Deep Blue Sea: Award-worthy?

The trade deadline is still a month away, but post All-Star Game, there isn’t much else approaching in the NHL schedule. Now that the first trade domino has fallen (Rest in Peace, Tyler Toffoli — he isn’t dead, he just has to play for the Calgary Flames), the deadline is going to be a looming presence. When it comes to the San Jose Sharks, that means it’s Tomas Hertl trade rumor season.

Getting to see Tomas Hertl play hockey is one of the few joys I have left in this world and I’m just not ready to confront that reality yet. We still have so much time to talk about it, why start now?

Instead, let’s look even further ahead to NHL Awards season. My Jonathan Dahlen for Calder campaign continues despite the haters, but at least one other Sharks player is getting some respect in the Awards conversation.

The Lady Byng is one of those controversial trophies because defining sportsmanship is a task unto itself, let alone by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, who do not get to experience what the players are like at ice-level. Which makes it even funnier that Mario Ferraro got a shout out in ESPN’s Awards Watch as a potential Lady Byng candidate.

I don’t doubt that Ferraro is a good boy and a pleasure to have in class play against, but part of how the Lady Byng is unofficially chosen is that the player has to score a decent amount while taking few penalties. Ferraro has only taken 8 penalty minutes, but his 11 points rank 408th in the league.

Of course, his mention is part of a push for more defenders to win the award. Carolina Hurricanes defender Jaccob Slavin won the trophy last season, the first defenseman since 2012 to do so. In total, just six defenders have won. Among the defenders suggested to keep that trend going —  Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars (4 PIMS, 15 points), Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche (8 PIMS, 34 points), Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (8 PIMS, 47 points) and Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild (8 PIMS, 18 points) — Ferraro is simply not going to get into that conversation.

That’s if a defenseman even gets into it at all. Currently, Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor has fallen off from the Art Ross conversation (though he’s still sixth in goal-scoring, so the Rocket Richard is not out of the question yet), but sitting 13th overall in scoring, the 25-year-old has taken just one minor penalty. The only other skater that compares in both categories would be Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who has tallied 62 points and 6 penalty minutes.

Save for a change on who is voting on this award, I just don’t see Ferraro getting more than the obligatory local vote or two. Sorry, kid.

News & Notes

• 2021-22 NHL Awards Watch: Who’s leading for Hart, Norris, Vezina, Selke, Calder? [ESPN+]
• 32 Thoughts: Sizing up the NHL market after Tyler Toffoli trade [Sportsnet]
• Trades to Push 5 NHL Stanley Cup Contenders over the Top [Bleacher Report]
• Who says no? NHL executives evaluate your trade proposals for Chychrun, Giroux, Hertl and others [The Athletic]
• Will the San Jose Sharks Sign or Trade Tomas Hertl? [The Hockey News]
• Sharks defenseman has surgery, to miss a month or more [The Mercury News]/

Blood in the Water

• Sidney Crosby scores 500th career goal! [Pensburgh]
• Jack Eichel to make Vegas Golden Knights debut Wednesday [ESPN]
• Duo, proud to see Seattle Kraken ‘moving the needle,’ set to host NHL’s first all-Black TV broadcast [ESPN]
• 50 stunning facts, stats, and stories to celebrate Jaromir Jagr’s 50th birthday [NBC Sports]
• Jagr glad to keep playing, teaching as he reaches 50th birthday [NHL.com]
• Top NCAA Prospect Ben Meyers is Catching NHL’s Attention [The Hockey News]
• ‘I Can Play Too’: NHL trailblazer Cammi Granato publishes book to inspire girls in hockey [TMJ4 Milwaukee]
• The USA Hockey rule change that’s forcing youth players to think, not ice [The Athletic]
• Winter Olympics 2022: Meet the ‘quirky’ goalie with the paleo diet and weird glasses who might lead Team USA to gold [ESPN]
• U.S. men’s hockey team eliminated in Olympics quarterfinals, falling to Slovakia in dramatic shootout [NBC News]
• 20 incredible Olympic hockey goaltender masks we’ve seen in Beijing [USA Today]
• 2022 Olympics Bronze Medal Preview: Switzerland versus Finland [The Ice Garden]
• 2022 Olympics Gold Medal Preview: USA v Canada [The Ice Garden]/

Scores & Recaps

• St. Louis Blues 5, Ottawa Senators 2
• Tampa Bay Lightning 6, New Jersey Devils 3
• Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Philadelphia Flyers 4 (OT)
• Buffalo Sabres 6, New York Islanders 3
• New York Rangers 2, Boston Bruins 1 (SO)
• Washington Capitals 4, Nashville Predators 1
• Calgary Flames 6, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
• Dallas Stars 4, Colorado Avalanche 1
• Edmonton Oilers 5, Los Angeles Kings 2/

Click on a team name to find a recap on their SB Nation site!

On the Schedule

• Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets, 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET on SN, BSN+, BSWI+, ESPN+
• Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes, 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, TVAS
• Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames, 6:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. ET on SN360, SNW, BSSC, BSSD, ESPN+
• Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights, 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET on TNT, TVAS/