Evgeni Malkin has reasserted himself as a dominant force in the NHL and is now ranked No. 1, while John Tavares has become an elite player and has jumped from 45th to 4th.
After November, the Bruins and Red Wings were first and second respectively, but at the All-Star break it was flip-flopped with Detroit first and Boston second.
?It isn?t tennis, I can tell you that much!? xxclaimed one local observer who, out of embarrassment, wished to remain anonymous. ?They both just kinda?push the ball over the net, you know?"
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By Nick Obergan
This is the time of year that the NHL announces their three finalists for each trophy, building up anticipation for the NHL Awards, which is taking place in Las Vegas this year on June 23rd. Usually in the final month of the season, all pundits and fans alike debate who they believe should be nominated for each trophy and who they would vote for to take home the hardware.
There are awards for almost every facet of the game:
? Most Valuable Player (Hart Memorial Trophy)
? Most Outstanding Player as chosen by the NHL Player?s Association (Lester B. Pearson Award)
? Best Defenseman (James Norris Memorial Trophy)
? Best Goalie (Vezina Trophy)
? Best Coach (Jack Adams Award)
? Best Defensive Forward (Frank J. Selke Trophy)
? Best Rookie (Calder Memorial Trophy)
? Most Gentlemanly Player (Lady Byng Memorial Trophy)
? Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication to hockey (Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy)
? Leadership on and off the ice (King Clancy Memorial Trophy)
? Playoff MVP (Conn Smythe Trophy)
? Goalie with best save %, minimum of 25 games (Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award)
? Team with least goals against (William M. Jennings Trophy)
? Regular season points leader (Art Ross Trophy)
? Regular season goals leader (Maurice ?Rocket? Richard Trophy)
Do you see the glaring omission? Assists anyone? The NHL has an award for the best save percentage, but they don?t have one for assists? It seems odd to reward players on offensive production for total points and for goals, but to not recognize those players who excel at setting up the goals.
It seems like a safe argument that, without the talented playmakers around the league, half of the goals that are scored would not be possible. Isn?t watching great passes almost as exciting as great goals? While they are different skills, would these players not require the same level on talent in their craft to perform the way they do?
So in going all-out with this idea, the trophy awarded to the league leader in assists needs a name like all of the rest; it needs to be named after someone associated with the achievement. Georges Vezina and Roger Crozier were terrific goalies in their time; Francis ?King? Clancy is a former player who went on to become a coach, referee and executive; Jack Adams was a longtime Red Wings coach; ?Rocket? Richard was a legendary goal scorer ? the first feared sniper in NHL history; others were named after men who donated the award or by team?s on behalf of the men who?s names are used.
The trophy for the league?s assist leader should be named after one person and one person only: Wayne Gretzky. Some may argue that it is too soon to name a trophy after him, since he isn?t dead. Well A) It wouldn?t be titled Wayne Gretzky Memorial Trophy, just Wayne Gretzky Trophy, and B) The Maurice ?Rocket? Richard Trophy was first given out for the 1998-99 season, and he passed away in 2000.
?The Great One? holds countless gaudy records, most of which are likely to never be broken. Here are only a few major ones:
? 92 goals in 1981-82
? 894 career goals
? 215 points in 1985-86
? 2,857 career points
? 163 assists in 1985-86
? 1,963 career assists
Those point and assist totals are downright ridiculous. That single season point total of 215 was 103 points more than Henrik Sedin had this season as the leading point getter. He has almost 1,000 more points than the man in second place (Mark Messier with 1,887). But there is already a trophy for the leading point getter, so let?s look at those assist totals again.
1,887 ? total points scored by Mark Messier, 2nd of all time.
1,963 ? total assists by Gretzky in his career.
You read correctly; Gretzky had more assists in his career than anyone else who ever played in the NHL had points. In fact, Gretzky?s had more assists in 1985-86 than any player has ever had points in a season other than Mario Lemieux, who had seasons of 199 and 168 points. Gretzky had 714 more assists during his career than the man in 2nd place, Ron Francis.
?The Great One? surpassed 100 assists in a season 11 times, and owns 11 of the 13-best single season assist totals; only Lemieux and Bobby Orr surpassed 100 assists in a season during their illustrious careers, each doing so only once.
If there was a trophy for the most assists during his playing days, Gretzky would have won the award 14 years in a row between 1979-80 and 1991-92. All in all, Gretzky led the league in assists 17 times in 20 seasons.
So, who would have won the Wayne Gretzky Trophy in recent memory? Here are your winners over the last 10 seasons including this year:
? 2009-10: Henrik Sedin, Canucks ? 83
? 2008-09: Evgeni Malkin, Penguins ? 78
? 2007-08: Joe Thornton, Sharks ? 67
? 2006-07: Joe Thornton, Sharks ? 92
? 2005-06: Joe Thornton, Sharks/Bruins ? 96
? 2003-04: Scott Gomez, Devils/Martin St. Louis, Lightning ? 56
? 2002-03: Peter Forsberg, Avalanche ? 77
? 2001-02: Adam Oates, Capitals/Flyers ? 64
? 2000-01: Adam Oates, Capitals/Jaromir Jagr, Penguins ? 69
? 1999-00: Mark Recchi, Flyers ? 63
Since Gretzky?s run of leading the league in assists 14 years in a row, 11 players have led or shared the league in assists: Lemieux (3 times), Oates (3), Jagr (3), Thornton (3), Francis (2), Recchi, Forsberg, Gomez, St. Louis, Malkin and Sedin. It?s a pretty illustrious list of some great talent (with the odd one-year-wonder sprinkled in) that deserves to be rewarded for their skill and for producing a great season.
Another valid point would be promoting not just the skill of playmaking, but also unselfish play. So much focus is given to goals ? and rightly so ? but providing a platform for playmaking and unselfish play would give young fans even more players to look up to. The league would greatly benefit from having young kids everywhere strive to be the next Adam Oates instead of just the next Jerome Iginla. Not everyone can shoot the puck as well as Iginla, but maybe they have the playmaking ability that would still allow them to carve out a career. Having an award for assists gives the non-scoring kids around the world hope, and it would provide a better balance, and a better all-around game.
So with all of the awards handed out every year in the NHL, it is shocking there isn?t one that rewards those that lead the league in assists. Unselfish play should be rewarded, so too should the skill of those with great vision and hands that help to produce many of the great goals we see every night. And there is no better player to name the award after, then the greatest playmaker the game has ever seen ? Wayne Gretzky.
Nick can be reached at nickobergan@hotmail.com or on twitter at @nickobergan
