Bruins, Datsyuk Look To Hit Jackpot In Vegas

It's been just 6 days since the Pittsburgh Penguins won their 3rd Stanley Cup in franchise history when they beat the Detroit Red Wings in a phenomenal Game 7. The NHL off-season moves fast, and sometimes too fast when you look where we already are: the eve of the NHL Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas. 2009 marks the first time that the award ceremony has been moved from the annual location in downtown Toronto to the City of Sin. The 2009 Awards Ceremony has also put the limelight on new and interesting faces on the rise in the NHL.

The race for the Calder Memorial Trophy was led by one amazing goaltender out of Columbus, Steve Mason. The 21 year old 'tender out of Oakville, Ontario went 33-20-7 with a 2.29 GAA and a league leading 10 shut-outs. Opposing Mason for the Calder are wingers Bobby Ryan and Kris Versteeg. Versteeg, who was obtained from Boston in a 2006-07 (now regrettable) trade where the Bruins acquired just Brandon Bochenski in exchange for Versteeg has had a more than solid season for the 'Hawks. Versteeg scored 22 goals along with 31 assists and finished with a +15 in his first full NHL season. In Anaheim, the potential of the Ducks 2005 first round selection is just beginning to become reality as Bobby Ryan put together an incredibly strong season despite his journey beginning in the AHL. Ryan went on to score 31 goals in just 64 games for Anaheim and became a serious power-play weapon for the Ducks push to the playoffs. Despite the note-worthy playoff performances of both Versteeg and Ryan, you can't look at the numbers Mason posted as a rookie and not be impressed. When all is said and done, Steve Mason will join the likes of Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito as Calder Trophy-winning goaltenders. My Pick: Steve Mason.

The Nicklas Lidstrom Memorial Trophy, I mean the James Norris Memorial Trophy is given to the NHL player who demonstrates the best play as a blue-liner. Lidstrom, a 6-time winner of the Norris has dominated the competition to say the least, however this year's race may be the tightest Lidstrom has ever competed in. Attempting to knock Lidstrom down are two Eastern Conference defensemen; Capitals d-man and mohawk fan Mike Green and Boston captain Zdeno Chara. Along with setting a new NHL record for the hardest slap-shot during the All-Star Weekend in Montreal, Chara is coming off a strong season where he finished with 50 points and a +23. In Washington, Green set an NHL record when he scored in 8 consecutive games for the Capitals and finished with 31 goals, including 18 powerplay tallies. Despite the reputation of Lidstrom and Green's offensive talent, this trophy's heading back to Boston as Zdeno Chara will join the likes of legendary Boston defensemen such as Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque as he'll bring home the Norris. My Pick: Zdeno Chara.

The Lady Byng Trophy, named after the wife of at-the-time Canada General Governor is awarded to the player who expresses the most "gentlemanly" conduct in the game. This year's nominee's are Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Devils winger Zach Parise and Tampa's Marty St. Louis. My Pick: Zach Parise

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is simply put, the NHL's perseverance award. Cancer survivors such as Jason Blake, Phil Kessel and Saku Koivu have all taken the trophy home in recent years and the awarding of the Trophy is in my opinion, a two-man race. Despite the longevity of Chris Chelios' career, he really wasn't plagued by any injuries or had to over-come anything to find himself in the press box for 44 games this season. This brings it down to Steve Sullivan of the Nashville Predators and Richard Zednik, who both came back from serious injuries to return to the game they love. Sullivan was forced to miss all the 2007-08 campaign due to major back surgery and his return to Nashville was more than welcome this year as he registered 32 points in 41 games for the Preds. Then there's Richard Zednik, who's life was in considerable danger last year when he caught a skate in the jugular and needed to be rushed to a local hospital. My Pick: Steve Sullivan.

The Vezina Trophy is in easy terms: the ultimate award for a goaltender in the National Hockey League. When Martin Brodeur went down in November, the chase for the Vezina blew open. Emerging from this pack as a front runner and favorite was Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. Thomas went 36-11-7 and led the NHL in both GAA and SV%. Opposing him is Columbus phenom Steve Mason (33-20-7) and Wild netminder Niklas Backstrom (37-24-8). Despite Backstrom's anchoring of the Wild and Mason's NHL-leading 10 shutout's, this one's all Thomas. My Pick: Tim Thomas.

