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The inbox is starting to fill up with e-mails from NHL PR types which means NHL award season is officially underway.
There are a few hard decisions this spring, one of the hardest maybe being the choice for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year.
In my mind the three candidates are Buffalo Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard and Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene.
All are worthy candidates: Myers excelling at a difficult position for a youngster; Howard winning the job and backstopping the Wings to a sizzling record since the Olympic break and Duchene, just 19, helping lead the Colorado Avalanche back to the playoffs.
It’s tough to get by Myers. The 20-year-old is third in rookie scoring behind Duchene and John Tavares of the New York Islanders with 47 points, leads in assists (36) and is tops in plus-minus (plus-15).
He leads the Northeast Division champion Sabres in average time on ice at 23 minutes and 47 seconds, almost three minutes more than defensive partner Henrik Tallinder.
But maybe the most impressive thing about Myers’ season is he has done it all against the opposition’s best players.
According to behindthenet.ca, which lists “quality of competition,” as one of its measures of a player’s performance (it’s calculated by combining the plus-minus of the opponents on the ice), Myers is the Sabres’ defenceman who faces the strongest competition. He’s 24th among all NHL defencemen in that category.
Myers is my pick.
HEAR AND THERE: As the New Jersey Devils head towards the playoffs, all is not well in their camp. Yes, they’re coming off back-to-back shutout wins, which doesn’t bode well for their playoff opponent (hello, Ottawa Senators or maybe Montreal Canadiens), but captain Jamie Langenbrunner is clearly not happy after being made a scratch Saturday against Carolina. He hasn’t spoken to the media since then other than to say he is not upset with the media between his “no comments.” Devs coach Jacques Lemaire said he thought Langenbrunner could use the rest...There’s going to be lots of juicy speculation about what it is going to happen with the Calgary Flames after missing the playoffs and don’t discount anything and everything. But like the Philadelphia Flyers and goaltending, has not the number one centre’s position been a black hole in Cowtown? How about giving Jarome Iginla somebody with which to play rather than contemplate trading one of the NHL’s most solid, talented citizens? Now, whether you trust Darryl Sutter to be the guy to fix the problem is another story. He’s had his chances. Sometimes it’s just time for a fresh approach and the new guy could look like a hero giving Iginla a first-class disher...As reported by QMI Agency early last week, veteran NHL referee Bill McCreary is expected to return next season. He was not among the officials announced by the league working their last games of their careers this week. They are referees Kerry Fraser and Dan Marouelli and linesmen Mark Pare and Lyle Seitz...The Boston Bruins suffered a big blow with the loss of unheralded defenceman Dennis Seidenberg, who required surgery to repair a lacerated tendon and is out for the season, it was announced Wednesday. Seidenberg is a top three player in what we like to call the HBH (Hit and Be Hit); blocked shots and hits, combined...Raleigh and the Carolina Hurricanes are expected to be announced as the hosts for the 2011 NHL all-star game Thursday. It could be a battle of Ontario for the 2012 game with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Senators interested.