PWH Morning Skate: NHL Awards Ballot Revealed!
Finally, Edmonton Oilers fans can put down their pitchforks and torches after their favorite player was "robbed" of a unanimous Hart Trophy win
Since I forgot to do this earlier in the summer when the NHL Awards showed happened a month ago in Nashville, now is as good a time as any to reveal my awards ballot. This is probably the 10th time I’ve been invited to participate in the NHL Awards voting, and it continues to be both an honor and a privilege to be a part of the process.
You may not agree with my choices and some hilariously think they can predict my choices based on the awards results when they are announced. Edmonton Oilers fans had their pitchforks and torches fully out for yours truly thinking I was the one guy that kept Connor McDavid from being a unanimous Hart Trophy winner this season (since the lone other first place vote was for David Pastrnak), but it turned out to be a Pittsburgh writer of all people.
The bottom line with the voting is that we shouldn’t be simply looking for a groupthink process where everybody votes the same way, even if McDavid was a bulletproof MVP candidate with a jaw-dropping 64 goals and 153 points while suiting up for all 82 games.
Without further ado, here’s my awards ballot for the 2022-23 NHL season, which is submitted just prior to the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs: