One of the side effects of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ long dance with mediocrity over the years is a paucity of the NHL’s individual awards.
However, as the flowering of Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly and Frederik Andersen inspires thoughts among their fans of a Stanley Cup, so, too, does it point to at least a few player trophies at the end of the season.
As the NHL’s Christmas break approaches, a group of them are at least in the conversation for eight individual awards. This is unprecedented for the Leafs, who did not haul a lot of such hardware home even in their glory years of the 1960s.
Granted, some of the awards are long shots, such as the Art Ross Trophy for most points, or the William Jennings Trophy, which goes to the goaltenders of the team that allows the fewest goals. But Marner, Matthews, Tavares and arguably Andersen should get consideration for the Hart (most-valuable player), Rielly is the frontrunner right now for the James Norris (best defenceman), Tavares and maybe even Nazem Kadri should get votes for the Selke (best defensive forward) and Andersen should be at least a finalist for the Vézina (best goaltender).
Mike Babcock, who was runner-up as coach-of-the-year in 2016-17, is once again a contender for the Jack Adams Award, but that tends to go to those whose teams made sudden leaps up the standings. It is much harder to win when you run a team already judged to be one of the best. Hence Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders is the man to beat.
There is also a possibility Tavares, who has 23 goals in 35 games, could catch Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (29 goals) in the race for the Maurice Richard Trophy (most goals). However, Ovechkin is having one of those seasons and is showing not even the slightest sign of slowing down.
The Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly player is also in reach. Both Marner and Tavares have just 12 penalty minutes, although Alexander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, who is also having a great season, has zero. The last Leaf to win this award was Alexander Mogilny in 2002-03. He famously said he wasn’t going to the awards ceremony because it was embarrassing for a hockey player to be rewarded for being a gentleman.
At this point, Rielly is probably the closest thing the Leafs have to a lock for an award. His four assists in Thursday’s 6-1 thumping of the Florida Panthers gave him 40 points for the season and a comfortable lead in the points race for defencemen, always a key factor with the voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
If Rielly continues his offensive pace, he will finish with 93 points, which would be the most by an NHL defenceman since Ray Bourque hit 90 in 1993-94. The Leafs have never had a Norris winner and the team record for points in one season by a defenceman is held by Ian Turnbull, who had 79 in 1976-77.
Rielly, though, is excelling at both ends of the ice. This is his sixth NHL season at the relatively tender age of 24 and his game has taken a large step forward.
“He just looks really confident out there. I think he’s just doing his thing,” Matthews said. “He’s skating the puck, he’s been really good on the power play, he sees the ice well and he gets up on the play, even in the offensive zone.
“He’s been fun to watch and fun to play with all year. You want to continue to see that from him.”
Babcock said it’s a case of Rielly completing the adjustment from being an elite player in junior in the WHL to being one of the best in the best league in the world.
“We’ve talked about it before,” Babcock said. “He thinks he’s in Moose Jaw again now. He goes out there, he’s good, he’s having fun.”
The argument for the Hart Trophy is the most interesting. At this point, people such as Ovechkin, along with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche are dominating the discussion. But picking an MVP on a team as deep as the Leafs is a challenge.
Marner, Matthews, Tavares and Rielly are the obvious choices among the skaters. But the Leafs went 9-5 during the 14 games Matthews missed with a shoulder injury. Tavares and Marner make a lot of magic together, but which one is the driving force? Some think Marner, some think Tavares.
Then again, where would the Leafs really be without Andersen? His consistent excellence kept them in a lot of games where the fancy skaters were not clicking.
Finally, the most important trophy one of the Leafs could win this season is the Conn Smythe. After all, that would likely mean they finally won their first Stanley Cup since 1967.