Now that the 2021 NHL regular season is in the rearview mirror, it's time to evaluate who deserves some of the league's most coveted hardware.

Our hockey editors each made their top three selections for six awards. The votes submitted by the individual writers who handled this season's Hart, Vezina, Norris, and Calder Trophy Power Rankings carried more weight for their specific honors. However, those races - and nearly all of them overall - produced unanimous winners.

Here are theScore's choices for this season's premier NHL awards:

Jack Adams Award

Winner: Rod Brind'Amour
Second: Joel Quenneville
Third: Mike Sullivan

This was the only award of the six in which the winner wasn't unanimous, but Brind'Amour still convincingly claimed the top spot. He earned five of seven first-place votes and landed in everyone's top three after guiding the Carolina Hurricanes to the NHL's third-best record and an unexpected Central Division title.

Quenneville garnered the other two first-place nods as well as a second and a third. He led the Florida Panthers to the league's fourth-best record and a second-place finish in the Central, just one point behind the Hurricanes. Few expected the Panthers to do that well, especially after they lost Aaron Ekblad for the rest of the season due to injury in late March.

Sullivan secured four second-place votes and a third for his efforts. The Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss deserves some recognition for steering the club to the East Division title amid numerous injuries to key players, including Evgeni Malkin.

Selke Trophy

Winner: Aleksander Barkov
Second: Mark Stone
Third: Patrice Bergeron

The Panthers get some redemption here, as our staff anoints Barkov the NHL's top defensive forward. He's never finished higher than fourth for this honor despite being a perennial candidate, but this is the year he deserves to win. The Florida captain excels at underappreciated skills like takeaways and faceoffs. Plus, the Panthers' scoring chances and expected goals shares were both above 60% this season when Barkov was on the ice at five-on-five.

Stone earned five second-place votes. The Vegas Golden Knights captain led the NHL in takeaways per 60 minutes among skaters with at least 35 games played, and his two-way prowess warrants recognition in its own right.

What Bergeron accomplished in 2021 was also impressive, considering the four-time Selke winner's new responsibilities wearing the "C" for the Boston Bruins and the fact he'll turn 36 in July.

Calder Trophy

Winner: Kirill Kaprizov
Second: Jason Robertson
Third: Alex Nedeljkovic

This race was Kaprizov's to lose for most of the season. While Robertson made a strong push toward the end of the campaign, his 24-year-old Minnesota Wild counterpart closed it out with four straight multi-point games before the regular-season finale.

Robertson got six runner-up votes. The 21-year-old Dallas Stars winger tied Josh Norris for second among rookies with 17 goals - 10 fewer than Kaprizov - while playing five fewer games than the Ottawa Senators center and four fewer contests than our Calder winner.

Nedeljkovic stepped up for the Hurricanes in Petr Mrazek's absence. The 25-year-old authored a sparkling .932 save percentage and ranked third in the NHL with 12.91 goals saved above expected in 2021. He played only 23 games, but his stellar performance earned him the third spot over Igor Shesterkin, who suited up for 35 contests but posted inferior numbers.

Norris Trophy

Winner: Adam Fox
Second: Cale Makar
Third: Charlie McAvoy

Fox led NHL defensemen in assists and ranked second in points at the position, but he did far more than just post gaudy offensive numbers. The New York Rangers rearguard's favorable underlying stats further illustrate his immense value. He drove possession for a team that ranked near the middle and bottom of the league in goals for and expected goals for percentages, respectively.

Just as Fox earned all seven of our first-place votes, Makar was the undisputed runner-up. The Colorado Avalanche star led the NHL in points per game (with exactly one) among qualified blue-liners and tied for fifth in total points at the position despite missing 12 games due to injury. He also ranked fourth among qualified defensemen in expected goals for percentage and ninth in goals for percentage with rates over 60%.

McAvoy tied Dougie Hamilton for third in our voting, but he nabs the spot as the Norris Trophy Power Rankings editor's No. 3 pick. The Bruins blue-liner is arguably more deserving, considering he carried a depleted defensive group following the offseason departures of Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara.

