NHL Awards 2017: Who's Up for What on Wednesday

LAS VEGAS -- Players, coaches and executives from the around the NHL will be in Las Vegas on Wednesday when the League puts a bow on its 2016-17 season with the NHL Awards presented by T-Mobile.
The NHL Awards are scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and can be watched on NBCSN.
Here's a look at the awards being handed out at the event on Wednesday night, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena, home of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights:

Hart Trophy -- Most Valuable Player

The candidates: Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid
The skinny: Crosby, a two-time winner of the Hart Trophy, led the NHL with 44 goals this season, his highest total since he scored 51 in 2009-10. He also finished tied with Patrick Kane for second in the League with 89 points.
Bobrovsky was among the League leaders in every major statistical category, including finishing the year as the NHL leader with a 2.06 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. His 41 victories established a new franchise record.
McDavid led the NHL with 100 points, the first Oiler to reach the century mark since Doug Weight did it more than 20 years ago. McDavid tallied 30 multi-point games this season and reached three points 11 times.

Ted Lindsay Award -- Most Valuable Player as voted by the NHLPA

The candidates: Crosby, McDavid, San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns
The skinny: McDavid would become the third Oiler to win the award, joining Wayne Gretzky, a five-time winner, and Mark Messier, who won it in 1990.
Crosby has won it three times, and would join his boss, Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, as a four-time winner. Lemieux and Gretzky are the only two players to win the award more times than Crosby.
Burns led all NHL defensemen with 29 goals and 76 points. He also accumlated 320 shots on goal, which led the NHL. It was the first time a blueliner led the League in that category since Ray Bourque did it in 1994-95. He is the first defenseman to be a finalist for the Lindsay since Chris Pronger in 2000 and would be the second rearguard to win it (Bobby Orr, 1975).

Norris Trophy -- Best Defenseman

The candidates: Burns, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson
The skinny: Karlsson could be the favorite. A two-time winner of the award (2012, 2015), Karlsson had a dominant season, posting 71 points in 77 games. Although it doesn't count toward the voting, Karlsson was fantastic in the postseason, even earning a third-place vote for the Conn Smyth Trophy (postseason MVP) despite the fact his team was eliminated in the conference final.
A first-time finalist, Hedman had a career year, scoring 16 goals and chipping in 72 points, a total that ranked second among defensemen in the NHL. Hedman finished second in the NHL with 33 power-play points, including a League-high 29 assists on the man advantage.
Burns had a tremendous first 60 games and appeared to be the easy choice with two months remaining in the regular season. Despite a tough finish, Burns still led all defensemen in goals and points. He played in all 82 of San Jose's regular season games for a third straight season.

Vezina Trophy -- Best Goaltender

The candidates: Bobrovsky, Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price
The skinny: Bobrovsky won the award the last time his was a finalist in 2013, leading the League in both save percentage and goals-against average. His seven shutouts were tied for third-most in the NHL.
Holtby led the League with nine shutouts and tied for the lead with 42 victories. He finished second behind Bobrovsky in both save percentage (.925) and goals-against average (2.07), and the two were the only pair of goaltenders to finish among the top five in both categories.
Price won 37 games, including the first 10 starts he made during the season. He also won 13 of his final 19 starts after Claude Julien took over as the Canadiens' head coach on Feb. 14.

Calder Trophy -- Best Rookie

The candidates: Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine, Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski
The skinny: The 19-year-old Matthews, who was the top pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, finished second in the League with 40 goals, led rookies in goals, points (69) and shots on goal (279), and became the first player in the modern era of the NHL (1943-44) to score four goals in his first NHL game. He was the first rookie to score 40 goals since Alex Ovechkin and was instrumental in Toronto's turnaround; the Maple Leafs made the postseason and pushed the President's Trophy-winning Capitals to a sixth game in their first-round series.
Laine would likely be a shoo-in for the award most seasons, scoring 36 goals and adding 28 assists in 73 games. He led Winnipeg in goals and finished second among all rookies in both goals and points. As the second overall pick after Matthews in the 2016 Draft, Laine potted 36 goals, the seventh-most by an 18-year-old in NHL history and the most since Crosby had 39 in 2005-06.
Werenski's 11 goals, 36 assists and 47 points led all rookie defensemen and his plus-17 was best among rookies of any position. His points total was the second-most by a defenseman and the most by any rookie in franchise history.

Selke Trophy -- Best Defensive Forward

The candidates: Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron, Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler, Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu
The skinny: Long one of the best two-way forwards in the League, Koivu is a first-time finalist for the Selke. In addition to his 58 points, Koivu finished a plus-27 (best of his career), blocked 65 shots and was effective in the faceoff circle, winning more than 55 percent of his draws.
Kesler, a five-time finalist for the award, won the Selke in 2011. He won 1,029 faceoffs, third-most in the League and a new career high. His 21:18 of ice time per game was third-highest among forwards. Like Koivu, he also finished with 58 points, scoring four more goals and assisting on four fewer than the Wild's captain.
Bergeron is a three-time winner of the Selke, including back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015. He won more faceoffs (1,089) than any player in the NHL, was third in faceoff winning percentage (60.1 percent) and his 302 shots on goal were third-most in the League. After winning the award in three of four seasons (he also won it in 2012), Bergeron finished second last year and would become just the second player (Bob Gainey) to win the award four times.

Lady Byng Trophy -- Most Gentlemanly Player

The candidates: Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund, St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko
The skinny: Granlund posted career highs in points (69), goals (26) and assists (43), while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time per night. In 81 games (he was a healthy scratch in a relatively meaningless game 82), Granlund had just six minor penalties, including a stretch of 27 games between Jan. 5 and March 5 without being whistled for an infraction.
Tarasenko finished top-10 in the NHL in both goals (39) and points (75) while posting just 12 penalty minutes over 82 games. Over his final 31 games of the season, Tarasenko was assessed one minor penalty.
Gaudreau caps a trio of first-time finalists, having committed just two penalties in 72 games. He went his final 16 games of the season without a penalty and led the playoff-bound Flames with 61 points.

Jack Adams Award -- Coach of the Year

The candidates: Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock, Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan, Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella
The skinny: Babcock led the Maple Leafs to 95 points, a 26-point improvement from 2015-16, and its first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2013. He did so with a lineup that featured six rookies that played at least 75 games. Toronto's 40 wins were the most the franchise has had since it won 40 in 2006-07.
McLellan's Oilers reached the postseason for for the first time since 2006 and finished second in the Pacific Division with 103 points, a 33-point bump from the previous campaign. The club's 47 victories were the most the Oilers have had since they won 50 games in 1986-87.
Tortorella helped Columbus to its best season in franchise history, as the Jackets set new team records for wins (50) and points (108). They also reached the playoffs for the third time since entering the NHL with the Wild in 2000, and set out on a 16-game winning streak during the season, the second-longest streak in NHL history. Now a four-time finalist for the award, Tortorella won the Jack Adams in 2004 when he was with Tampa Bay.

Masterton Trophy -- Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication to Hockey

The candidates: Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, Anaheim Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano, Carolina Hurricanes forward Derek Ryan
The skinny: Anderson played in 40 games this season, posting a 25-11-4 record while taking several leaves of absence to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was diagnosed with a rare form of throat cancer in October. Shortly after the diagnosis, and with Anderson away from the team, Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond sustained a lower-body injury. At the urging of Nicholle, Anderson returned to the club and made 37 saves in a 2-0 win his first game back, authoring one of the most emotional moments of the NHL season.
Cogliano played 82 games this season, scoring 16 goals and adding 19 assists while posting a plus-11. Playing a full season is nothing new for Cogliano, who has dressed in 786 consecutive contests since making his NHL debut with Edmonton in 2007-08, the fourth-longest streak in NHL history and the second-longest to start a career (Doug Jarvis, 964).
Ryan played three seasons in the Western Hockey League, four seasons at the University of Alberta and four more in Europe before signing with Carolina in 2015. After playing in six NHL games over four separate call-ups last season -- becoming the oldest person to make his NHL debut with the Hurricanes (29 years, 63 days) -- Ryan finally became a lineup fixture in the League this season, tallying 11 goals and 29 points in 67 games with Carolina.