Montreal Canadiens' 2023-24 Team Awards Montreal Canadiens

With the season winding down and the hockey world talking about the playoffs, Montreal Canadiens fans have once again been left out of the conversation. Another conversation that Habs fans aren't interested in is the NHL awards. With only Joel Armia being considered for the Bill Masterton Trophy, which is awarded for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, there's not much hope that anyone else will be nominated for the award or that Armia will win the Masterton. So let's focus on the Canadiens and see which player would win which NHL award if the league gave awards to each team instead of one player for the entire NHL.

Art Ross and Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies

Let's get it out of the way first. The Art Ross is awarded to the player with the most points and the Richard Trophy to the player with the most goals. The Art Ross was first awarded in late 1947-48, and the first recipient was Elmer Lach of Montreal. The trophy has been awarded 70 times to 29 players, the most recent being Connor McDavid. The Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy was donated to the NHL by the Canadiens at the end of the 1998-99 season and was awarded to Teemu Selanne of the Anaheim Ducks. Alexander Ovechkin won this award nine times. The last player to win the Art Ross in Montreal was Guy Lafleur in 1978, and no Hab has won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.

If the awards were given to a Canadian player, the clear winner would be Nick Suzuki. Suzuki leads Montreal with 74 points and 33 goals, ahead of second-leading scorer Cole Caufield in both categories with 24 and 59. Suzuki is coming off a breakout season and has scored the most points in a single season by a Habs player since Alexei Kovalev had 84 in 2007-08. With just a few games left in the season, Suzuki can still add to his tally.

Winner: Nick Suzuki

Calder Memorial Cup

The Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player of the season and was first awarded to Carl Voss of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1932-33 season. The last Canadian to win the Calder Trophy was Ken Dryden in 1971-72, and they've had three winners since: Chris Chelios lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux in 1984-85, and Michael Ryder was robbed of the trophy in 2003-04. In favor of Andrew Raycroft of the Boston Bruins, Brendan Gallagher eventually lost out to Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers in 2012-13. John Quilty became the first Hab to win the award in 1940-41. He beat Johnny Mowers of the Red Wings (not to be confused with Johnny Bauer of the Toronto Maple Leafs).

It was tough, and you'd think Joshua Roy would win because he was the only rookie. However, the winner is Cayden Prime. Under eligibility rules, a goaltender cannot play 25 or more games in a season or more than six games in the previous two seasons. Prime played just 21 NHL games so far this season and 12 in 2021-22, but just three in 2022-23. Therefore, it technically qualifies for the award. I technically include it will not happen because six games are featured in every major professional league. Although professional, the American Hockey League (AHL) is considered the highest level minor league.

Winner: Kayden Prayau

Frank J. Selke Cup

Frank J. The Selke Trophy is awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL. It was first awarded to Canadiens legend Bob Gainey, who won four straight seasons in 1977-78. The last Montreal player to win was Guy Carbonneau in 1991-92. Patrice Bergeron, formerly of the Boston Bruins, has won the award six times, the most of any player in the NHL and is the last recipient of the trophy. Although the Canadiens haven't been a finalist for the award since 1991-92, a team member has won it seven times, tying the Red Wings and Bruins for the most in the NHL.

Related: The most likely Canadians to win an NHL title in 2023-24

The Canadiens have been terrible defensively this season, but there have been some bright spots. Suzuki, of course, played a brilliant 200-foot game, Army were solid on the penalty kill, and Jake Evans was brilliant at the opposition point and in every situation he was put in. Suzuki has played against the top line in the NHL and is very productive, but I think another forward has been the best defensively, and that's Evans. He averaged over three minutes on the penalty kill and started 75.8% of his shifts in the defensive zone, 51.8% of faceoffs overall. A solid argument can be made for Suzuki, but I'll give it to the striker, who is used more in defensive situations.

