On The Fly: theScore’s NHL awards ballot

In this edition of "On the Fly," theScore's NHL roundtable series, we discuss who should take home the major hardware at the NHL Awards in June.

*Please note: this is not an official ballot.

Calder Trophy - Auston Matthews

Craig Hagerman: This was far from a two- or even three-horse race, but in the end, your Calder Trophy winner is Auston Matthews.

Matthews set a plethora of Toronto Maple Leafs records including most goals and points by a rookie in a season. He was the only player to record at least a shot in every game this season, his 40 goals were the most by an American-born rookie in NHL history, and sorry, he was just that much better than Patrik Laine.

The 19-year-old also tallied the most goals by a rookie since Alex Ovechkin scored 52 during the 2005-06 season, while his 69 points are the eighth-highest mark since 2000.

Factor in his play on the other side of the puck and what he was able to help the Maple Leafs achieve this season and there's no question he deserves the award. Still, huge props to what's easily the best rookie class the NHL has seen in some time.

Vezina Trophy - Sergei Bobrovsky

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Ian McLaren: For the second time, the Vezina Trophy will be awarded to Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Russian goaltender ranked second in wins this season with 41, trailing both Braden Holtby and Cam Talbot by a single victory. But it's his save percentage - dividing the number of saves by the total number of shots on goal - that sets him apart from the field.

Among all goalies with at least 41 appearances, Bobrovsky ranks first with a save percentage of .931, with Holtby (.925) coming in second. In five-on-five play, Bobrovsky continued to hold an advantage over Holtby, with the former posting a save percentage of .939 and the latter coming in at .937.

The one extra win should not cancel out Bobrovsky's ability to more regularly stop the puck. That, after all, is the chief aim of goalies.

In an impressive year all around in Columbus, Bobrovsky was the backbone, and the best goalie league wide.

Jack Adams Trophy - John Tortorella

Cory Wilkins: After a disastrous and short-lived season with the Vancouver Canucks, and an even worse showing leading Team USA at the World Cup, veteran head coach John Tortorella was all but left for dead.

Pundits across the hockey landscape chose Tortorella as the first coach to be fired this season. The reasoning: His style had gone stale, and in a league moving more and more toward youth, communication is key, leaving little room for Tortorella's fiery demeanor.

But all he's done in his first full season as coach in Columbus (he coached 75 games with the team last year) is pull the team into hockey relevancy. The Blue Jackets spent nearly all of their first 15 years in the league's basement, but emerged as a contender this season, making a 32-point improvement on 2015-16 and finishing as just one of four teams to crack the 50-win plateau.

Tortorella tossed aside the meaningless morning skate. He unleashed his young players and worked through their growing pains as they learned from their mistakes. Through it all, Tortorella mellowed. For those reasons, coupled with the team's success, the Blue Jackets bench boss deserves to be this season's coach of the year.

Norris Trophy - Erik Karlsson

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Sean O'Leary: When Drew Doughty captured the Norris Trophy last season, nearly everybody outside the Kings organization was shocked, believing Erik Karlsson deserved it after the most prolific season of his NHL career (82 points).

Now, Doughty is an all-world talent - his ability to thrive at both ends of the ice won him the award, and voters said it was his time. Fast forward a season, and here we are debating whether it should be Brent Burns or Karlsson, both beyond worthy candidates.

Burns had more points, 76 to Karlsson's 71. But if offense didn't win Karlsson the Norris, why would it win Burns one?

Karlsson adapted to Guy Boucher's defensive regime, and thrived. Karlsson blocked more shots, logged more time on ice per game, and suppressed opponents' offense more effectively than Burns this season on a team that quietly registered 98 points.

Burns has undoubtedly become one of the game's most polarizing superstars both on and off the ice, but Karlsson is a true generational talent, and if I had a vote in this debate, it would go toward No. 65's third Norris Trophy.

Hart Trophy - Connor McDavid

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Navin Vaswani: It's got to be the kid. The Captain. The Edmonton OIlers. Connor McDavid.

He finished with 100 points, an Art Ross winner at 20, in his second NHL season at only 19.

Almost more impressively, Edmonton finished with 103 points. Remember, this is the Oilers. A team that hadn't hit 80 points since 2009, or 90 since 2006, in the Cup Final season. Not only are the Oilers back in the playoffs, they have home ice in the first round, hosting last year's Western Conference finalists. They had a chance to win the Pacific Division with only hours to play in the 82-game season. The math, it don't lie.

I could get into more of the numbers - the even-strength dominance, the percentage of the Oilers' offense McDavid accounted for - but if you watched him this season, you know why he's the MVP. You saw why.

That's taking nothing away from Sidney Crosby, who is dominant in a way no other player is, not even McDavid. But there's something about No. 97 - it may very well be his speed, and his ability to do things at speeds no one else can.

He stands out, stands apart, in a way no other player does.

So many of the league's top teams are loaded with talent. It's tough to argue the Oilers, though they finished tied for seventh in the NHL in points, are one of them. It's McDavid and the boys. McDavid's that good. He's the most valuable player, because the Oilers probably are not the Oilers without him.

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