Hamilton's offensive output was superior, but it's not all about points, especially with defensemen. McAvoy was a more complete player and his team suffered more without him on the ice than Carolina did without Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Victor Hedman earned a lone third-place vote. That's likely because the Tampa Bay Lightning were surprisingly better at driving possession without him on the ice in 2021, and the fact that he generally doesn't get the most difficult assignments. Hedman has been playing through an injury. But despite his point total and his perennial status as the NHL's most dynamic defenseman, he wasn't among the absolute best this season.

Vezina Trophy

Winner: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Second: Marc-Andre Fleury
Third: Juuse Saros

Vasilevskiy was a model of durability, consistency, and excellence this season. He played the second-most games among goaltenders, and his reliability was critical for a Lightning squad missing superstar Nikita Kucherov for the entire regular season and captain Steven Stamkos for the final month.

Fleury, who nabbed five second-place votes, was one of the campaign's best stories. He was brilliant while Robin Lehner was out with a concussion for a large portion of the season. The three-time Stanley Cup champion authored the NHL's best GSAx in all situations and also produced impressive conventional numbers - all at age 36.

Saros was the most unexpected Vezina candidate, but Pekka Rinne's heir apparent took a major step toward fulfilling his potential. The 26-year-old almost singlehandedly carried the Nashville Predators to a surprising playoff berth. He led the league in GSAx at five-on-five for the season and posted a .932 save percentage over his final 16 games.

Hart Trophy

Winner: Connor McDavid
Second: Auston Matthews
Third: Nathan MacKinnon

McDavid has had the Hart in the bag for months, and our unanimous vote reflected that. The Edmonton Oilers captain made it impossible not to select him, leading the league with an incredible 105 points over the 56-game campaign.

Matthews, who received all seven second-place votes, was the only player to outscore McDavid this season. His 41-goal output makes him a worthy runner-up.

MacKinnon started slowly by his standards, but he was dominant in the second half. The perennial Hart candidate's stellar play was the biggest reason why the often undermanned Avalanche captured the Presidents' Trophy. MacKinnon helped Colorado finish atop the NHL standings despite missing numerous impact players for several stretches due to injuries and COVID-19 protocol.

Sidney Crosby earned more votes than MacKinnon, but our Hart Trophy Power Rankings editor and another writer chose the latter, thereby giving MacKinnon the nod. Crosby's performance this season was commendable considering the Penguins' injuries. However, MacKinnon's underlying numbers were far superior, and the Avalanche forward collected three more points despite playing seven fewer games.

(Analytics sources: Natural Stat Trick, Evolving Hockey)

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Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri was offered an in-person hearing for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during Wednesday's Game 2, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

The league has the option to suspend Kadri for five-plus games with the offer of an in-person hearing.

Kadri received a five-minute major and a match penalty for the hit.

Here's a closer look:

Blues forward Brayden Schenn took exception to the hit after the game, calling out Kadri's antics.

"Kadri, guy can't control himself," Schenn said, per NHL.com's Lou Korac. "In the playoffs, he's a repeat offender. Bad hits, greasy hits, and he got a guy in a vulnerable position and picks nothing but the head."

The league has suspended Kadri five times in his career, including twice in the postseason.

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The Winnipeg Jets topped the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Wednesday night in the NHL's North Division playoff opener. Here are three takeaways from Game 1.

McDavid subdued

Here's an underrated Connor McDavid stat to ponder as the Oilers seek to rebound in this series: 22 NHL skaters, discounting guys who barely played, scored at a point-per-game rate during the regular season. McDavid hit that mark in Edmonton's defeats alone.

Categorize No. 97's production by game result, and his club's drastic dependence on him is laid plain. McDavid torched defenses for 84 points in the Oilers' 35 regular-season wins, 2.4 per night and as many as Leon Draisaitl, who placed second in the league, recorded in total. Over 21 losses, including two following regulation, McDavid's production slipped to 21 points.

It's a crude metric but reflects what opponents can get away with: Spot this incandescent talent one goal or assist and you remain in the fight. Basically, Winnipeg can beat Edmonton if McDavid resembles, say, Sebastian Aho or Max Pacioretty. At his best, he's untouchable.

