Unofficial 2020-21 NHL Awards Ballot: Hart Pick is Easy, Norris Pick is Not

Connor McDavid and Jake Allen (Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports)

Atypical year, atypical voting process.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing about the 2020-21 NHL season will be remembered as normal. How unprecedented are the circumstances? The Vancouver Canucks, making up for the time lost when the Brazilian virus variant ravaged their team in late March and early April, are still finishing up their regular season with meaningless games against the Calgary Flames while the playoffs are underway. Enough said.

With the divisions temporary realigned into contained structures this season and few writers travelling, the COVID-influenced NHL configuration is also affecting the voting process for the NHL Awards. To rectify the disparity in divisional representation among the writers this year, the Professional Hockey Writers Association is only permitting 100 voters: 20 for each division and 20 at-large voters.

After each of the previous five seasons, I’d voted on all the PHWA Awards as a member of the international chapter, but I’m not one of the 100 this season. A silver lining: I can share my phantom award picks at any time just for fun.

So let’s do a dry run for when the official PHWA ballots are revealed in the months to come. To keep my voting muscles active, I’ll go through a full mock ballot for all the awards I’d typically vote on as a PHWA member: the Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy, Calder Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy, Selke Trophy, NHL All-Star Team and NHL All-Rookie Team. This is not an official ballot and will not count. Reminder: the league’s GMs vote on the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender, while broadcasters vote on the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year.

HART TROPHY (most valuable player)

1. Connor McDavid, Oilers
2. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs
3. Sidney Crosby, Penguins
4. Aleksander Barkov, Panthers
5. Juuse Saros, Predators

I was one of the pre-season prognosticators claiming Connor McDavid “could” get 100 points in 56, games, but I was only, what, 50 percent sure? He blew past it with a stunning 105 points in the greatest individual offensive season since Mario Lemieux’s 1995-96. With McDavid on the ice at 5-on-5, The Oilers outscored opponents 64-48 and outchanced opponents 524 to 418. With him off the ice, the Oilers were outscored 68-51 and outchanced 711-602. He is the team. This is one of the easiest Hart votes in recent memory.

That said, the secondary candidates are excellent. Matthews put on an all-time great goal-scoring display relative to era with 41 in 52 games. Crosby’s tremendous two-way play helped the Penguins to a first-place finish despite spending much of the year minus Evgeni Malkin. Barkov continued his evolution into a dominant 200-foot player with an impact reminiscent of Sergei Fedorov’s. And Saros? Well, if we take the award definition literally, he was as valuable to his team as any player. He almost singlehandedly punched Nashville’s playoff ticket, leading the league in goals saved above average per 60 minutes.

NORRIS TROPHY (best defenseman)

1. Adam Fox, Rangers
2. Cale Makar, Avalanche
3. Dougie Hamilton, Hurricanes
4. Charlie McAvoy, Bruins
5. MacKenzie Weegar, Panthers

Fox’s dynamic puck-rushing skills are obvious, but it doesn’t do him justice to say he deserves the Norris simply because of his offense. He made a massive 5-on-5 impact this season despite the fact he regularly was tasked with stopping elite competition. His most common forwards faced this season included the likes of Crosby, Brad Marchand, Alex Ovechkin and their linemates. The Rangers didn’t make the playoffs but, without Fox’s 24:42 per night, they might’ve been a last-place team.

One could make a case Makar’s all-around impact was even greater, yes. He averaged a point per game and leads all blueliners on a per-game basis in Game Score Value Added per game. But Makar missed 12 games in a 56-game season. That’s 21.4 percent of the year. Him winning the Norris would be the equivalent of doing so while playing 64 games in an 82-game season. Shoutout to Makar’s teammates Devon Toews and Samuel Girard, who are also deserving of Norris consideration, but this is such a tight race. Hamilton makes his team so dangerous when he’s on the ice pushing the play. McAvoy blossomed into the all-around ice general the Bruins desperately needed him to be. And how about Weegar’s season? Opposing chances died against him, and he led all blueliners in takeaways per 60. No Victor Hedman? Nope. He’s still a beast, but he wasn’t a healthy beast down the stretch, and his play suffered as a result.