MacKinnon leads tight Hart race in Daily Faceoff’s 2025-26 midseason NHL awards

We’re now halfway through the NHL season, which means it’s time to reflect on the first half and look at the current frontrunners for all the major NHL awards. So many teams remain close together in the standings, which leaves many awards still up for debate. Yet, the Colorado Avalanche are playing at a level which often sees many of their players walk away with awards. If that wasn’t spicy enough, two award regulars in Aleksander Barkov and Connor Hellebuyck have dealt with injuries this season, meaning the Selke and Vezina Trophy races are wide open for the first time in years.

Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ve asked 13 of our editors, senior staff and news team members to submit ballots for the six major NHL awards (Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, Selke Trophy, Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Jack Adams Award) based on everyone’s performances through the first half of the season. Each member provided their top-five selections for each award, except for the Vezina and Jack Adams which were limited to three. All votes are determined via their respective real-life scoring systems.

The Panel

Matt Larkin, DFO managing editor & senior writer
Steven Ellis, DFO associate editor & prospect analyst
Scott Maxwell, DFO editor & writer
Jeff Marek, host of The Sheet podcast & co-host of The DFO Rundown podcast
Brock Seguin, DFO managing fantasy editor
Arun Srinivasan, The Leafs Nation managing editor
Jason Gregor, co-host of The DFO Rundown podcast
Paul Pidutti, founder of Adjusted Hockey & DFO feature writer
Anthony Trudeau, DFO feature writer
Hunter Crowther, DFO news writer & women’s hockey analyst
Kyle Morton, DFO news writer
Ben Steiner, DFO news writer & women’s hockey analyst
Ryan Cuneo, DFO news writer

Hart Trophy: Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche)

Finalists: Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks)
Other Votes: Nikita Kucherov, Cale Makar, Moritz Seider, Mark Stone, Logan Thompson, Sidney Crosby, Connor Bedard, Matt Boldy, David Pastrnak, Mikko Rantanen, Ilya Sorokin

The Hart Trophy is a three-horse race right now. MacKinnon, McDavid and Celebrini are the current frontrunners for league MVP and were the only players to appear on every ballot. However, our voters didn’t fully agree on who was the best. MacKinnon and Celebrini received five first-place votes, while MacKinnon and McDavid didn’t fall out of anybody’s top three. But Mackinnon was in the top two in 12 of 13 ballots, which secured him the award at this point of the season.

MacKinnon and McDavid are in their own league in the scoring race this season, and the Oilers captain is even creeping up on MacKinnon as the top goal-scorer. But the success of the Avalanche this season has made it hard to keep MacKinnon out of the top two. Celebrini’s 70 points are a bit behind McDavid (82) and MacKinnon (81), but the 2024 first-overall pick’s impact on a surging Sharks squad has won some voters over. The possibility of a fadeout in San Jose leaves some doubt in Celebrini’s longevity in the Hart race, but if the team stays in the conversation, he may jump into first place.

Beyond the top three, there was a bit more debate in how voters filled out the rest of their ballots. Kucherov and Makar were the only other players to get third-place votes. Seider also got some attention with multiple fourth- and fifth-place votes. Crosby was the only other player to receive more than one vote.

Calder Trophy: Matthew Schaefer (New York Islanders)

Finalists: Ivan Demidov (Montreal Canadiens), Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)
Other Votes: Beckett Sennecke, Ryan Leonard, Alexander Nikishin, Yaroslav Askarov, Artyom Levshunov, Zeev Buium

Was there ever any doubt? It took no time for Schaefer to impress hockey fans, as he seamlessly transitioned to the NHL game and hasn’t looked out of place at either end of the ice. His play won over Islanders head coach Patrick Roy enough to deploy Schaefer in a top role in short order, and he’s continued to thrive despite the tougher minutes. All the while, he’s kept up in the scoring race with 30 points. He was the closest to a unanimous winner for any award with 12 of 13 first-place votes.

The other first-place vote? Wallstedt, who generated the most division among voters in this award with the one first-place vote, five second-place votes, five third-place votes and one fourth-place vote. For some, Wallstedt’s stellar play in net is worthy of consideration for the award. For others, they’d like to see more than 19 games of this performance before making a serious case for picking him over Schaefer. As a result, Wallstedt finished third place in the voting.

Demidov leads the rookie scoring race with 39 points, so it’s no surprise to see him in second in voting. Sennecke isn’t too far behind with 35 points and was the only other rookie to receive third-place votes. Leonard was another popular choice with seven votes, but his midseason injury left some voters in doubt.

Selke Trophy: Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens)

Finalists: Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers), Brock Nelson (Colorado Avalanche)
Other Votes: Joel Eriksson Ek, Charlie Coyle, Anthony Cirelli, Mitch Marner, Anze Kopitar, Mathew Barzal, Jordan Kyrou, Sean Couturier, Arrturi Lehkonen, Brandon Hagel, Jack Eichel, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon, Claude Giroux, Noah Cates, Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Nico Hischier, Matty Beniers, Dylan Larkin, Shane Pinto, Lucas Raymond

The Selke is a reputation award. Voters flock to the same pool of 5-10 players, and even fewer earn the top votes. But in a Barkov-less world, our Selke race was extremely diverse. Twenty-five different players were on somebody’s ballot, and eight different players received first-place votes.