Credit the Jets, then, for holding McDavid to two shots on target and zero points. They largely nullified him as a threat on the rush, where he exploited Winnipeg this season en route to 22 points in nine meetings. A few times on Wednesday, McDavid slipped the notice of backcheckers to gain speed in transition, but the likes of Dylan DeMelo and Derek Forbort managed to keep pace, knock him off stride, and/or force an errant shot.

Per Natural Stat Trick, the Oilers controlled 65% of shot attempts at five-on-five with McDavid on the ice, a concession Winnipeg will make in the name of prudence. (The game plan: keep three men, minimum, between him and the net and rough him up when possible.) He wound up only being the night's third-most influential Connor, accounting for Connor Hellebuyck's first-rate goaltending and Kyle Connor's insurance marker into an empty net.

Indeed, this was the sort of game that Winnipeg had to win, assuming McDavid's season for the ages guarantees he'll break out soon. The Jets were aided in Game 1 by their discipline; their lone penalty - Paul Stastny's inadvisable high-stick in the neutral zone - on its own didn't fuel the Oilers' league-best power play.

An adjustment to monitor: Will Dave Tippett pair McDavid and Draisaitl at even strength more often to try to jump-start the offense? Deployed together in the waning seconds of the first period, they almost worked magic to open the scoring, though Draisaitl's sublime backhand, breakout pass went for naught. Forbort backpedaled to deny McDavid clean passage to the goal, and the Oilers captain's forehand flick flew wide. Crisis averted.

Jets coped without Ehlers

There's a case to be made that Nikolaj Ehlers is Winnipeg's most important forward. The Jets scored 35 goals and allowed a mere 18 at five-on-five this season with Ehlers on the ice, an elite ratio that no fellow Jets top-sixer came close to matching.

Safe to say the shoulder injury that's shelved Ehlers since April 24 continues to loom large, even with a one-win advantage. Ehlers, like Pierre-Luc Dubois, donned a yellow no-contact jersey at practices ahead of Game 1, and in their absence, the Jets were overwhelmed by Edmonton's forecheck and cycle game.

The fancy stats reflect poorly on Winnipeg's top lines. Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler had their hands full with the McDavid matchup and rarely threatened offensively together - Scheifele's high miss on a three-on-one break was an outlier - until Tippett pulled Mike Smith in the last few minutes. Tapped to play on Stastny's wing, Kristian Vesalainen had a nice look at the net early, but they and Andrew Copp together gave up 11 scoring chances and only generated one.

Playoff hockey is funny sometimes. Besides Wheeler, who hopped off the bench before his linemates when he recorded an assist, the point-getters on Winnipeg's first two goals - Tucker Poolman, Dominic Toninato, Nate Thompson, and Logan Stanley - combined for a measly 11 points during the regular season. Before you rail about unsustainability, you have to tip your hat. Their dirty work and opportunism were decisive Wednesday.

In similar circumstances, the Jets already have avoided last postseason's nightmare scenario. Their vaunted top six was thinned in Game 1 against the Calgary Flames when Scheifele and Patrik Laine were knocked out of the series. Winnipeg's lifeless offense went on to manage six goals in four games, two of them off Ehlers' stick. If he returns soon and has help, that'll put the Jets in an optimal position to offset McDavid's inevitable surge.

Yes, there's a goalie mismatch

Hellebuyck and Smith aren't in the same netminding echelon. Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy last year and posted a .916 save percentage in 2020-21 (and a .923 mark against opponents that weren't Edmonton, incidentally).

Contrast the 28-year-old star (Wednesday was Hellebuyck's birthday) at the peak of his powers with Smith, a 39-year-old journeyman who has enjoyed longevity but not consistency while cycling through five career teams. Smith's resume features one excellent season: He saved 34.29 goals above expected in 2011-12 for a squad, the Phoenix Coyotes, that ditched its former city name seven years ago.

So much time has since passed that Smith spent multiple seasons as a platoon option on either side of the Battle of Alberta. His play with the Flames and Oilers dipped to the point that he feared he'd be out of a job in 2021, Smith's wife, Brigitte, indicated to The Athletic's Scott Burnside ahead of the playoffs.

Instead, Smith re-upped with Edmonton on a one-year deal in the fall and, out of the blue, posted an impressive .923 save percentage this season. By usurping Mikko Koskinen, he turned a team weakness that prohibits contention into a source of strength, maybe Edmonton's most potent after the megastar duo up front.

All of this is to wonder: Is Smith out of his depth against Hellebuyck, or is he a worthy foil?

He wasn't bad in Game 1 but faltered in a critical moment, bobbling the rebound that let Poolman tie the score 2:37 after Jesse Puljujarvi's opening goal. Dominant on the cycle, the Oilers heavily outchanced the Jets in the second period - high-danger attempts were 8-3 - but the game stayed deadlocked until Smith was beaten in the third on Stanley's point blast that was tipped twice.

Hellebuyck was masterful in the last five minutes, stoning Draisaitl, Ethan Bear, and McDavid in turn before the empty-netters let him exhale. Par for the course for a player whose goals saved above expected figure (13.72) was second in the league this season to Marc-Andre Fleury, according to Evolving Hockey.

Smith deserves kudos for the four-month stretch when he threw it back to 2012. Allowing two goals is forgivable, maybe even a blip. But the bodies of work suggest Hellebuyck is more trustworthy, and now he has a series lead to work with.

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

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The Columbus Blue Jackets signed John Davidson to a five-year contract to serve as their president of hockey operations, the team announced Thursday.

In addition, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen signed a contract extension that runs through the 2024-25 NHL season.

"This is an important time for our organization, and having stability and proven leadership at the top of our hockey operations department is critical for us to do what we want to do, which is bring a Stanley Cup championship to Columbus," Club president Mike Priest said. "Signing Jarmo to an extension and then bringing J.D. back gives us the right people to address the opportunities and challenges before us, and we couldn't be more excited."

Davidson previously held that same role for Columbus for seven seasons from 2012-2019. He resigned to serve as the Rangers' president for two years before being fired, along with New York general manager Jeff Gorton, on May 5.

The Blue Jackets didn't hire a replacement for Davidson after he left, allowing Kekalainen to fulfill both roles. Davidson will now oversee Kekalainen, according to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline.

Davidson guided the Blue Jackets to the franchise's most successful run, as the team made the playoffs four times in seven seasons during his reign.

The 68-year-old was responsible for hiring Kekalainen in 2013 after the two had previously worked together in the St. Louis Blues organization.

Davidson returns to the club at a critical time. The Blue Jackets are currently without a head coach following John Tortorella's departure. Additionally, sniper Patrik Laine is an impending restricted free agent, while defenseman Seth Jones is set to be an unrestricted free agent after next season.

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Nazem Kadri might've once again put himself in hot water with the NHL Department of Player Safety.

The Colorado Avalanche forward received a five-minute major and a match penalty for an illegal hit to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during Game 2 on Wednesday.

Here's another look:

"It's a very dangerous hit. It's gotta be a suspension," Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly said postgame, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski. "It's awful to see."

Faulk didn't return to the game.

Kadri has been suspended five times in his career - twice during the postseason.

In Round 1 of the 2018 playoffs as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he received a three-game ban for his hit on Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels. During the 2019 postseason against Boston, he cross-checked Jake DeBrusk in the face during Game 2 and was suspended for the remainder of the series.

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With the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames wrapping up the regular season on Wednesday afternoon, the NHL draft lottery odds are finally set.

The odds are based on the inverse order of the regular-season standings. The expansion Seattle Kraken will get the third-best odds, just as the Vegas Golden Knights did prior to their inaugural campaign.

The Arizona Coyotes will forfeit their first-round pick for violating the NHL's combine testing policy in 2019-20. A redraw will be done if the Coyotes win the lottery.

As a reminder, the NHL approved the following lottery changes:

• The number of lottery draws is reduced from three to two, so the last-place team can't draft lower than third overall
• No team can win the draft lottery more than twice over a five-year period (starting 2022)
• Clubs can move up a maximum of 10 spots, so only 11 teams can win the No. 1 pick instead of 16 (starting 2022)

The lottery will be held on June 2. The draft is scheduled for July 23-24.

There isn't a consensus No. 1 pick in this year's draft, but Michigan defenseman Owen Power is considered by many to be the top player available.

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