Colby Guy
A week before the Florida Panthers took the ice for their 2021-22 season opener, I penned my pre-season predictions for who on the team I thought would be the best fit for every individual award the NHL hands out.
Granted, some of those predictions did not pan out well…
The Panthers entered the midway point of the season with a 2-1 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night — a season in which the Panthers are off to their best start in franchise history and stand atop the NHL standings.
It has been a really good first half of the season for the Panthers.
With a 28-8-5 record, Florida’s .738 points percentage is highest ever. Last year’s team holds the franchise record at .705.
At the halfway mark, the Panthers sit in first place in the league overall, scored the most goals and have the best goal differential.
It has been a group effort thus far but if this keeps up, the Panthers could find themselves with a host of candidates for postseason awards.
Here are my picks for Florida’s midseason award winners:
Calder Trophy: Anton Lundell
Pre-season Prediction: Spencer Knight
Remember when I said that Anton Lundell would start the season in the AHL?
I try to forget that too.
Ever since Florida’s opening night win against Pittsburgh, Lundell has made a crucial impact on the team.
In his NHL debut, Lundell had the second-most shorthanded minutes among Panthers forwards in a game where the team took nine penalties. The team went 7-9 on the penalty kill that night with the rookie shouldering much of the responsibility.
That game pretty much sums up in a nutshell what Lundell brings to the team. He plays on the defensive end like someone who has been in the NHL for years and he always finds new ways to impress.
Oh yeah, he also has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 37 games so far this season, ranking fourth in goals among rookies and fifth in points among rookies.
That’s pretty good too.
Norris Trophy: Aaron Ekblad
Pre-season Prediction: Aaron Ekblad
Ekblad has simply been one of the league’s top defensemen, in general, this season.
He ranks third in goals (10) and fifth in points (35) among NHL defensemen at the halfway point of the season. He also continues to be defensively sound on Florida’s top pairing alongside MacKenzie Weegar.
His recovery from the fractured ankle which sidelined him from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season has been one of the biggest storylines on the team.
He somehow stepped up and became an even better player than he was when he left.
Ekblad’s skating looks more fluid than it did before the injury, he is seeing the game very well and is making the right plays both offensively and defensively.
Selke Trophy: Sasha Barkov
Pre-season Prediction: Sasha Barkov
One of the most surprising revelations of the season has been how close the race for the best defensive forward on the Panthers has been this season.
Lundell’s impact on the team has been clear from the get-go, with the 20-year-old logging heavy minutes on the penalty kill and in key situations when the team needs to lock things down.
Jonathan Huberdeau also made a huge jump on the defensive end of the ice, becoming a crucial part of the team’s penalty kill — as if he could have gotten any better than he already was.
Still, Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy last year, continued to have a big impact on the defensive end of the ice.
Barkov makes big plays in big moments and has simply continued to show why he is the best defensive forward in the NHL.
Vezina Trophy: Sergei Bobrovsky
Pre-season Prediction: Spencer Knight
Bob, sorry for doubting you.
In my preseason awards piece, I expressed concerns for how Bobrovsky would fare following his disappointing run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
Boy, was I wrong.
The Panthers have leaned on Bobrovsky heavily this season, with him boasting a 20-3-3 record and a .925/2.38.
Bobrovsky has delivered.
With Spencer Knight still learning the NHL game and holding a record of 8-5-2 with a .896/3.31, Bobrovsky remains the starter for the foreseeable future.
Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy: Sasha Barkov
Pre-season prediction: Carter Verhaeghe
The race for the spot as Florida’s leading goal scorer was a heavily contested one featuring seven players with at least 10 goals at the halfway point — including three of them tied for the lead at 17.
Barkov, Sam Bennett and Anthony Duclair each shared the team’s lead in goals, but Barkov gets the nod as the sole winner of the Panthers’ Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for doing it in fewer games.
Barkov, who played in just 28 of Florida’s 41 games, missed 13 of 14 games from Nov. 16 to Dec. 29 with two separate injuries.
Still, he managed to keep up his scoring numbers and lead the team in goals at the halfway mark.
Art Ross Trophy: Jonathan Huberdeau
Pre-season Prediction: Jonathan Huberdeau
Huberdeau ranks second in the ACTUAL Art Ross race — which goes to the NHL player with the most points — as he has amassed 55 points (15 goals, 40 assists) in 41 games thus far.
His 40 assists are more than any other player in the league by a margin of four as well.
Only Alex Ovechkin (56) has more points than Huberdeau.
If you’re curious as to who has the second-most points on the team at the halfway point, that would be a tie between Sam Reinhart and Ekblad, who each have 35 points.
Hart Trophy: Jonathan Huberdeau
Pre-season prediction: Sasha Barkov
Huberdeau has been one of the most impactful players in the league as a whole, nevertheless on the Panthers.
He is, at this point, a legit contender to win league MVP.
Huberdeau’s playmaking has driven the teams at points, including when he notched 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in a nine-game stretch where the team went 8-0-1 and the team outscored opponents 54-23.
If that wasn’t enough, Huberdeau refined his defensive abilities as well and has become one of the best defensive forwards on the team.
Huberdeau has put it all together to force turnovers and create dangerous counter-attacks that have been a huge reason for Florida’s success this season.