A Copper & Blue Round Table: Expansion Draft and NHL Awards

With the expansion draft and the NHL awards just hours away (everything you need to know about that can be found here), let’s check in with a few of our writers for their predictions on what will transpire tonight. Given our excellent track record for predicting the exact opposite of what actually happens, we apologize in advance if our predictions match up with what you want, or expect, to happen.

Thanks to Alan, Corey, Jeff, and Shona for participating in this.

Question #1: Connor McDavid already won the Art Ross Trophy, will he add any more hardware to his collection tonight?

Jeff: I think there's a real good chance that McDavid walks away with the Hart trophy. He's clearly the MVP to his team, he scored 100 points getting the Oilers to their first playoff berth in ten years. I don't think there's any other choice here.

Alan: I think McDavid is the gift that keeps on giving. I think Edmonton might sweep all of the Hart, Lindsay, Adams, and GM of the year. I also think they should give them all to McDavid.

Shona: Sorry to say it but I think the Oilers get shut out of the awards tonight. That's historically typical for these things.

Ryan: He should win everything, including a retroactive win of last year’s Calder. He will win the Hart. The Ted Lindsay is voted on by the players though, so I could see that one going to Crosby.

Corey: Connor McDavid will win the Hart and Lindsay awards tonight. Hitting the 100 point threshold is huge, especially when no one else hit 90. I would be shocked if he lost either award.

Question #2: Who takes home the Jack Adams?

Shona: I have no clue around the Jack Adams.

Alan: See above.

Jeff: There's a real strong case to be made here for Todd McLellan here, but I would be somewhat surprised if Mike Babcock didn't walk away with this award. Going from 30th to the playoffs in one season sounds like a heck of a story.

Ryan: Babcock and it shouldn’t even be close. There will be some bitching about and eastern bias after he wins, but the simple fact is that he was far and away the best coach in the NHL this season and he deserves to win.

Corey: It's going to be Torts. no way it's not, right? I think Bob might as well take it, along with his Vezina, and I would vote for Babcock, but I expect Torts to win.

Question #3: Does Chiarelli win the GM of the Year award?

Ryan: Yeah, I think so. This is a weird award though. You could destroy your team three or four years down the road to win right now and get an award for it. I’m not saying that Chiarelli did that, just that you could and it’s weird.

Corey: I would vote for Poile, but I could easily see Chiarelli winning. I assume he's the favourite. He's made plenty of good moves, but I'll still give a pretty big eye-roll if he wins, for obvious Taylor Hall- related issues.

Alan: See above.

Jeff: There's some merit for Chiarelli to win GM of the year if you can forget about one trade in particular. I think he's got a 50/50 shot, because Pierre Dorian doesn't win anything.

Question #4: Which current member of the Oilers will be a member of the Golden Knights in a few hours?

Shona: I think Vegas might take Reinhart. I've been hearing a lot of chatter about that.

Corey: Probably Khaira, right? I'm thinking that was the reason for signing him to a contract before the roster freeze. Reinhart or Pouliot wouldn't be a surprise either.

Alan: I have a funny feeling Khaira might be the one who goes to Vegas.

Ryan: I think it’s Pouliot. And the Oilers give up something to make it happen. Vegas then flips Pouliot at the deadline and gets even more for selecting him. Somewhere in all of this my head will explode.

Jeff: If they're looking for the best player available, it's gotta be Benoit Pouliot. He's under-performed with the Oilers for the duration of his contract, and if the Golden Knights are ready to take a chance, they'll take Pouliot.