Winner: Jake Evans

James Norris Memorial Cup

The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the defenseman with the most outstanding all-around ability. It was actually awarded to the quarterback with the most points and not necessarily on defense (that's a discussion for another article). Norris was first awarded in the 1953-54 season, and the recipient was Red Wings' Red Kelly. Canadiens legend Doug Harvey won the award in eight of the next nine seasons and shares the record with the Bruins' Bobby Orr for most wins. The last player to win the award in Montreal was PK Subban in 2012-13. The most recent winner is Erik Karlsson.

There's no question who the Canadiens' most versatile defenseman is: Mike Matheson. Matheson is third on the team in scoring and plays every situation, averaging over 25 minutes of ice time a night. He is also ninth in the entire NHL in scoring by defensemen and fifth on the ice. Matheson led the Habs' blue line offensive attack and is still responsible for the defense, making him a worthy recipient of this trophy for Montreal.

Winner: Mike Matheson

Lady Bing Memorial Trophy

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is awarded to a player for sportsmanship during a game. The trophy was first awarded to Frank Nigbor (1917) of the Ottawa Senators in the 1924-25 season. Anze Kopitar won the award last season, and the last Canadian player to win it was Mats Naslund in 1987-88. This season, Cole Caulfield has shown that he can be the best attacking player, but still plays within the rules of the game and shows great sportsmanship with just 16 penalties.

Winner: Cole Caufield

Vezina Trophy

The Vezina Trophy is awarded to the best goaltender in the NHL. It was first awarded in the 1926-27 season. George Hainsworth of Montreal built it in honor of his Canadian son, George Vezina, who died of tuberculosis in March 1926. In 1964-65, the criteria for the award changed and it was awarded to the goalkeeper rather than the best goalkeeper. the team with the fewest goals. In 1981-82, the league William M. When the Jennings Trophy was created, it was again awarded to the best goalkeeper, awarded to the team with the fewest goals. Bill Duran, Canada's Jacques Plante and Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabers have won the award six times. Last year's award winner was Bruins' Linus Ullmark. Carey Price was the last Hab to win the award in 2014-15.

The clear winner for the Canadiens this season is Sam Montembo. He ranks 14th in the league in goals-against-expectation (GSAx). He has a 16-15-7 record with a 3.10 goals-against average (GAA) and a .904 save percentage (SV%). Montembo won the starting job even when the Habs ran a three-goal system, which was a big reason why the Canadiens won nearly half of their games. If Primeau had played more games, there might have been more of an argument, as Primeau has a better SV% and GAA than Montemboault, but only played 21 games.

Winner: Sam Montembo

Hart Trophy

The Hart Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player. It was first awarded in the 1923-24 season and the winner was Frank Nigbor of the 1917 Senators. The great Wayne Gretzky won the award nine times, including eight in a row in the 80s. The last Canadian to win the MVP award was Carey Price in 2014-15, a year in which he won every award other than scoring. Last year's winner was McDavid.

Related: Canadiens' Armia is an expected Masterton contender, but an unlikely winner

Choosing an MVP can sometimes be difficult when a team is at the bottom of the standings. The easiest way is to choose the guy with the most points. For the Canadians, there is a clear case for their points leader, Suzuki. He leads the team in almost every offensive category, he plays in every situation and is a big reason for any success the Habs have.

Suzuki, however, is not the main reason for Montreal's underachievement this season; That distinction in my mind goes to Montembo. Montembo has helped the team to 39 of 78 total points this season, meaning he is directly responsible for half of the team's points and a big reason why they are closer to 10th in the standings than the bottom five. Suzuki has been a great source of scoring for the Canadiens, but Montembo has proven time and time again that he can steal points in games they don't deserve.

Winner: Sam Montembo

It covered most of the major awards the NHL hands out each year. The Canadiens haven't had the greatest season, but they have had some bright stars. Suzuki is the team's top scorer in the last decade. Juraj Slafkowski was the first overall pick everyone was hoping for and the team had quality goaltending from Montembo and Primeau. Not everyone will agree with these choices, and that's okay. Let us know who you think will win these awards in the comments.