Predicting the 2016-17 major award winners
Another NHL season is nearly upon us, and it's never too early to prognosticate.
Three players have legitimate opportunities to reclaim trophies they've won before.
Here's who we foresee collecting the major hardware at season's end:
Hart Trophy - Sidney Crosby
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain went on a tear down the stretch last season, exploding after the All-Star break en route to a Stanley Cup win and the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Crosby kept it going at the World Cup of Hockey, where he led Canada to the championship and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
He was nominated for the Hart Trophy last year, but he won't lose out to Patrick Kane this time around. Crosby is a two-time winner of the NHL's MVP award, and if he can avoid another early-season slump, he should have no problem making it three.
Vezina Trophy - Carey Price
Any concerns about the injury that limited Price to 12 games last season were allayed at the World Cup of Hockey, where the Montreal Canadiens goaltender extended his personal international win streak to 16 games and led Canada to another tournament title.
Price was the best netminder at the event, going 5-0-0 with a 1.40 GAA and .957 save percentage.
Losing P.K. Subban will make Price's job a little more difficult, but he's proven to be one of the NHL's most dependable goalies when healthy and should be considered the favorite to secure the Vezina Trophy for the second time in his career.
Norris Trophy - Erik Karlsson
Many argued Karlsson should have won this award last season, but the Ottawa Senators defenseman was - fairly or unfairly - likely a victim of his team's failure to make the playoffs.
Karlsson is arguably the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, and he logged more minutes last season (28:58 per game) than any other skater in the league.
The Senators' place in the standings shouldn't factor into the decision, but regardless, Karlsson should take home this award for the third time.
Calder Trophy - Auston Matthews
The NHL had one of its best rookie classes ever last season, including the likes of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Artemi Panarin, Dylan Larkin, and Shayne Gostisbehere.
The 2016-17 group won't be that deep, but Matthews should lead a strong crop of first-year phenoms.
He'll be challenged by Jimmy Vesey, Dylan Strome, and teammate Mitch Marner among others, but this should be the No. 1 overall pick's trophy to lose.
Jack Adams Award - Mike Sullivan
Crosby's resurgence and general manager Jim Rutherford's moves were major factors in the Penguins' late-season rise to the top, but Sullivan's contributions can't be discounted.
Despite losing his first four games behind the Pittsburgh bench, he went 33-16-5 to close out the regular season and 16-8 in the playoffs.
Suillivan will have virtually the same team again, presumably for a full campaign this time, and should secure this award by leading the potent Penguins to another honor - the Presidents' Trophy.