THERIEN'S TAKE: The Bundy and Bill Awards (Pt. 2)

Last week,I gave my selections for the Flyers team awards for the 2019-20 season; both the major official awards and several unofficial ones that I'd like to see handed out to deserving players. I invited my colleague and friend Bill Meltzer to weigh in with his selections for each of the awards.

This week, we'll turn our attention to the major leaguewide awards handed out by the NHL.

Jack Adams Award

Bundy: Craig Berube

Craig Berube deserved the award last year for getting the St. Louis Blues into the playoffs as an interim head coach after the team was in last place in the Western Conference in early January. The fact that the Blues went on to win the Stanley Cup -- among all the NHL awards, only the Conn Smythe Trophy accounts for the postseason -- made crystal clear that Chief probably should have won it last year.

This season, there's no CInderella story in St. Louis. The Blues have been consistently excellent, and they sit atop the Western Conference standings. That is no small feat. When you're the champions, every other team in the league highlights the date on their calendar any time your team comes up on the schedule. Everyone is gunning for you.

For that reason, and not just because of the fact that I count Craig among my closest friends in the game, I am giving the nod to Berube. I have Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault as my first runner-up, and it wouldn't be bad choice if he's selected for his second Jack Adams Award. AV is an elite NHL coach in his own right.

Bill: Alain Vigneault

I'm giving the nod to AV here as the first Flyers head since Bill Barber (2000-01) to win the Jack Adams. It's not just hometown sentiment at play.

If you look just beneath the surface of the Flyers' greatly improved record this season, you will find a host of areas where the experience and know-how of Vigneault and his staff have had a significant hand. The team has made major improvements in their two-way play, gotten veterans to buy in to Vigneault's systems (often sacrificing some personal offensive stats for the good of the team), and has shown demonstrable improvement from month to month.

The bottom line, though, is the team's record. The Flyers at the NHL pause are just one point behind Washington for first place in the Metro. They have been outstanding on home ice all season and have improved on the road in the second half. There have been bumps in the road along the way, but Vigneault and company have rolled with the punches.

My other two Jack Adams finalists, if it were up to me, would be Bruce Cassidy second (it's hard to overlook the fact that the Bruins are the only NHL team with 100 points at the pause) and Berube third.

Selke Trophy

Bundy: Sean Couturier

With all due respect to perpetual finalists Patrice Bergeron, Ryan O'Reilly and Anze Kopitar, I think it's a no-brainer that Coots is the best two-way center in the NHL right now, especially on the defensive side of the puck. The fact that he's never been selected for an NHL All-Star Game tells you all you need to know about how seriously we should take that particular event. Ask any player in the NHL about Couturier and they will tell you he is an elite center.

Bill Meltzer: Sean Couturier

Couturier was first runner-up for the Selke two seasons ago. I think this is his year to win the award for the first time. I also don't think it'll be his last, Whether it's through analytical metrics or the old-fashioned eye test, Couturier excels despite drawing some of the toughest matchups in the NHL. I laid out the case for his Selke candidacy in-depth in his recent player profile article.

Hart Trophy

Bundy: Alex Ovechkin

I think that there's not a clear-cut favorite this year. I'm not going to make the sexy pick here and go with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid just because they play for a Canadian-based team.

American fans probably can't relate to this. There is a perennial obsession in my native Canada about media types pumping the tires of Canada-based NHL teams and their players. That's especially true for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it also exists to varying extents for the other clubs.

I've never really understood that. Every team in the NHL has a lot of Canadian players on the squad in key rokes. Every Canada-based team in the league has their contingent of American and European players who play key roles, such as the Oilers' Draisaitl, who hails from Germany.

Let me be clear here: If I felt that Draisaitil or McDavid -- who are first and second in the league in scoring this year -- were the clear-cut most valuable player this year, I'd pick one regardless of whether promoting their candidacies was the trendy thing to do.

So the choice from me this year is Ovi. No he's not a Selke Trophy candidate, any more than Draisaitl or McDavid are. But to do what this guy has done every single year, and to be the biggest reason why his Washington Capitals have been in 1st place in the Metro pretty much all season, is an extremely impressive feat for a man who's now been in the league for 15 years.

Bill: Nathan MacKinnon

I was torn between opting for Colorado's MacKinnon or the Rangers' Artemi Panarin for the league MVP award this year, but decided to go with MacKinnon because of his team's success this season. MacKinnon centers what is arguably the most dangerous line in the NHL right now, with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog on his wings. Both Landeskog and Rantanen missed significant time this season due to injuries, but MacKinnon kept on rolling. So did the Avs.

MacKinnon has otherworldly speed -- McDavid is one of his few peers -- and is a magician with the puck. Both he and Panarin are the types of players who instantly make anyone on their line into better players. Panarin earns full marks as a Hart Trophy candidate for how instrumental he was in getting the Rangers to at least bubble team status in the playoff chase as the stretch drive approached.

The Oilers are in second place in the Pacific Division; yes, it's the NHL's weakest division this year. Nevertheless, they are in playoff position under the NHLs format that relies heavily on Divisional standings for three automatic berths. Would the Oilers be in that position if not for Draisaitl or McDavid? No. So either player could be a finalist this year -- or even win it, because point totals always catch voters' eyes -- but they also very well may divide the vote.

If that's the case, any among David Pastrnak (the NHL's leading goal-scorer), Boston teammate, Brad Marchand, Auston Matthews or someone such as Evgeni Malkin could grab a finalist spot.

