I normally don't pay much attention to the NHL's postseason awards, but for some reason this year's edition is really sticking in my craw -- probably because I have more than a few problems with who walked away with the hardware.
Peter Forsberg at MVP was as good a choice as any, so no complaints there (though I wouldn't have had much of a problem with Markus Naslund or Todd Bertuzzi either). Giving Nick Lidstrom his third straight Norris wasn't warranted. With Chris Pronger injured most of the season in St. Louis, we found out just how good Al MacInniss really is. Further, Barrett Jackman doesn't win rookie of the year without being paired on defense with MacInnis. And while Martin Brodeur had a great playoff, the best goalie in the regular season was Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars.
But there's one award that gnaws on me more than any other, and that's seeing the Lady Byng go to serial malcontent, Alexander Mogilny. A few months ago, Mogilny called the Lady Byng a "consolation prize", and said he might not even show up in Toronto to get the award even if he won. Last night, he stood by his promise, letting Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Pat Quinn accept in his stead.
Certainly, Mogilny wasn't the only award winner to be absent last night, but he was the only one who made a point of trashing the award he was nominated for. That the voters gave him the Lady Byng anyway over Lidstrom was a complete joke.
UPDATE: In the comments box below, Laura out of the venerable University of Chicago says that I'm a little harsh in my assesment of Lidstrom's play this past year. And, in retrospect, I very well might have been. Obviously, Lidstrom is a fantastic player of singular talent. However, unlike MacInnis, he's surrounded by what is obviously the most talented set of teammates in the game today.
MacInnis, despite not playing beside ex-Hart Trophy winner Chris Pronger, still posted numbers comparable to Lidstrom. Further, it can be argued that while Lidstrom was just one of many talented offensive players in Detroit, MacInnis was his team's second leading scorer. And he did it all while paired with a rookie defenseman that could very well have turned out to be a liability had he played with anyone else.
Laura says all that qualifies MacInnis for the Hart as NHL MVP. Clearly, he was the guts of the team, and without him in the postseason, the Blues couldn't advance. In the end, I can't see how someone who would qualify as an MVP candidate wouldn't qualify for an award as the best at his position.
That’s harsh. I’d give MacInnis the Hart before the Norris. MacInnis is great, he was Savior of the Blues last season, he has his blistering, showy slapshot–but Lidstrom’s excellence is so unassuming and so *routine* that it’s easy to take for granted (as happened for three years before he won anything). Certainly the Norris result is arguable, but to call it “unwarranted” is going too far. MacInnis had a great year when the Blues needed him most. Lidstrom is the best defenseman in hockey. He also happened to get a couple game-winning goals on the Blues last season!