseason Winner: Jarome Iginla (CAL)
Winner in June: Jarome Iginla (CAL)

The Capitals are too talented to have Ovechkin win it this year. With Kiprusof off his game, Iginla really is the MVP.

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points)
Top Three: Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby
Midseason Winner: Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

Winner in June: Alex Ovechkin (WSH)

Maurice Richard Trophy (Most Goals)
Top Three: Alex Ovechkin, Jeff Carter, Tomas Vanek
Midseason Winner: Alex Ovechkin (WSH) and Jeff Carter (PHI)
Winner in June: Alex Ovechkin (WSH)

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie)
Top Three: Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez, Chris Mason
Midseason Winner: Tim Thomas (BOS) and Manny Fernandez (BOS)
Winner in June: Tim Thomas (BOS) and Manny Fernandez (BOS)

I’m pretty sure this can be a split award. Both Boston goalies are top five in SV% and GAA. While other goalies in the league have more wins than all three nominees, none of them compare in stats.

Calder Trophy (Best Rookie)
Top Three: Kris Versteeg, Patrick Berglund, Drew Doughty
Midseason Winner: Kris Versteeg (CHI)
Winner in June: Kris Versteeg (CHI)

As long as he continues a hefty lead in points over Berglund, I think Versteeg holds on here. Doughty is awesome too, 7th in hits, 1st in blocked shots, 1st in time on ice, and 3rd in shots among rookies.

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)
Top Three: Dan Boyle, Shea Weber, Nicklas Lidstrom
Midseason Winner: Shea Weber (NSH)

Winner in June: Nicklas Lidstrom (DET)

Jack Adams Award (Best Coach)
Top Three: Todd McClellan, Claude Julien, Joel Quenneville
Midseason Winner: Todd McClellan (SJ)
Winner In June: Claude Julien (BOS)

Now onto my midseason grades for every team.
A
Boston (29-7-4), San Jose (29-4-5)

A-
Washington (27-11-3), Detroit (27-7-5)

B+
New Jersey (23-13-3), Chicago (21-8-7)

B
Philadelphia (21-10-8), Montreal (22-10-6), NY Rangers (24-14-3), Calgary (23-12-4), Vancouver (21-15-5)

B-
Buffalo (20-15-5), Anaheim (20-15-5), Minnesota (20-16-3)

C+
Carolina (21-15-5), Pittsburgh (20-17-4), Florida (18-16-6), Phoenix (19-16-5), Edmonton (19-16-3), Colorado
(20-19-1), Columbus (18-18-4)

C
Toronto (16-18-6), Dallas (17-16-5), Los Angeles (16-16-6), Nashville (17-19-3)

D
Ottawa (13-19-6), Tampa Bay (11-18-10), St. Louis (15-21-3)

F
Atlanta (13-13-5), NY Islanders (12-25-4)

And now some predictions for the rest of the year:

Division Winners:
Atlantic Division: New Jersey
Central Division: Detroit
Northeast Division: Boston
Northwest Division: Calgary
Pacific Division: San Jose
Southeast Division Washington

Team currently out of the playoffs that will make it: Dallas Stars

Mats Sundin won’t have a big impact in Vancouver.

Boston will win the President’s Trophy.

The East will win the All Star game.


Pavel Datsyuk will pull the sickest move in the skill’s shoot out competition.

New York Islanders will end up with the number one draft pick.

Let’s hear it. What do you agree on, what do you disagree on? What are your predictions?