The Paul Coffey Award
Zach Boslett | National Hockey League
Jun 19, 01:56 PM | Hype this story!
When Zdeno Chara won the Norris Trophy last night, I was relieved. I thought for sure Mr. Mike Green was going to win the trophy based on the fact that he can score a lot of goals.
But the fact is, if you get bullied off the puck… by Miro Satan… in a playoff game… and that play results in a goal… you should not win any kind of defensive award. Honestly, Mr. Green should have been nominated for the Selke before the Norris.
Puck Daddy believed that Mr. Green was going to win the trophy for two reasons:
“1. Because he grabbed so many headlines during the regular season as a revelatory offensive defenseman.
2. And because that offense would, I imagined, outweigh the knocks on his defense.
Evidently, they didn’t, as a player who led all defensemen with a startling 31 goals and 73 points placed second in the voting behind a man-mountain from Boston.”
I thought because of the media attention Mr. Mike Green’s goal scoring streak grabbed and the success of the Washington Capitals in the regular season and playoffs, Mr. Green would be a lock for the trophy for the same unknown reasons that Ovechkin was a lock for the Hart trophy this season.
It must be said though that Mr. Green’s season was very impressive and should have been commended.
That is why I suggest the creation of “The Paul Coffey Award” which would be an award presented to the player who excels at the offensive aspects of the game from the defensive position.
I suppose you could name it after Bobby Orr, but Coffey was a Penguin and one of my favorite players so I picked him. Want to fight about it?
This award needs to be presented to commend players like Mr. Mike Green who are extremely talented and have great seasons in the offensive zone but can sometimes be a liability in the defensive zone.
Sergei Gonchar, Mr. Green, Mark Streit, Dan Boyle among others would all be perennial candidates for such an award and should be commended for their abilities to start the breakout, quarterback the powerplay, hold the line in the offensive zone, and score timely goals from the defensive position.
Comments
Jonathan Farzalo
Jun 19, 01:59 PM
Great idea, often wondered why we have an award for essentially best defensive forward but not best offensive defenseman.
Moq
Jun 19, 03:35 PM
Well, I was hoping for Green to win the Norris. A modern NHL defenceman is also about offensive qualities, otherwise the team would have trouble maintaining the puck and scoring. An award for the best offensive defenceman makes sense.
Chris
Jun 19, 08:54 PM
@Moq – couldn’t disagree with you more. Offensive qualities is only one aspect of modern NHL dmen. A dman’s primary responsibility is to help the goaltender keep the puck out if the team’s own net. After that, I believe the most important skill is the ability to move the puck out of the team’s own zone. That leaves offensive qualities as arguably the third most important aspect of a dman’s repertoire.
Dave
Jun 20, 08:40 AM
I’m from Boston and I was glad to see Chara win the award but there is no better defenseman in the game today than Lidstrom. He will go down as one of the all time greatest defenseman ever.
DigitalGypsy66
Jun 20, 08:45 AM
Bobby Orr played defense, so Coffey Cup is appropriate!
Moq
Jun 20, 08:53 AM
@Chris – we’re not in disagreement about the primary job of helping the goaltender in keeping pucks out of your own net. However, I think the second point, getting the puck out of your own zone, has a lot of important offensive aspects to it. There’s a difference between banking it of the boards, or flipping it to the neutral zone, compared to creating offense through a crisp outlet pass or skating out with the puck. Perhaps joining the rush in the process.
Jon
Jun 20, 11:03 AM
I was glad to see Chara win it. I often feel that Lidstrom sometimes wins just based on name. I’m not saying he’s not deserving. He’s one of the top 5 greatest defenseman all time in my opinion, but I thought Chara was the most deserving candidate this season.
Dabich
Jun 20, 12:22 PM
Jon, you put it best. While Lidstrom is one of the top 5 all time (and one of my fav players ever), Chara DID deserve to win this season. What a season he had.
DigitalGYpsy66, lol Coffey Cup…perfect name for it!
Jonathan, Why don’t you write to the league and suggest it? You might even win a prize…an all-expense paid trip for two to Gary Bettman’s home. Grand tour included ;)
DigitalGypsy66
Jun 22, 09:39 AM
...And the winner gets a Toyota from Coffey’s dealership…!
CoCoAce
Jun 22, 01:27 PM
I would think we should name this the John Slaney award.
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