The Lester B. Pearson trophy goes towards the NHL player who is considered "most outstanding" by the members of the National Hockey League Players Association. The nominee's are Pittsburgh Penguins and Mrs. Malkin's soup junkie Evgeni Malkin, Caps winger Alex Ovechkin and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk. For me, the choice is simple. Malkin's numbers are just undeniable. My Pick: Evgeni Malkin.

The Jack Adams Trophy is the NHL's form of a Coach of the Year award. This year's nominee's include Sharks coach Todd McLellan, Bruins coach Claude Julien and Blues bench-boss Andy Murray. McLellan coached the San Jose Sharks to their President's Trophy in their 18 year history and were seemingly favorites to capture the Stanley Cup but failed to get by the 8th seeded Anaheim Ducks in the 1st round. In Julien's two years with the Bruins, he's brought them from 13th to 8th, and then from 8th to 1st and has done nothing but help the development and get the full potential out of players such as David Krejci, Phil Kessel, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. Behind bench in St. Louis, Murray worked wonders with essentially nothing. The Blues lost their best defensemen Erik Johnson before the season even began and lost top winger Paul Kariya in the first leg of the season but somehow found a way to sneak into the NHL Playoffs with a team effort. My Pick: Andy Murray.

The NHL Foundation Award recognizes the charity efforts of players within their community. This year's nominees are Columbus captain Rick Nash, Kings forward Dustin Brown and Habs leading goal scorer Alex Kovalev. My Pick: Alex Kovalev.

The Frank Selke Trophy is awarded to the forward who excels in the defensive aspects of the game and this year's nominees include two fresh faces: Flyers captain Mike Richards and Canucks center Ryan Kesler. While these two emerging forwards in the NHL look to capture their first Selke, current holder Pavel Datsyuk is looking to bring home the trophy for a 2nd straight season. My Pick: Pavel Datsyuk.

Undoubtedly, the biggest trophy at tonight's festivities in Vegas is the Hart Memorial Trophy. The Hart Trophy is awarded to the player voted to be the most valuable to his team and this year's contest includes three Russian superstars. Defending the Hart Trophy is current holder Alexander Ovechkin who is coming off yet another strong season in the nation's capital where he scored 109 points in 79 games. Opposing him is 2nd time nominee Pens superstar Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk. Despite the strong season of both Datsyuk and Malkin, they are under nearly as much pressure as A.O due to their supporting cast. Ovechkin is without a doubt, the most valuable player to the Washington Capitals and in my opinion, the NHL. My Pick: Alexander Ovechkin.

Tim Thomas: From NHL Castaway To Vezina Favorite

"Is this real?"

This question has undoubtedly ran through the mind of Bruins netminder Tim Thomas at one point or another during his incredible season in between the iron for the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas, yes the same Tim Thomas who just five years ago found himself playing in Europe wondering if he'd ever have another chance to step on an NHL rink is finally just a few votes away from reaching a milestone his career rightfully deserves. Tim Thomas, who turned 35 in April has seemingly gotten better every year during his tenure in Boston. Called up as an injury replacement for Hannu Toivonen in the midst of the horrid 2005-06 season, Thomas immediately earned a reputation as a wild-man in net. His style, or lack thereof made him a unique character on a rebuilding Bruins team.

As the season continued, Thomas eventually took over for the near useless Andrew Raycroft and went 12-13-10 with a .917 SV%. He was rewarded witha 3-year contract extension at mid-March and with the trading of Andrew Raycroft to Toronto, the job of full time starter for Boston was Thomas' for the taking. Thomas went 30-29-4 with the Bruins in 2006-07 as the team failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year. Thomas' numbers drop was often attributed to coach Dave Lewis' "over-working" of The Tank, who before 2006 had never played more than 54 games in any setting.