But one player got recognition from almost the entire panel: Nick Suzuki. The center has put in excellent work in tough minutes on a Canadiens squad cementing itself as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. With a 3.4 defensive GAR and -0.091 5v5 regularized adjusted plus-minus expected goals against per 60 minutes, he’s grown into one of the best defensive forwards in the league, all while facing 100th percentile competition (according to hockeystats.com). He was on 11 of 13 ballots and was the only player with more than two first-place votes with five.

Even when he isn’t in his teammate’s shadow, Reinhart still can’t beat the winger stigma. He fell quite short of Suzuki, even though he was well ahead of the rest of the pack. Reinhart has done his part to keep the Panthers afloat amidst the injuries they’ve had to work around. Nelson was the other finalist, as he was the only other player to receive more than two votes in the top two. Those votes pulled him ahead of a field of six players vying for the third spot. Eriksson Ek was the only other player to receive multiple first-place votes, while Barzal, Cirelli, Kopitar and Kyrou also were at the top of a voter’s ballot.

Norris Trophy: Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)

Finalists: Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings)
Other Votes: Jakob Chychrun, Josh Morrissey, J.J. Moser, Matthew Schaefer, Adam Fox, Lane Hutson, Miro Heiskanen, Quinn Hughes, Darren Raddysh, Jake Sanderson, Jonas Brodin, Shayne Gostisbehere

It should be no surprise Makar is leading the Norris race given the success of the Avalanche this season. Werenski’s 1.19 points per game is actually ahead of Makar’s 1.18, but his contributions to Colorado’s success can’t be ignored, especially when Werenski’s Blue Jackets sit near the bottom of the East. Makar received 11 of 13 first-place votes, with Werenski collecting the remaining two.

You’d have to go back to 2018-19 to find a Norris finalist who finished outside of the top 10 in defenseman scoring, which was Victor Hedman, who was a reputation vote on a 62-win Lightning team. Seider is the closest we’ve had to a lower-scoring Norris candidate since, as he’s tied for 10th in scoring with 33 points. That even comes without the respect and reputation which Hedman brings. Instead, voters have appreciated Seider’s elite defensive performance on a surprising Red Wings squad, highlighted by a -0.238 5v5 RAPM xGA/60 (second among defensemen) and a 16.2 GAR (first).

Chychrun also received plenty of voting attention for keeping up with Makar and Werenski in the goal-scoring race. The options were much more diverse after Chychrun, with no one receiving more than three votes. That includes Hughes, who’s seen a significant drop in voting compared to previous seasons after a slow start with the Vancouver Canucks. But, his recent success since joining the Wild may put him back in the Norris conversation by season’s end.

Vezina Trophy: Logan Thompson (Washington Capitals)

Finalists: Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders), Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers)
Other Votes: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jesper Wallstedt, Scott Wedgewood, Spencer Knight

For the past two years, the Vezina was Hellebuyck’s to lose. The Winnipeg Jets netminder was in a league of his own, even securing the Hart last season. But a significant step back for the Jets and a lengthy injury for Hellebuyck have left this award up in the air. And yet, our voters were quite decisive on who the best were, with a clear-cut top three.

While Thompson and Sorokin had a close race in overall voter points (Thompson had 48 vs. Sorokin’s 37), the Capitals goalie had a much larger edge in first-place votes (eight to Sorokin’s three). Thompson’s .916 save percentage is second among goalies with at least 20 starts, and he’s first in the league in 5v5 goals saved above expected with 23.03. But Sorokin is in the rearview mirror with a .911 SV% (tied for fifth) and 17.77 5v5 GSAx (fourth).

Shesterkin was a distant third, likely due to concerns surrounding his current injury. But he was the only other goaltender to receive first-place votes, pulling him ahead of the rest of the pack. Vasilevskiy also got some attention with five votes, while Vezina conversation first-timers Wedgewood, Wallstedt and Knight each got a couple votes.

Jack Adams Award: Jared Bednar (Colorado Avalanche)

Finalists: Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning), Patrick Roy (New York Islanders)
Other Votes: Todd McLellan, Rick Tocchet, John Hynes, Spencer Carbery, Joel Quenneville, Rod Brind’Amour, Dan Muse

Traditionally the Jack Adams is awarded to the coach whose team most surprised the hockey world. But here at Daily Faceoff, we’re done with that lazy narrative! Bednar and Cooper are the two longest-tenured head coaches and neither has secured the award in his respective career. But at the midway point of the season, both are the clear frontrunners for coach of the year. However, they still needed a narrative to get some consideration for the award.

For Bednar’s case, it’s the domination of his Avalanche squad. With a 33-4-8 record, Colorado is 11 points clear of the rest of the field in the Presidents’ Trophy race. Their .822 points percentage is behind only the 2022-23 Boston Bruins’ .823 among 82-game seasons. As a result, Bednar received nine of 13 first-place votes. For Cooper, his Lightning team has dealt with significant blows in the injury department. The most notable is their blueline, with Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh playing just 18 games each. Despite the lack of manpower, the Lightning’s .678 P% is first in the East. After years as the consensus best coach in the league, Cooper might get the hardware to prove it (besides two Stanley Cups).

Beyond the top two, the race for third was wide open. Roy was the only other coach to receive a first-place vote, and that vote alone earned him the third spot since no other coach had more than five points. Hynes also received plenty of love with four fourth-place votes, but it wasn’t enough to be a finalist.

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