Frozen Grounds: An Ongoing Guide to the NHL - The Trophies & Awards

First off, I would like to thank my friend LW3H for giving me permission to plagiarize his awards post. His post is much more entertaining than this is, and is much more about the finalists, and deserves some love for all of the hard work and time that he put into it. You can read it on his blog, Springing Malik: NHL Awards 2011/12 - meet the contenders. (You can also follow him on Twitter at @LW3H - he's a New York Rangers fan from England.)

The NHL loves its shiny silver trophies, doesn't it? The Stanley Cup isn't the only piece of hardware that's been passed around for a long, long time. Many of the trophies have been around for decades as well.

The most controversial of them all is perhaps the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. It's been around since 1925, and so its description isn't as many as some might like. It's a sportmanship trophy, which is fine, but it's named after a woman and the description includes "gentlemanly conduct". The controversy stems from the fact that players are rather embarrassed to receive it, because of those two facts.

The award that most players would be distinctly honored to get is not listed here, and that is the Ted Lindsay Award. It's similar to the Hart Memorial Trophy in that it goes to the Most Valuable Player. The different is that the Hart is voted on by the print media, while the Lindsay is voted on by the members of the Players Association.

The following is a list of awards that are voted on, along with the current finalists. There are a number of NHL trophies that are performance-based, such as top teams in each conference or the top goal scorer, and are therefore awarded automatically when the regular season has been completed. The following list does not include those trophies, nor post-season awards. To see the full list of NHL hardware, please visit the Hockey Hall of Fame's Silverware page, or see Wikipedia's List of NHL Awards.

Winners will be announced at the NHL Awards Show, 20 June, at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hart Memorial Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The player adjudged most valuable to his team, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Normally awarded to: The player with the most points and/or who happened to get hot in the last month of the season.

Finalists: Goalie Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers), winger Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins), and center Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning).

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Normally awarded to: The defenseman who scores the most points, or is mentioned the most in the media.

Finalists: Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins), Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators), and Shea Weber (Nashville Predators).

Vezina Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The goaltender who is adjudged to be the best at this position, as voted by the general managers of all the teams in the NHL.

Normally awarded to: The hottest goaltender in the last month or two of the season, regardless of previous season(s) performance.

Finalists: Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers), Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings), and Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)

Calder Memorial Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Normally awarded to: The player selected as the most proficient in what might be his third partial year of competition in the National Hockey League, after what might be one or several years of competition in another professional league, and providing that said player is 26 years old or younger.

Finalists: Adam Henrique (New Jersey Devils), Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado Avalanche), and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton Oilers)

Frank J. Selke Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Normally awarded to: The forward who somewhat excels in the defensive aspects of the game while having the offensive ability to score at least 50 points.

Finalists: David Backes (St. Louis Blues), Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins), and Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Normally awarded to: The player who missed the most games through injury the season before - the more horrific the injury or the more games missed, the better.

Finalists: Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa Senators), Joffrey Lupul (Toronto Maple Leafs), and Max Pacioretty (Montreal Canadiens)

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Supposed to be awarded to: The player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability, as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Normally awarded to: The player having the fewest penalty minutes when the voters quickly skim down the list of top 20 scorers in the league five minutes before the deadline to send in their ballot.

Finalists: Brian Campbell (Florida Panthers), Jordan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers), and Matt Moulson (New York Islanders).

Jack Adams Award

Supposed to be awarded to: The coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success, as voted on by the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association.

Normally awarded to: The coach taking over a team in which his predecessor had been tuned out by the players, and thus having significantly more success due to the fact that his players actually listen to him, unlike that other guy - oh, and their team is pretty high in the standing for the last month of the season, too.

Finalists: Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis Blues), Paul MacLean (Ottawa Senators), and John Tortorella (New York Rangers).

General Manager of the Year Award

Supposed to be awarded to: The top National Hockey League general manager, as voted by a 40-member panel that included all 30 general managers, five NHL executives, and five media members.

Normally awarded to: The general manager who fires the previous head coach that had been tuned out by the players and replaces him with a new head coach that's significantly more successful due to the fact that the players actually listen to him, unlike that other guy.

Finalists: Doug Armstrong (St. Louis Blues), David Poile (Nashville), and Dale Tallon (Florida Panthers).