Norris Trophy

Bundy: Victor Hedman

Quite simply, there is not a better, more complete, more impactful on either side of the puck defenseman leaguwide than the Lightning's superstar blueliner. When he was banged up earlier in the season, Tampa wasn't the same team even with other star talent around him.

My other finalists this year are Vegas' Shea Theodore -- by far one of the NHL's most underrated players, and someone who has really had a great all-around year -- and Columbus' Seth Jones. With Jones, the Blue Jackets are overachievers. When he went down, more so than all the other injuries that afflicted John Tortorella's team, his team sank. Unfortunately, all the games he missed down the stretch probably cost him a real shot at winning the Norris outright this year. If you want to swap out Jones for someone else, I'd put in St. Louis defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who has had a great season for Berube's team this year.

Bill: Roman Josi

Between the massive ice time he racks up (25:47 average), the offensive threat he presents from the back end, the way he dictates play with the puck on his stick and his effectiveness across all game situations, I'd like to see Josi recognized with his first Norris Trophy.

Hedman, as Bundy pointed out, is a major impact player and an elite all-around defenseman (strictly in terms of off-puck play, I'd put him over Josi in that category). Really, there are a lot of worthy candidates this year. Bundy mentioned three others in Theodore, Pietrangelo and Jones.

Beyond those three, though, I think that the sheer offensive numbers from John Carlson will absolutely make him a finalist this season and could push him over the top. He was the midseason favorite to win.

I don't think that the Flyers' Ivan Provorov will finish in the top 5 or 6 of the balloting this year, but he's gradually creeping up on it as he gains experience year after year. Meanwhile, I think it's inevitable that Colorado rookie Cale Makar, Vancouver's Quinn Hughes, and Dallas' Miro Heiskanen will enter the conversation over the Norris field regularly in the years to come.

Vezina Trophy

Bundy: Connor Hellebuyck

The Winnipeg goalie has had a great year, and is his team's most valuable player in my book (with all due respect to forward Mark Schiefele). His main competition this year, as I see it, are Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy and Boston's Tuukka Rask. But both of those guys have better teams in front of them than Hellebuyck does with this year's version of the Jets.

Bill: Connor Hellebuyck

In a league where more and more teams have gone to 1A/1B arrangements, Hellebuyck has been a workhorse undisputed starter for the Jets. I agree with Chris that he's been the Jets' MVP this year. In terms of other potential finalists, apart from Bundy's mentions of Rask and Vasilevskiy, I think Dallas' Ben Bishop and Vancouver's Jacob Markström could make cases.

The day is fast coming when the Flyers' Carter Hart will be in Vezina conversation. In fact, if Hart's road stats this year were anywhere in the realm of his otherworldly home numbers, he might even be a Vezina finalist in his first full year in the NHL. That time will come, though, even if it won't be right now.

I also want to put in a mention for Arizona's Darcy Kuemper. He was having a Vezina worthy season before he went down with a knee injury. The injury and the fact that he splits time with Antti Raanta (also a fine goalie) probably knock him out of the inner circle for finalists this year. By the way, the amount of games that Brian Elliott has played for the Flyers this year is another factor than pushes Carter Hart out of the Vezina conversation at this point of his career.

Calder Trophy

Bundy: Cale Makar

You could convince me to change my mind on this one and go for Vancouver's Quinn Hughes. Both rookie D-men have had spectacular years and both will be great players in the league for many years to come. I am opting for Makar because I think he's just a bit more complete than Hughes, but the latter is one dynamic player as well.

In terms of a third finalist, New Jersey goalie Mackenzie Blackwood has been really good but has a weak team in front of him. I am not all that sold on Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins -- in fact, I think he got exposed a bit when the injuries to the team in front became too much for Torts to work around. Before that, Merzlikins was the product of a great system that masked some of his weaknesses. Long-term, if I had a choice between Blackwood or Elvis, I wouldn't hesitate to choose Blackwood. WIthin his own team, if I were the head coach, I'd have more confidence in a healthy Jonas Korpisalo than I would Merzlikins.

Bill: Cale Makar

Makar is going to be a superstar in this league.The only thing he lack is size, which is not a big hindrance anymore for defensemen in the NHL. Just a very smart, ultra-skilled player. I also agree with Chris that Hughes is going to an offensive difference maker for many years in Vancouver.

My third finalist for Rookie of the Year is Chicago's Dominik Kubalik. At age 24, he's an older rookie than traditional Calder winners. Even so, the Czech winger has stepped into the NHL with a 30-goal season despite the schedule pause. I can't dismiss or overlook it despite his team's struggles.

Lady Byng Trophy

Bundy: Ryan O'Reilly

OK, I can't avoid this one any longer. The Lady Byng is probably the only piece of hardware in the NHL that the winner is somewhat sheepish about winning. That aside, there's something to be said for a guy who competes hard, uses his size and strength and plays a complete game but rarely visits the penalty box. I didn't say much about my other finalist candidates for the Selke this year beyond the fact that I think Coots is the league's most deserving candidate, but I'd have O'Reilly in my top three.

Sixty points, strong two way play, and only six minor penalties all year? Mark me down for O'Reilly as the winner. It would be his second win.

Bill: Nathan MacKinnon

The Colorado superstar has not yet won the award, but 93 points with only 12 penalty minutes could get him the nod over O'Reilly. If O'Reilly collects his second Lady Byng, though, it would not be unjustified or a surprise.