In the NHL’s return-to-play plan, Gary Bettman announced that the 2019-20 NHL regular season has reached its conclusion. That means the standings are set and the awards can be handed out. Right now, only three awards will be handed out and that’s the statistical awards for this season. There are a lot of important categories, but the four main ones are for the most points by a player (Art Ross) and team (Presidents), most goals (Rocket Richard), and the goalie(s) with the fewest goals against (Jennings). The players holding these trophies are full of star power and we can’t wait to see them get back on the ice. As we wait for the rest of the NHL awards to be announced at a later date, let’s take a look at the regular season statistical award winners.
2019-20 NHL Regular Season Statistical Awards
Art Ross Trophy (Winner: Leon Draisaitl)
The Edmonton Oilers have been well represented over the past few years when it comes to the Art Ross Trophy. In three of the last four years, a player from the Oilers has claimed the trophy. Connor McDavid won it back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 and now Leon Draisaitl has won it in 2020. Draisaitl has been phenomenal this season and has carried this team on his back whenever McDavid has been out. He’s played 71 games and has 43 goals with 67 assists for 110 points. Leon has been a big part of this team and he hopes to continue that when play resumes.
Rocket Richard Trophy (Winner: Alex Ovechkin and David Pastrnak)
There haven’t been two players to win the Rocket Richard Trophy in the same year since 2009-10 when Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos were the winners. That changes this year because Alex Ovechkin and David Pastrnak both have 48 goals to claim the trophy. This is the first time Pastrnak has won the trophy but Ovechkin is no stranger to it. This is amazingly the ninth time he’s claimed this trophy. Both have had great seasons and find themselves in the top four teams of the Eastern Conference.
William M. Jennings Trophy (Winner: Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak)
The William M. Jennings Trophy is given to the goalie(s) that has the fewest goals against in the regular season, but they have to have at least 25 starts under their belt. This means the backup can also win it along with the starter and that’s what happened here. The Boston Bruins bring home yet another trophy with both Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak taking home the hardware. Rask has started in 41 games while Halak has started in 29. As a tandem, they’ve combined to only allow 174 goals against, which is the lowest since 2013-14 when Jonathan Quick won it by himself while also only giving up 174. They both have been a big reason why this team has been as dominant as they’ve been.
Presidents Trophy (Winner: Bruins)
The Bruins have been one of the most dominant teams over the past couple of years and that stays true for this year. They’re the only team with a 100 point season at the stoppage and that’s because of the strong play of Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. They also have a great goaltending duo of Rask and Halak, who won the Jennings Trophy as a tandem. The Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season but lost in seven games to the St. Louis Blues. They have great chemistry on the ice and have a deep lineup. When they get back to training camp leading up to play, look for them to work more harder than ever to be that team they were before the season was put on hold.
Puck Drop
The NHL’s return-to-play plan has allowed us to look back at the season to crown the winners of these awards. It’s a great honor to win these awards but they aren’t done giving them out yet. All of the NHL awards will be given out whenever the Stanley Cup Final is over. It would’ve been fun to see these races play out until the end but if hockey is coming back, it’s hard to complain.
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