HockeyDirt.com's Midseason NHL Awards - The Neelies

The votes are in. 

The results have been tabulated by the respected accounting firm of Goals Inc. (Gretzky, Orr, Andreychuk, Lemieux & Sakic). 

The time has come to announce HockeyDirt.com's MidSeason NHL Awards - The Neelies.  We've decided to name the awards in honour of the great Cam Neely and the amazing half season he put together in 1993-94*. 

Here are the results of the voting.  Thirty-one responses were received from the roughly 45 hockey bloggers invited to participate.  Thanks to all for taking part. 

Drum roll please.

Calder Neely - Rookie of the Half Season

Alexander Ovechkin 71%
Henrick Lundqvist 13%
Dion Phaneuf 13%
Sidney Crosby 3%

Norris Neely - Top Defenceman of the Half Season

Wade Redden 45%
Zdeno Chara 29%
Nicklas Lidstrom 10%
Brian McCabe 10%
Lubomir Visnovsky 3%
Marek Malik 3% (write in vote)

Hart Neely - Most Valuable Player of the Half Season

Jaromir Jagr 48%
Daniel Alfredsson 19%
Eric Staal 11% (write in votes)
Tomas Vokoun 6%
Peter Forsberg 3%
Joe Thornton 3%
Zdeno Chara 3% (write in vote)
Alexander Ovechkin 3% (write in vote)
Henrik Zetterberg 3% (write in vote)

Vezina Neely - Best Goaltender of the Half Season               

Dominic Hasek 48%
Tomas Vokoun 23%
Mikka Kiprusoff 10%
Henrik Lundqvist 6%
Marty Turco 6%
Manny Fernandez 3%
Antero Niittymaki 3% (write in vote)

Lady Byng Neely - Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly Player of the Half Season                

Brad Richards 29%
Pavel Datsyuk 25%
Patrick Marleau 14%
Joe Thornton 14%
Patrice Bergeron 7%
P.J. Axelson 4%
Pavol Demitra 3% (write in vote)
Retire This Award 3% (write in vote)

Frank Selke Neely - Outstanding Defensive Forward of the Half Season                

Rod Brind'amour 35%
Jere Lehtinen 26%
Kris Draper 10%
Alyn McCauley 10%
Mike Peca 3%
Henrik Zetterberg 3% (write in vote)
Jed Ortmyer 3% (write in vote)
Michal Handzus 3% (write in vote)
Brenden Morrow 3% (write in vote)
Mario Lemieux 3% (write in vote)

Jack Adams Neely - Coach of the Half Season

Lindy Ruff 23%
Peter Laviolette 16%
Tom Renney 16%
Barry Trotz 16%
Mike Babcock 10%
Bryan Murray 10%
Ken Hitchcock 3%
Dave Tippet 3% (write in vote)
Andy Murray 3% (write in vote)

Comeback Player Neely of the Half Season                

Dominic Hasek 42%
Curtis Joseph 22%
Dany Heatley 13%
Jaromir Jagr 10% (write in votes)
Paul Kariya 6%
Peter Bondra 3%
Jason Allison 3% (write in vote)

Jerk Neely of the Half Season

Sean Avery 54%
Jeremy Roenick 10% (write in votes)
Darcy Tucker 10% (write in votes)
Gary Bettman 6% (write in votes)
Ted Saskin 3% (write in vote)
Todd Bertuzzi 3% (write in vote)
NHLPA 3% (write in vote)
Bob Cole and Harry Neale 3% (write in vote)

Tough Guy Neely of the Half Season                

Brian McGrattan 53%
Derek Boogaard 7%
Eric Godard 7%
Jamal Mayers 7%
Steve Ott 3%
Chris Chelios 3% (write in vote)
None 3% (write in vote)
Georges Laraque 3% (write in vote)
Chris Neil 3% (write in vote)
Georges Laraque 3% (write in vote)
Donald Brashear 3% (write in vote)
Dale Smedsmo 3% (write in vote)

Flop of the Half Season                

Sergei Federov 32%
Nikolai Khabibulin 29%
Patrick Lalime 26%
Alexei Zhamnov 6%
Vladimir Malakhov 3% (write in votes)
Mario Lemieux 3% (write in vote)

Over at Off Wing Opinion you can check out Eric McErlain's voting record, he provides pretty compelling arguments for each of his choices. 

The ease with which Alexander Ovechkin won the Calder race, and the lack of support for Sidney Crosby, was is a shocker. I will admit to casting the lone vote for Crosby. 

Statistically, there is little separation between the two (Ovechkin 38 games, 24G, 22A, -2, 2GW vs Crosby 39 games, 21G, 24A, -3, 3GW).  They play for equally inept teams, and while Crosby has the opportunity to play and learn from greats like Lemieux, Leclair & Recchi, he's also had to cope with a coaching change, franchise instability and the added burden of playing the more difficult centre position.  Since Sid the Kid clearly didn't have enough to deal with at age 18, new coach Michel Terrien has also saddled him the an assistant captaincy.  Crosby leads rookie forwards in takeaways, while Ovechkin leads the same group in hits and giveaways.  I can understand the support for Ovechkin but thought a few more bloggers would be in the Crosby camp with me.

Thanks again to everyone who voted.  We'll do this again at the end of the season.

*Knee and hip injuries limited Cam Neely to a meager 22 game appearances during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.  The healthy Neely lit it up in the first half of the 1993-94 season, scoring 50 goals in 44 games, including a league-leading 13 game winners.   Sadly he ended up playing only 49 games due to recurring knee injuries and a groin injury.  Neely was awarded the Masterton Trophy for "perserverence, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey" at the end of the 1994 season.

Comments

[Randy Charles Morin]

2 x Calder Neely
No Hart Neely

[David Johnson]

Interesting results. I too am surprised at the lack of support for Crosby but I am also in the camp of people who doesn't believe he deserves it. Ovechkin is 7th in the league in goals scored but the centerman he plays with is named Jeff Halpern and the defensemen on the Caps to lead the transition game are named Steve Eminger, Bryan Muir, Mathieu Biron and Shaone Morrison. He easily has more than double the point totals of anyone else on the team. He does everything by himself. Crosby has far more talent around him but has produced fewer goals and points.

But with all that said, my vote for rookie of the year is Hendrik Lundqvist. He is the only player which you would consider as a serious candidate for another award. With the 3rd best save percentage and 4th best goals against average he has to be put in consideration for the Vezina trophy. Jagr has been great but Lundqvist is the main reason the Rangers are so much better than anyone expected. People may have thought the Rangers would be a middle of the pack (16th) offensive team but no one would have expected them to be the 4th best in goals against per game. For that reason Lundqvist is my rookie of the year. It is sad that too many people seem to forget him when discussing the rookie of the year race.

On a related note, a rookie to watch in the second half of the season is Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki who is taking over the starting goalie role from Esche and now has a 15-4-4 record. He could play himself into the consideration.

[Russell]

Only real shocker I see is Redden so easily winning the Norris vote. Anyone following the Sens could tell you he hasn't even been Ottawa's best D-man, much less the league's. Chara has been the #1 D in Ottawa by far. As for the rookie, a little surprising Crosby didn't get more votes. Fun stuff though.

[David Johnson]

Redden's numbers are real good and better than Chara's. 32 points in just 29 games and a +21. Only McCabe has more points than games played by defensemen. Chara has 25 points in 38 games and a +20. I do agree that Chara brings more to the game than just numbers and he has played more minutes and he is the leader of the Senators team but I think when it comes voting those 'extras' don't always get fully considered.

That said, I don't think Redden will win the Norris either. I think at the end of the season the Norris probably goes to either McCabe if he continues his offensive dominance or Lidstrom for his all-round game with Visnovsky, Redden, Chara, Kaberle, and Pronger close behind. Joni Pitkanen would have gotten serious consideration as well had he not been injured.

[Russell]

For me, Chara is the undisputed Norris winner at this point. And, yes, I am slightly biased.The guy does everything. Points are too often the deciding factor in Norris voting. Yes, it's great to have scoring from a defenceman but that's not their primary job. McCabe is a hell of a forward but he is brutal in his own end.There's no way he should be considered.Look at his plus minus. With his points, he should be alot better. Redden's point totals are great but his defencive zone work is sloppy at times and he's prone to the big giveaway late in games. Even though I am a huge Sens fan, I feel that Redden is a little overated because he puts up big points and moves the puck well.He tends to get a free pass on his shortcomings because of his offensive upside. That being said, I'm glad we have him. Just wish he was a little more careful in his own end.

[David Johnson]

McCabe is not "brutal" in his own end and his +/- is not that bad. McCabe is a +5 on a team which as a team is just +2. Chara is +20 on a team which is +57. There are 4 Senator players with a better +/- than Chara and 5 Leaf players with a better +/- than McCabe. Chara should have a better +/- because he plays on a better team but an objective analysis of the +/- statistics to attempt to factor out teammates puts McCabe and Chara on similar ground. When you consider that McCabe has almost double the amount of goals and points that Chara does on a team with less offensive talent then McCabe should get a big edge in Norris voting over Chara.

[crosby fan]

So surprising, im in shock, i can't believe most people wish ovechkin will take the Calder award. i mean crosby is getting much much more hype, but i think he deserves it. He's doing an amazing job this half season. In a way maybe it's better that ovechkin takes the award so that some of this wonderful hype goes to him. I belive crosby should take it though.. i would have voted for him i love him, i think hes an amazing player and deserves eveyrhting hes gotten so far! He's well talented and hes Canadian!!

[Russell]

You are not seriously trying to compare McCabe's defensive game to Chara's?

[David Johnson]

No, not necessarily. I was mainly just pointing out that McCabe isn't "brutal" in his own end as you put it. McCabe is generally pretty good in his own end but at times has lapses in judgement and gets out of position. But generally, he is pretty solid. Also don't forget that in 2003-04 he was a very respectable +22.

[Sean]

I'd like to know how many Sens fans were polled. Wade Redden and Zdeno Chara are both great defensmen, but for them to be 1-2 in the voting is kind of ridiculous. Also Dany Heatly for comeback player of the year? He played the last part of the last season. I'm pretty sure everyone expected him to do close to what he is doing...I sure did. Also, why is Bryan Murray getting votes for coach of the year? He has the best team in hockey to work with.

Give Bryan McCabe some love for the Norris!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MT]

Hockeydirt.com invited about 45 bloggers to vote, and did not favor Senator bloggers or those who write about any other team in particular. There were probably 2 or perhaps 3 bloggers who consider the Sens their favorites, but I suspect there were more Ranger bloggers than any others. I put heatley in the "comeback" group because of the emotional adversity he is returning from, not the physical injuries he suffered. Murray gets consideration because of the great start the Sens had and the refreshing difference between himself and his predecessor, but Ruff rightfully won this one. I'm surprised you didn't take issue with Alfredsson's second place Hart finish or the support for Hasek.

[laura stewart]

I agree that McCabe does not deserve Vezina.. at all. I love him though. I'm a Toronto girl but he's just too inconsistant defensively. I think Chara and Redden are both solid guys and both good picks. As for the Calder, my vote is for Lundqvist! I love Crosby. He's an incredible player but he just has done some things this year that i don't like. He's racked up 60 penalty minutes for one thing... and he is one of the many divers and complainers in the league. As for Ovechkin... i'm not a fan. He has talent. I don't deny that but all he can do really well is score...he's not a great all-around player. Plus i just don't like such a cocky guy (remembering back to the 2005 World Juniors). So, at the mid-way point my calder vote goes to Lundqvist... but we've got a long way to go!

[laura stewart]

whoops... i meant to write Norris not vezina above as i'm sure you caught on to! Don't know where my head is at. But while on the topic of Vezina, my vote is for Kiprusoff! He is ALWAYS outstanding for Calgary!

[Sophia]

Henrik Lundqvist for rookie of the year!