There was mild discussion this year in some league circles about changing some of the regular season NHL awards.  Does anyone really know who James Norris was anyway?  Sounds like a General in the Civil War.  While nothing came from these discussions, I decided to take this idea and run with it, so without further adieu here’s my new set of regular season awards.

The Keith Ballard Award for being a Great Teammate- I’m sure we all remember Keith two-handing his goalie Tomas Vokoun in the head after he allowed a goal this year .  It not only cemented the win for this new award, but it was such a powerful moment in great teammate history that I decided to name the award after him.  We are unsure whether Keith will be accompanied to the podium at this point by Tomas.

The Paris Hilton “I don`t really do much but I`m really famous” Trophy- Other than a poorly shot sex tape, what exactly has Paris contributed to society?  Other than some hilarious comments regarding his ex-girlfriends what has Sean Avery contributed to the New York Rangers?  How we live in a world where these two people aren’t dating is beyond me.  I have a feeling that as long as Avery is in the league this award is his.

The “Brock Lesnar is my dad” trophy for best defenceman- You meet this girl in your biology class and she’s a straight rocket.  Somehow you black out and manage to say something semi funny and she gives you her facebook contact.  You begin to chat and you set a date for Friday night.  You go to pick her up and BAM, Brock Lesnar opens the door.  Turns out Brock is her dad, visiting for the weekend and your chances of doing anything with this girl other then shake her hand are gone.  Well that’s what it’s like when you execute a perfect breakout and crossing the blue line you find LA Kings defenceman Drew Doughty waiting for you.  Drew Doughty…..219lbs of crushing dreams.  Did I mention he’s only 20? Yikes!

The Rocket Richard Trophy- Yes I know this award already goes to the top goal scorer in the NHL each year, but we have changed it and it goes to the team with the best looking set of ice girls……they all must be rockets.  This year’s winner is the Nashville Predators ice girls.  How these women haven’t made hockey popular in the Music City yet I’ll never know.

The Tiger Woods Sex Life Award for Biggest Surprise- Tiger had been fooling around on his wife Elin for years but he finally got caught and now every time you turn on the TV there’s a new girl confessing to having an affair with Tiger.  Almost nobody knew about this.  Does anyone realize the Winnipeg Jets, ugh I mean Phoenix Coyotes are four points out of first in the Western Conference?

The Dirk Diggler Award for Most Exciting Player- Patrick Kane has made his name as one of the most exciting players in the NHL.  Lucky for us this doesn’t stop once the game is over.  It seems Patty likes to have a good time when he heads out on the town.  And like most males his age, he likes to have fun with women and possibly a post-bar fight.  My advice to Patty would be that next time you’re going to have your picture taken in a limo with girls wearing only your boxers, try to get one 10/10 instead of two 5/10’s…..you’re better than that.  How did Chicago not sign Chris Chelios to be Patty’s dad for the year?

FIRST STAR — ALEX OVECHKIN, LW, WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Ovechkin led all scorers in January with 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) and posted a +16 rating in 15 games, helping the Capitals go 13-2-0 and finish the month with a franchise record-tying 10-game winning streak. Named team captain Jan. 5, Ovechkin tallied eight multiple-point games thereafter, beginning with three points (one goal, two assists), a +4 rating and 10 shots on goal in a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators Jan. 7. He tallied his first career four-assist game and tied a career high with five points in a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs Jan. 15 and notched three points (two goals, one assist) in a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 21. Ovechkin closed the month by scoring the game-winning goal in the third period of a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Jan. 31. The reigning Hart and Richard Trophy winner ranks second in the NHL in goals (35), second in points (76), first in shots (248) and first in plus/minus (+35).

