Dallas Stars Go Flat At NHL Awards, Finish 0/4

Three members of the Dallas Stars went to Las Vegas as finalists in the 2016 NHL Awards, and all three left empty-handed. That’s absurd.

That’s one way to deflate a community going into an exciting offseason adventure.

Last night, Las Vegas, Nevada hosted the annual NHL Awards show as they do every year. Just hours before, the NHL announced that Las Vegas would officially receive an NHL franchise and become the 31st team in the league.

As the awards show went on, Dallas Stars fans watched excitedly to see if members of the organization would walk away with any hardware. The Stars sent captain Jamie Benn as a finalist for both the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy, head coach Lindy Ruff as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, and general manager Jim Nill as a finalist for the GM of the Year Award.

The Stars had every reason to be sending such a diverse group after the year they had. Behind a high-octane offense and improved backend, the Stars flew through their season. They finished with 50 wins and 109 total points, a 17-point jump from last season.

Dallas was crowned Central Division champions and finished atop the Western Conference. They journeyed into the playoffs, where they would fall in the second round in a hard-fought seven game series with the St. Louis Blues.

The Stars exceeded all expectations this past season and have a bright future ahead with Stanley Cup aspirations involved.

That being said, there should be some sort of award for one member of the club, right? Apparently not.

To start the night off, Benn fell short in the Ted Lindsay Award race. The award is given to the most outstanding player in the regular season as voted by members of the NHLPA. Going up against Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane and Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, Benn had some thick competition. Kane led the league in points and Holtby was the primary reason the Caps won the President’s Trophy this year.

The trophy was eventually awarded to Kane, giving the Blackhawks their second award of the night at the time.

Next up was general manager of the year. While Nill has definitely been the most consistent GM throughout the league in terms of monumental improvements over each offseason, the award is based solely off of the most recent season.

Nill was up against Penguins GM Jim Rutherford and Capitals GM Brian MacLellan. Rutherford traded for Phil Kessel and added Nick Bonino, as well as switching head coaches midway through the season that ended up leading the Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory. MacLellan had added Oshie in the past offseason and built the Capitals into an unbelievable 120-point team.

Nill made utterly genius trades for Antti Niemi, Patrick Sharp, and Stephen Johns last offseason as well as signing Johnny Oduya in free agency. These moves helped round out the Stars and led them to a 50 win season for the first time in nine years as well as a champion title in the toughest division in hockey.

Though all three had arguments to win it, Rutherford ended up walking away with it. Nill finished third in total voting.

Next up was voting for the Jack Adams award, given to the coach who contributed the most to his team’s success. Lindy Ruff, Barry Trotz of the Washington Capitals, and Gerard Gallant of the Florida Panthers were the finalists. The Capitals won the President’s Trophy and the Panthers went from a non-playoff team to Atlantic Division champions in the span of a year.

Trotz was the eventual winner, giving the Caps another award to take home.

The final award given out to end the night was the most coveted award of them all : the Hart Trophy. Benn, Kane, and Penguins captain Sidney Crosby were the three finalists for the trophy given to the player judged most valuable to his team.

Kane led the NHL in points with 106 and Crosby led his team to a Stanley Cup championship with a late season surge. Once again, all three had a legitimate shot at the award.

But the fact that Benn has been considered as “the complete package” by hockey players has to be somewhat valuable. As the captain of the Stars, Benn finished with a career high 89 points and a career high 41 goals this past season. He is just the second Star ever to reach the 40-goal mark. With new career highs, Benn led his club to a division title.

Benn is a critical part to the Dallas Stars’ offense, power play, and penalty kill. He frequently aids on defense as well, using aggressive physicality and puck moving skills. Overall, he’s in just about every aspect of the Stars’ game except in the crease.

He’s a dedicated leader and always stands up for his players on the ice. Under Benn’s leadership, the Dallas Stars have grown into an elite force in the past three years and once again have Stanley Cup hopes. An Art Ross Trophy last season and new career highs this year meant a lot to the Stars.

But apparently not enough in the MVP race. Kane beat Benn out once again, tallying the third award for the Hawks on the night.

Considering the fact that the Dallas Stars had such a shocking and influential turnaround season, it baffles me (and plenty of Stars fans as I saw on Twitter) that none of the Stars walked away with any awards. Even worse, of the three ballots that were released (check tweets above), the candidates from Dallas finished third in every one.

The Stars were tied with the Washington Capitals for the team with the highest number of nominations at four. Chicago was a close second with three along with a few other teams.

must read: A Look At The Stars Remaining Options On Defense

The Blackhawks walked away 3/3 with their respective nominations (Patrick Kane x2 and Artemi Panarin). The Capitals finished 2/4 (Holtby won the Vezina and Trotz picked up the Jack Adams).

People have pointed out that the NHL Awards are simply a popularity contest centered around the big-money hockey markets, which could be true.

And it’s understandable that the competition was airtight in all four races. All of the finalists had legitimate and credible reasons to be in the running, but it’s crazy that not one member of the Dallas Stars was voted to the top (or even to second place, for that matter) in any of the four races. Maybe a few Stanley Cups will be a way to get the attention of the judges.

In the end, the awards put a bit of a damper on the Stars community, which proceeded to vent their frustration on social media. Some saw it coming, but others were utterly shocked at the 0/4 results. Maybe next year, folks.

Next: Here Are A Couple Stars Games To Mark On Your Calendar

But that does not put down the fact that there is an exciting offseason ahead. The draft is tomorrow, and the trade news is already heating up. Stay tuned.