2024 NHL Awards predictions

The NHL regular season ended Thursday which means award season is coming up. Many races still have multiple potential winners and no clear-cut favorite. With that being said, here are the predictions for the NHL awards for this season.

Calder Memorial Trophy: Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks

Bedard came into the NHL this season as the most hyped prospect since Connor McDavid. The 18-year-old was the obvious first-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and he has lived up to that hype so far. While he missed a chunk of games due to injury, he was great when he was on the ice scoring 61 points in 68 games.

The future seems bright for Bedard and will be for the Blackhawks as well if they can put the right pieces around him.

Honorable Mention: Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild

Jack Adams Award: Rick Tocchet, Vancouver Canucks

Tocchet led a Canucks team this year that came off of an 83-point season, and they won 50 games and had 109 points this year. That also comes after last year’s captain Bo Horvat was traded midseason.

Clearly, Tocchet got the big decisions right, and it allowed star players to shine with Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller having arguably their best years.

Honorable Mention: Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals

Selke Trophy: Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

The Selke Trophy largely became a two-man race between Barkov and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings after Patrice Bergeron retired last year. Barkov is the likely winner this year as his stellar two-way play makes him one of the league leaders in plus-minus.

Honorable Mention: Kopitar; Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes

Vezina Trophy: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Hellebuyck has consistently been among the top goalies in the NHL in the last few years. He is likely to win his second Vezina Trophy this year as he is one of two starting goalies to be in the top 5 in save percentage, and goals-against average.

Honorable Mention: Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks

Norris Trophy: Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Hughes took over as the Canucks captain this season and also burst onto the scene this season as its top defenseman. It will in all likelihood get him his first Norris Trophy. He leads all defensemen with 92 points, and he’s fourth in plus-minus at 33.

Honorable Mention: Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Hart Trophy: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

Matthews has established himself as the league’s top goal-scorer in the past few years, and this season was his best so far. He scored 69 goals, 12 more than anyone else, and it’s the most since Mario Lemieux in the 1995-96 season.

Couple that with Selke-level defensive play, and he has been the league’s best player for this season.

Jacob Rudy is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, jar7371@psu.edu.