SECOND STAR — HENRIK SEDIN, C, VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Sedin tallied 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) and a +14 rating in 13 games, powering the Canucks to a 10-2-1 record, a seven-game winning streak to close the month and first place in the Northwest Division. Sedin recorded points in 11 games, including the game-winning goal and assists on two of Alex Burrows’ three goals in a 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Jan. 5. He helped Burrows tally his second consecutive hat trick with assists on all three goals in a 4-0 win over the Phoenix Coyotes Jan. 7. Sedin notched three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal, in a 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Jan. 23 and tallied one goal and one assist as the Canucks overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Jan. 30. A Three Star selection for the second consecutive month after earning First Star honors for December, Sedin leads the NHL scoring race with 78 points (25 goals, 53 assists), ranks second in assists and is tied for fourth in plus-minus (+27).

THIRD STAR — TOMAS VOKOUN, G, FLORIDA PANTHERS

Vokoun posted an 8-4-2 record with a 1.49 goals-against average, .956 save percentage and a League-leading four shutouts, helping the Panthers finish the month in second place in the Southeast Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference. He allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of 14 starts, beginning with a 46-save performance in a 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 3. His shutouts against the Ottawa Senators (24 saves, Jan. 9), Atlanta Thrashers (27 saves, Jan. 18), Toronto Maple Leafs (39 saves, Jan. 23) and New York Islanders (33 saves, Jan. 31) increased his season total to a career-high seven, tied with New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur for the League lead.

Departures
Jay Bouwmeester, Craig Anderson, Karlis Skrastins, Brett McLean, Jassen Cullimore, Nick Boynton, Richard Zednik, Ville Peltonen, Anthony Stewart, Stefan Meyer

Arrivals
Steven Reinprecht, Jeff Taffe, Jordan Leopold, Ville Koistinen, Clay Wilson, Scott Clemmensen

Forwards
With Richard Zednik off to the KHL, and youngsters Brett McLean and Anthony Stewart off to pursue other opportunities, there will be a few spots available on the Panthers forward lines that need to be filled in a big way.  They brought in Steven Reinprecht from Phoenix, mostly for his defensive prowess, leadership, and his ability to score 40-45 points.  With David Booth coming off a career high 31 goal campaign, and a brand new contract, the brunt of the scoring will be on him, Stephen Weiss, and Nathan Horton.  Rookies Shawn Matthias – won a world junior gold with Canada in 2007-08 – and Michal Repik will be given major chances to crack this year’s lineup.

Defenseman
The major blow to this Panthers team was the loss of Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary.  Coming the other way was Jordan Leopold, who will look to fill a bit of the shoes Bouwmeester left on the team.  The majority of the work will go to Keith Ballard, Bryan McCabe, and Bryan Allen.  All of these guys will have to play out of their minds in order to come close to making the playoffs.

Goalies
Another major blow to this year’s team was the loss of Craig Anderson.  He came in and tried to single handily take the Panthers to the playoffs, stealing the starters job away from Tomas Vokoun.  Now that Anderson is off to Colorado, the battle for the starting job is on with Vokoun and free-agent signee Scott Clemmensen.  Clemmensen is deserving of the starting job after what he’s done the past two seasons; however Vokoun is a proven starter.  Both of these guys will give solid stability in the Panthers goal all season.

Strengths
- The coming out party of Booth last season should only be a step in the right direction.  Many are counting on Booth to lead the Panthers in scoring once again, and to improve on his 31 goal output from last year.

- The combination of Vokoun and Clemmensen should prove to be healthy competition and give solid stability in the Panthers goal all season.

Weaknesses
- They had the 24^th ranked powerplay in the league with Bouwmeester in their lineup.  Now that he’s gone, don’t expect it to be any better this year….unless Bryan McCabe can return to his old form.

- A lack of scoring punch only got weakened with Zednik running off to the KHL.  Reinprecht was brought in to help on the defensive side, and might not be too much help on the offensive side.

Analysis
In the end, it’s going to be a long year for the Panthers.  It remains to be seen if they’ll be able to recover from the Jay Bouwmeester hangover, and if they can’t, then bye-bye playoff chances.  Tomas Vokoun took a step back in goal last season, and Scott Clemmensen might be forced into action earlier than expected.  If the young kids on forward can step up and score then they will be competitive, but should be on the outside looking in come the end of the season.

Prediction: 14^th in East