Despite Thomas' play, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli felt that the team had lacked the 'number one' goalie needed to guide the team back into the playoffs. This put the Bruins in the market for a goaltender, and the they got one. On July 1st, the Bruins went out and traded for Minnesota Wild netminder and Jennings Trophy co-winner Manny Fernandez in exchange for prospect Petr Kalus and a 2009 4th round pick. However, fate found Thomas' in Boston's crease yet again. After Fernandez went down with a season-ending knee injury just four games into his tenure with the Bruins, Thomas was once again relied on to be the starter in Boston's push for the playoffs.

A new coach and style of play found Thomas in a favorable position, his numbers went up, and for the first time in his career Thomas was playing in the NHL All-Star Game. Thomas continued to lead the Bruins and played a pivotal role in the team's return to the playoffs and near upset of the number one seeded Montreal Canadiens. The role of the once doubted Thomas was now clear, the role of Bruins starting goalie was officially his.

To put it simply, the 2008-09 season was Thomas' year. He dominated virtually every goaltending categoryin the NHL, finishing with the best SV% (.933) and GAA (2.10) among all NHL goalies. He continued to play up to his numbers during the Bruins bid for their first Stanley Cup in 37 years.

With no disrespect to the seasons of Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom and Columbus phenom Steve Mason, there's no conceivable reason why Thomas will not be leaving the Sin City without some hardware and an answer of "Yes, this is real.". You've earned it.

Tim Thomas, the Vezina?

Journey-man, career back-up at best, a poor man's Dom Hasek. These were a few of the terms used to describe Bruins goalie Tim Thomas throughout his career. However, All-Star wasn't a term ever used, until the 2007-08 season. Thomas built off this success in 2008-09, getting named to yet another All-Star Game and essentially winning the game for the East. Now, with 7 games remaining in the regular season, the question is: Is Tim Thomas really the Vezina trophy front runner?

Most Bruins fans say yes, but some of them probably also feel that the rules of the NHL should be re-worked so that Milan Lucic wins the Art Ross Trophy. With Martin Brodeur not playing nearly enough games to be in the running, Thomas is by far the clear cut favorite in the Eastern Conference. One could make the argument for the Rangers goalie and King of Sweden Henrik Lundqvist but his stats pale in comparison to Thomas. In fact, there's no goalie in the Eastern Conference or NHL for that matter that can post stats that look better than Ole' Reliable Tim Thomas' do.

For those who do not know, the Vezina works on a 5-3-1 point system. The G.M's of all 30 NHL clubs meet and vote for 1st place (5 points), 2nd place (3 points) and 3rd place (1 point). With the Boston Bruins success this season, surely it would be a Bruin, right?

However, the biggest factor working against Thomas winning the Vezina Trophy is his games played. Often, in order to be in contention for the Vezina Trophy a goalie must play over 55 games. This of course causes problems for Thomas' chances as he split time with goalie Manny Fernandez almost 50-50 for the first 2 months of the NHL season. Thomas is currently at 50 games played, with 7 remaining. With the Bruins clinched for a division title and playoff spot, it's possible and likely that Thomas won't play 5 out of the next 7 games, putting him at the 55 game mark.

Number 30's biggest competitor may reside in the Western Conference, Miikka Kiprusoff. The Flames goaltender is currently leading the NHL in wins with 43 and has played in 70 of the Flames games. This of course gives him an edge over Thomas, but if you look beyond the wins the real Vezina resides in Boston. That being said, you can't ignore Timmy's numbers. He's number one in the NHL for GAA (2.13) and SV% (.931).

Thomas is currently selling the doubters following two incredibly strong performances. Last Sunday, the Bruins netminder held the at-the-time 2nd place in the East New Jersey Devils to 1 goal on 42 shots. His encore was in fact, even better as last night Thomas held the Philadelphia Flyers to 3 goals on 48 shots. In the past two games, Tim Thomas has a .957 SV%. That's what I'd call Vezina worthy.

Although Kiprusoff has been a busy camper for the Calgary Flames, I would not put him in as the Vezina Trophy winner. Evgeni Nabokov has been another intriguing option but the fact that he plays in such a mediocre division is a minus for him. Although Lundqvist's stats are promising, the fact is he's just been too inconsistent to bring home the hardware. This leaves just one, the 34 year old goaltender, son of a Michigan blue-collar family and once NHL-never-was Tim Thomas.