My 2025 NHL Award Picks

Every year, we get caught up in narratives — but those narratives really do drive the NHL awards. This week on Cherry Picking, Ryan and I broke down who we would be voting for across several of the key categories, but here is the final version of my ballot.

Hart Trophy (MVP)

Winner: Leon Draisaitl

I struggled to come up with a scenario where Draisaitl, just based on his raw production, doesn’t win this award. He’s been dominant in every zone and has been the driving force for the Oilers this year. Kucherov and MacKinnon have both had great seasons, but I think the edge goes to Leon because of his complete game — and with McDavid having a slightly off season, Draisaitl really stepped up. Jack Eichel has to be in the mix too — insane plus-minus, great point ratio, and very few lapses in his own zone.

Calder Trophy (Top Rookie)

Winner: Lane Hutson

Lane runs away with this one and is part of the reason why his team might make the playoffs. Wolf deserves to be in the conversation as well — he’s performed much better in this situation than most people expected. Celebrini is a contender purely based on raw talent. Cutter Gauthier was my fourth pick, mostly because he did all the little things right, even if he didn’t get the same spotlight.

Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman)

Winner: Cale Makar

Another award where Cale Makar feels like a clear-cut winner because of the consistent performance he brings and the value he adds to his team every single game. Zach Werenski might be the reason the Columbus Blue Jackets were even in the playoff conversation — though that hope is fading this week. Quinn Hughes should be in the mix too, although he’s been dealing with injury. The biggest loss, though, is Miro Heiskanen — he’s been out since January 28, but in 51 games he averaged 25 minutes a night and did everything right for his team. If he had stayed healthy, I think he’d be right there with Cale.

Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward)

Winner: Aleksander Barkov

Barkov is the default pick — but for a reason. That said, I wanted to shout out a few others. Mitch Marner’s shift toward being more careful with the puck in his own zone has really elevated his game. Roope Hintz deserves way more love here — I watched 85 clips of him breaking up plays, drawing penalties, winning board battles, and it was super impressive. He was over 53% on faceoffs in the second half, too. Cirelli rounds it out — though the 4 Nations might be adding a bit of bias for me there.

Jack Adams Trophy (Coach of the Year)

Winner: Spencer Carbury – Washington Capitals

Carbury is my kind of coach. He came up through the ECHL with South Carolina and worked with my guy Helmer in Hershey. When a guy’s coached in the coast, he gets it — the stakes are real and the margins are thin. What he’s done with the Caps roster has been impressive. Scott Arniel deserves credit too — he stepped in when Bowness had to leave and kept the Jets buzzing. Third is Berube in Toronto (I am so biased here) — the defensive structure shift alone makes him a contender. And yeah, I’ve had beef with Keefe, but he’s turned Jersey around, so fair’s fair. (And no, I can’t give Montgomery a nod. He got canned. Even if I wanted to.)