And the mid-season award winners are… Breaking down trophy-winner potential at the NHL’s midway mark Dump and Chase
By: Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre Posted: 7:19 PM CST Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

The Colorado Avalanche are doing things at a historic pace, while Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid are having an incredible battle for the Art Ross Trophy (and the Hart, for that matter).

There are some young, up-and-coming players making headlines for brilliant individual play — we’re looking at you, Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard and Matthew Schaefer, just to name a few.

A little closer to home, it’s been quite a reversal of fortunes for a Winnipeg Jets team that set a franchise record for points and accomplished a bunch of firsts last season — including capturing a Central Division title, finishing first in the Western Conference and winning the Presidents’ Trophy.

Not only have they endured a rough patch after a 9-3 start, the Jets became the first franchise in modern-day history to go from first to worst in a calendar year. With 39 games left in the regular season, the Jets would need to go on a remarkable run, reminiscent of the St. Louis Blues of 2019, just to challenge for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Speaking of the Central, that’s where the top three teams in the NHL reside — with the Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild occupying those spots and once again making a case to go back to one through eight seeding, rather than have two of those teams have to battle in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in April.

Oh, and did we mention the 2026 Olympics in Milan-Cortina are right around the corner? It says here that the wait will be worth it and after the appetizer that was the 4 Nations Face-Off, sign us up for the main course, a couple of side dishes and dessert.

This will be the full meal deal, with the opportunity to finally see the likes of MacKinnon, McDavid and Sidney Crosby suiting up at the Olympics being something fans of the game have been starving for.

“I think it’s the best thing that’s happened for hockey in a long time,” Los Angeles Kings defenceman Drew Doughty told the Free Press on Friday. “Everyone was watching those games, so it was great for hockey and it was special for those superstars who had never had a chance to play in those types of tournaments.

“Now that they’ve got a sniff of it, now they’ll be prepared for the Olympics this year. So, that’s a huge advantage.”

For all 32 NHL teams, it will be a sprint to the Olympic break here, with the buyers and sellers more defined by the time the stoppage takes place.

In the meantime, with the midway point of the condensed campaign in the rearview mirror, it’s time for Dump and Chase to supply its mid-season awards ballot — and feel free to share your thoughts on the matter at your convenience.

Let’s take a look inside the envelopes:

HART TROPHY

KEN SAYS: This is a toss-up right now between the aforementioned MacKinnon and McDavid, who are jockeying back and forth at the top of the leaderboard for points.

Both seasons are remarkable and having seen McDavid live twice during the past two weeks, recency bias might otherwise compel me to go with the Edmonton Oilers captain, given his 17-game point streak and near-200 point pace during that span.

But MacKinnon is the best player on the best team in the NHL and that Avalanche team had four regulation losses going into Friday’s action, so he gets the nod in this razor-thin race. MacKinnon holds the edge in goals for the Rocket Richard Trophy as well, though McDavid narrowed the gap significantly of late.

The other player garnering strong consideration right now is Celebrini, who has essentially willed the San Jose Sharks into the heart of the playoff race and holds a 37-point edge over Alex Wennberg in the team scoring race.

This is where the wording of the award can lead to a beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder situation, since it’s not a most outstanding player award, it’s given to the player who is most valuable to their respective team.

In this instance, Celebrini will be atop many ballots and if the points gap remains that wide and the Sharks make the playoffs, he has an even stronger case than he does right now.

But at this very moment, it’s MacKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini, in that order, on my ballot.

MIKE SAYS: If voting were done today, I’d have Celebrini at the top of my ballot.

To do what he’s doing at 19 — lapping the field on his own team in scoring and having San Jose in a playoff spot — is truly remarkable. The massive points differential shows that his offensive numbers aren’t being inflated in any way by having other star players riding shotgun on his line.

McDavid and MacKinnon are a toss-up for me when it comes to the runner-up position, but I’d probably give MacKinnon the edge based on the potentially historic season his team is having. Kirill Kaprizov would be fourth right now in my eyes, with Nikita Kucherov and my pre-season pick, Mikko Rantanen, in a battle for fifth.

NORRIS TROPHY

KEN SAYS: There is Cale Makar and then there’s the rest of the field.

With 51 points in 43 games, there’s still a chance the Avalanche blue-liner could threaten to hit triple digits before the end of the season. He’s averaging nearly 25 minutes per game and is a play driver, using his mobility to create offence for himself and his teammates. He’s a power-play quarterback, kills penalties and is exceptional at even strength.

Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild, Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens, Miro Heiskanen of the Stars and Josh Morrissey of the Jets are in the group of D-men that warrant an honourable mention here, but Makar is the clear front-runner to win a third Norris this spring.

MIKE SAYS: We might as well just name this the Makar award, since I believe he is a cut above the rest of the his peers.

Unfortunately, that means plenty of other terrific defencemen of this current era are likely not going to get their due. I’d likely have the rest of my ballot looking like this at the current moment: 2. Werenski. 3. Hughes. 4. Morrissey. 5. Hutson.

CALDER TROPHY

KEN SAYS: This is another one that inspires plenty of spirited debate.

Schaefer of the New York Islanders gets the nod for me for his ability to impact the game on so many levels at one of the toughest positions to play as a rookie. Earlier this season, Jets head coach Scott Arniel pointed out some of the similarities between the skillsets of Schaefer and Makar — high praise for a guy who wasn’t even 10 games into his professional career. But this wasn’t empty-calorie praise, Schaefer is a stud and he’s only going to get better.

Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens also warrants consideration, as does Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt. For Wallstedt, the only thing he’s lacking is games played, otherwise he’s getting strong consideration for both the Calder and Vezina, for that matter. He also has the best new nickname going, as the “Wall of St. Paul.”

MIKE SAYS: Schaefer for me, and he’s not far off cracking my top five when it comes to the Norris ballot either. He’s just an electric player to watch, and I’m pumped to get my first up-close viewing next Tuesday when the Islanders are in town to face the Jets.

Wallstedt would be a (distant) second for me at this point, with Demidov, Beckett Sennecke and Oliver Kapanen rounding out my top five.

VEZINA TROPHY

KEN SAYS: With so many two goalie systems, the voting here is a bit trickier.

But despite all of the masked men to make their case, former Brandon Wheat Kings netminder Logan Thompson is my choice. He’s posted a 2.40 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage, two shutouts and sits second in the NHL in goals saved above expected, according to Money Puck, while carrying the heaviest workload (31 starts).

That’s why he gets the slight edge over Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders, Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Darcy Kuemper of the Los Angeles Kings and Scott Wedgewood of the Avalanche.

MIKE SAYS: It feels strange not having three-time winner and reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck here, but his numbers so far are just not up to his usual high standards. I wouldn’t put it past him to get back in the mix, however.

Mackenzie Blackwood might be leading the race if he’d played more games, so don’t count out seeing him at the finish line, either.

For now, I’d have his job share partner, Wedgewood, leading the way. He’d be followed by Thompson, Igor Shesterkin, Kuemper and Sorokin.

SELKE TROPHY

KEN SAYS: With Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov sidelined with a knee injury after winning this award in each of the past two seasons, the field was wide open in this category but Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has emerged as the clear-cut leader.

Not only is Suzuki producing more than a point per game pace, he’s also doing an exceptional job defensively on a team battling for a division title.

MIKE SAYS: Suzuki for me, too. I’d have Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli in second — there’s a reason he’s going to the Olympics — and Anze Kopitar (as usual) in the mix as well. Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers is another potential candidate, and folks in Colorado will tell you Brock Nelson should warrant serious consideration, too.

JACK ADAMS TROPHY

KEN SAYS: It’s imperative not to overthink this one and there have been times when it’s become the head coach who did the most with the lowest expectations that captures this award.

There are a number of exceptional candidates again this season — including Jon Cooper, who remarkably has never won it despite his impeccable credentials. Cooper has done an incredible job to keep the Lightning in the race for top spot in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, despite dealing with some injuries that would crush most teams and needing to overcome a shaky start.

But for me, Jared Bednar’s ability to keep pushing the right buttons with the Avalanche in what could be a historic regular season pushes him to the top of this category, one that would also include Marty St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens, Todd McLellan of the Detroit Red Wings, Glen Gulutzan of the Stars and John Hynes of the Minnesota Wild.

MIKE SAYS: No dispute about Bednar. The Avalanche are the gold standard, and everyone else right now is competing for second-best status.

Cooper would be a close second, however, for the reasons Kenny outlines. Hynes would be third in my eyes, while St. Louis McLellan and rookie Pittsburgh bench boss Dan Muse deserve plenty of praise, too.

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