Mid-season musings Several Jets in the conversation when choosing NHL’s best Dump & Chase
By: Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe Posted: 6:35 PM CST Friday, Jan. 5, 2024

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/01/2024 (963 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Time flies when you’re having fun. And we’ve certainly enjoyed bringing you our weekly Dump & Chase column this hockey season, which is quickly approaching the halfway point.

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets officially hit the 41-game mark on Saturday, and the rest of their NHL rivals will follow in the coming days. (The Winnipeg Jets get there on Thursday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks).

Given everything we’ve seen so far, this seems like a logical point for us to weigh-in on where things currently stand when it comes to the major award categories. There’s plenty of quality competition, and no shortage of tough calls on tap. We’ll see if the second half provides some additional separation.

 

Here’s our current awards tracker:

Hart Trophy
Most valuable player to his team

McIntyre:

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Col
2. Artemi Panarin, NYR
3. David Pastrnak, Bos
4. Connor McDavid, Edm
5. Connor Hellebuyck, Wpg

My two cents: Probably the tightest race of all, considering I don’t even have a player like Nikita Kucherov (currently tied with MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead) or Auston Matthews (leading the league in goals) in my top five. I give the edge to Nate the Great, who is on pace to shatter the career high of 111 points he had last year (he has 64 in 39 games) and has been dynamic. McDavid, after a slow start for both he and his team, may end up leaving everyone in the dust by the time the season ends.

Wiebe:

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Col
2. Connor McDavid, Edm
3. Auston Matthews, Tor
4. Nikita Kucherov, TB
5. Artemi Panarin, NYR

My two cents: This could be the toughest award to pick right now, with Connor Hellebuyck, Sidney Crosby and Aleksander Barkov among those also in the conversation right now. MacKinnon is the engine of the Avalanche and he’s been revving high in the first half, so that’s why he got the nod.

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Norris Trophy
Top defenceman with greatest all-around ability

McIntyre:

1. Cale Makar, Col
2. Quinn Hughes, Van
3. Josh Morrissey, Wpg
4. Noah Dobson, NYI
5. Rasmus Dahlin, Buf

My two cents:Makar is in some elite company, trailing only Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey when it comes to career points-per-game. He’s on track to have perhaps his finest offensive season to date, despite missing five games to injury earlier in the season. Dobson might be the biggest surprise of all, as the 12th-overall pick from 2018 is really emerging as a star.

Wiebe:

1. Cale Makar, Col
2. Quinn Hughes, Van
3. Josh Morrissey, Wpg
4. Noah Dobson, NYI
5. Evan Bouchard, Edm

My two cents:This is basically a coin flip. Hughes has the edge in goals, but Makar has an edge when it comes to two-way play.

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Vezina Trophy
Goaltender who is “adjudged to be the best at this position”

McIntyre:

1. Connor Hellebuyck, Wpg
2. Thatcher Demko, Van
3. Cam Talbot, LA
4. Sergei Bobrovsky, Fla
5. Joey Daccord, Sea

My two cents:Hellebuyck is well on his way to being a finalist for the fourth time in his career — and a winner for the second time. He’s been nothing short of sensational, the picture of consistency that has the Jets currently among hockey’s biggest heavyweights right now.

Wiebe:

1. Connor Hellebuyck, Wpg
2. Thatcher Demko, Van
3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Fla
4. Cam Talbot, LA
5. Tristan Jarry, Pgh

My two cents:Demko had a leg up on the competition at the quarter-point but Hellebuyck is on a remarkable run that has him as the front-runner for his second Vezina.

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Calder Trophy
Most proficient in his first year of competition

McIntyre:

1. Connor Bedard, Chi
2. Brock Faber, Min
3. Luke Hughes, NJ
4. Marco Rossi, Min
5. Adam Fantilli, CBJ

My two cents:This is an easy call for me, as Bedard is having a dazzling NHL debut despite having little to no help on most nights given the rag-tag nature of Chicago’s lineup. I’ve got Faber in the runner-up spot, for now, given the impressive heavy lifting he’s doing on Minnesota’s blue-line.

Wiebe:

1. Connor Bedard, Chi
2. Brock Faber, Min
3. Adam Fantilli, CBJ
4. Luke Hughes, NJ
5. Marco Rossi, Min

My two cents:This is a race for second place, though that isn’t meant to dimish the next wave behind Bedard, who has lived up to the hype in his first season.

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Selke Trophy
Forward with most skill in defensive component

McIntyre:

1. Aleksander Barkov, Fla
2. Anze Kopitar, LA
3. Mitch Marner, Tor
4. Sean Couturier, Phi
5. Adam Lowry, Wpg

My two cents:Now that Patrice Bergeron has retired, this category is a bit more wide open. However, it’s hard to overlook the strong two-way play of Barkov and Kopitar, who have been perennial front-runners for a few years now and are both having strong seasons (again) on very good teams.

Wiebe:

1. Aleksander Barkov, Fla
2. Anze Kopitar, LA
3. Elias Pettersson, Van
4. Sidney Crosby, Pgh
5. Mark Stone, VGK

My two cents:The field is pretty wide open, but Barkov is the best two-way pivot right now.

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Jack Adams Trophy
Coach “adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success”

McIntyre:

1. Rick Bowness, Wpg
2. Rick Tocchet, Van
3. Peter Laviolette, NYR
4. Jim Montgomery, Bos
5. John Tortorella, Phi

My two cents:I typically give the edge to coaches on teams that weren’t expected to be this good, which is why Bowness and Tocchet are my current one-two punch (and Tortorella is in the mix, too). However, give the nod to Winnipeg’s bench boss, who has his team clicking on all cylinders and flying high.

Wiebe:

1. Rick Tocchet, Van
2. Rick Bowness/Scott Arniel, Wpg
3. Jim Montgomery, Bos
4. Peter Laviolette, NYR
5. John Tortorella, Phi

My two cents:It would be easy to make a case for all five coaches on this list, but Tocchet has taken a non-playoff team to the top of the Pacific Division. Bowness is closing-in quickly.

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Jim Gregory Award
Top general manager

McIntyre:

1. Kevin Cheveldayoff, Wpg
2. Don Sweeney, Bos
3. Bill Zito, Fla
4. Patrik Allvin, Van
5. Jim Nill, Dal

My two cents:What a 2023 it was for Cheveldayoff, who traded for Nino Niederreiter and Vlad Namestnikov, re-signed both to extensions, bought out Blake Wheeler, pulled off the Pierre-Luc Dubois blockbuster for a heck of a haul, then got Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck to ink new seven-year deals. To me, those moves alone combined with his club’s torrid start to the year make him the early favourite.

Wiebe:

1. Kevin Cheveldayoff, Wpg
2. Patrick Allvin, Van
3. Jim Nill, Dal
4. Chris Drury, NYR
5. Chris MacFarland, Col

My two cents: During the past calendar year, dating back to the trade deadline, Cheveldayoff has taken significant steps to improve the Jets in both the short term and long term.

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld