The betting on sports online world is patiently waiting for the NHL awards presentation that is scheduled to happen the night of game two of the Stanley Cup finals. It doesn’t seem fair that some of the players who are up for awards will be busy playing for the Cup that night, but that is the price that the sportsbook agents figure the players and league has to pay for the lockout. There is a star-studded field of nominees for the top NHL awards and every fan has his own idea of who will walk away with the treasured hardware.
Selke Trophy – Best Defensive Forward
2013 Nominees – Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings).
The Detroit Red Wings have had a lock on the Selke Trophy for several years, and 2013 looks to be no different.
Many of the top sports betting sites were surprised to Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings nominated for the Selke because most betting experts figure that Datsuyk is a defenseman given the way he plays the game. Without any disrespect meant to the other nominees, this appears to be Datsyuk’s award to lose.
Projected Winner: Pavel Daysuk
Hart Trophy – NHL MVP
2013 Nominees – Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), Sidney Crosby (Washington Capitals), John Tavares (New York Islanders)
The online sports betting sites all agree that the three best players in the NHL were nominated for the 2013 Hart Trophy, but only one of these players can walk away with the most prized individual honor the league has to offer. While the experts all agree that these are three great players, it is Ovechkin who means the most to his team’s success. The Penguins have already shown that they can win without Crosby and the Islanders are a good team that does not seem to revolve around one player. But without Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals simply do not make the playoffs in 2013.
Projected Winner: Alex Ovechkin
Vezina Trophy – Best Goaltender
2013 Nominees – Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets), Henrik Lundqvist (New York Islanders), Antti Niemi (San Jose Sharks)
This is the goaltending award that is voted on by the NHL general managers and is not based on numbers. Considering all of the great goaltending talent in the NHL, it is hard to believe that it was all narrowed down to these three goaltenders. Bobrovsky has seen a complete revival in Columbus after the Philadelphia Flyers gave up on him and Niemi has improved his regular season play dramatically. But the general managers will agree that there is no better goaltender in the NHL than King Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Lundqvist is the New York defense and that kind of consistent play deserves as many honors as the league can bestow. It won’t be a cake walk for Lundqvist, but this should be his year as the league’s top netminder.
Projected Winner: Henrik Lundqvist
