Something crossed my mind when the NHL Awards Finalists were announced in the spring—and with the NHL Awards extravaganza last week, the same thought popped back into my head. What is it going to take for a player for the West to ever win one of these awards?
The specific issue that we were talking about was the inclusion of Ryan Kesler in the Selke Trophy finalists. He had a great year as a 2-way forward and it was great to see him get some well-deserved credit. A Canucks fan that I talk to on a regular basis was bouncing off the walls with excitement. I asked him, “What are you getting so excited for? That Ryan Kesler is going to come in 3rd instead of 4th?” His response was telling: “I’m just happy that people are finally admitting how good he is! I didn’t think anyone even noticed.”
Hey, at least he was nominated!
Let’s get one thing straight: there was NO WAY that Kesler was going to win the Selke. I check out as many Canucks games as anyone in the United States (BC people are a different animal—they’re crazy). If I were to buy a jersey of an opposing team, Kesler would be on the short list of buying options. I absolutely love the way he plays. If I were a GM, I’d want 20 guys on my team built of the same mold.
With all of that being said, there was no way in hell that Kesler was going to win. Both Mike Richards and Pavel Datsyuk had better all around seasons and probably even had better seasons on the DEFENSIVE side of the puck (which is what it SHOULD be all about). But actually, that had nothing to do with my reasoning when I said that he didn’t have a chance to win. When you’re going up against 2 beloved players in major TRADITIONAL hockey markets in the East, you have to set records or be named Wayne Gretzky to get any acknowledgment.
Please don’t misconstrue or misunderstand the point I’m making. I’m not saying that there’s some grand conspiracy to actively screw any team that plays in the Pacific or Northwest Division. I’m not even saying that Ryan Kesler DESERVED the Selke this year. I’m just saying that it’s going to take A LOT for any player starting his games at 9:00 Eastern to EVER get the credit he deserves.
Its human nature—hockey writers are going to vote for the players that they see the most. Every time I find myself on the East Coast, I love that I can watch live games that start at 10:30 at night. I could be in Detroit, go to a Red Wings game, come home and watch the puck drop in Anaheim (if I ever watched Ducks games). But the reason that I love it is because there’s NOVELTY.
If hockey writers tell you that they watch the games on the West Coast, they’re simply lying to you. Ask fans of the Ducks, the Sharks or the Kings and they’ll tell you the same thing. Anytime they go through one of those 6 game, 11 day road trips on the East coast, they get all kinds of ink in the national press. People will say things like, “Wow, that Bobby Ryan guy is pretty good. Maybe he’s not a bust after all.” Or something like, “I didn’t notice that the Sharks had that many points. I knew they were good—but I didn’t know they were THAT good.”
117 points on the West Coast is equal to 723983 points in the Eastern Time Zone...
The San Jose Sharks finished the season with a league leading 117 points this season. Their best player: 9th in the Hart voting. Their best defenseman: 5th in the Norris voting. What about their goaltender? 5th in the Vezina voting. At least Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was recognized by being a finalist for the Jack Adams Award (and finishing a distant 3rd).
Contrast that to the best team in the East: the Boston Bruins. Their goaltender wins the Vezina. Their best defenseman wins the Norris. They had not one, but TWO players that finished ahead of Joe Thornton in the Hart voting (by the way, received votes by all of 7 total voters. SEVEN). Oh, and that Jack Adams nomination that Sharks fans would hang their hats on? Claude Julien brought that back to Boston as well. Can you imagine if a team like the Rangers or Flyers were the best team in the league but were not mentioned for ANY of the big awards? If you can, you probably live in New York or Philadelphia.
I totally get it though—the games are late. Not only that, it’s a logistical thing too. Hockey writers that cover the games at the arena are in the locker room trying to get their quotes and trying to meet deadlines when their game ends. Even though they are awake (if they are), they’re working on their own stories—not watching any of the games that had just started. Conversely, it’s a lot easier to watch a game on the East coast immediately before a game when you’re in California or British Columbia.
And that’s just it—the hockey writers that vote on the awards are always going to lean towards the Right coast when they’re voting on the year-end NHL awards. This isn’t anything new and it certainly isn’t going to go anywhere; but maybe the hockey writers should take a step back and give those guys in the West a second thought before they vote for the guys they see every night. There are guys in the league that play on teams besides the Red Wings, Bruins and Capitals. Until then, people out here in the West will continue to be happy to just be nominated.
For a list of the full voting results for this year’s NHL Awards, Preds On The Glass has the complete run-down.
Matt Reitz
Matt Reitz is an NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports and the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com. When he's not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he's usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It's a never-ending job.
