The 2025-26 NHL season is almost at the halfway mark. It feels like just yesterday the season opened with the Florida Panthers facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks, but here we are.
Every season, we see a player or two break out for the first time in their career. Last season, Zach Werenski, already a solid blueliner, finally established himself as an elite defenseman and became a Norris Trophy finalist. Here are my midseason award picks (and runner-ups), including the Hart, Art Ross, Rocket Richard, Norris, Calder, Vezina Trophies, and the Jack Adams Award.
Hart Trophy – Nathan MacKinnon
I would love to pick Macklin Celebrini as this season’s MVP, as he’s becoming one of the best players in the league, propelling his San Jose Sharks into the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but Nathan MacKinnon is tied for the league-lead in points on a Colorado Avalanche team that has two regulation losses through 39 games, making him my choice as the front-runner to win his second Hart Trophy in three seasons.
MacKinnon has 70 points (34 goals, 36 assists) this season. He has been the best offensive player in the league and will only continue to be. What he’s been doing individually, and the record-breaking pace the Avalanche are on, gives the edge to Mackinnon over anyone else.
Runner-Ups: Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid
Art Ross Trophy – Nathan Mackinnon
It will be a tight race for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the player with the most points, between Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Mackinnon for the rest of the season. But if the season ended today, McDavid and MacKinnon are tied with 70 points, but MacKinnon would win because he has more goals with 34.
That said, McDavid has recorded 34 points in his last 15 games, including an active 14-game point streak and nine multi-point games during this stretch of dominance. I don’t see it as more than a two-man race at this point.
Runner-Ups: Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini
Rocket Richard Trophy – Nathan MacKinnon
MacKinnon is sweeping the offensive awards this season, including the Rocket Richard Trophy for the player with the most goals. He has nine more goals (34) than the players behind him, Matt Boldy and Morgan Geekie (25).
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It’s one of the few stat-driven awards that is pretty much locked up at this moment, unless a player not named Mackinnon goes on a ridiculous scoring streak, or MacKinnon somehow stops scoring at his current pace. He is on a 71-goal pace, which should slow down at some point this season, but even if it does, he is still likely to finish with 50-55 goals, which should be enough to win the Rocket Trophy.
Runner-Ups: Matt Boldy, Morgan Geekie
Norris Trophy – Cale Makar
Cale Makar is by far the league’s best defenseman. With 45 points already, it looks like he could run away with the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, again this season.
Like Mackinnon, Makar is the best blueliner in the league on a team that is on a record-breaking pace, so how could we not give him the Norris? Offensively, he’s scoring, and defensively, he’s been elite. Makar is on track to add more hardware to a career that is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, and he is on pace to become among the best defensemen in NHL history.
Runner-Ups: Quinn Hughes, Lane Hutson
Calder Trophy – Matthew Schaefer
The Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie, belongs to Matthew Schaefer at this point in the season. Schaefer has proven to be a generational talent in his first season in the NHL. He got off to a hot start, becoming the first-ever rookie defenseman to record points in his first six career games, and has done more since then. He’s also the youngest defenseman to reach the 25-point mark.
He’s breaking rookie defenseman records on a New York Islanders team that had low expectations coming into this season and now sits second in the Metropolitan Division. You could make a strong argument for Ivan Demidov (Montreal Canadiens) and Beckette Sennecke (Anaheim Ducks), but the impact that Schaefer has had on the Islanders after being drafted first overall in 2025 has been unreal.
Runner-Ups: Ivan Demidov, Beckette Sennecke
Vezina Trophy – Logan Thompson
Logan Thompson has been one of the league’s best goaltenders since he was traded to the Washington Capitals a couple of seasons ago. This season, he has a 15-10-3 record through 28 games, a save percentage (SV%) of .915, and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.33.
Thompson has been everything the Capitals have hoped for, so much so that they signed him to an extension over the offseason. Not to mention, according to MoneyPuck, he leads all goaltenders in goals saved above expected at 22.8.
He has the edge for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender over MacKenzie Blackwood because of the number of games he’s played. Blackwood has played in less than 50% of the team’s games due to injury, so it’s Thompson’s award to lose through the first half of the season.
Runner-Ups: Scott Wedgewood, Darcy Kuemper
Jack Adams Award – Jared Bednar
It’s an easy choice for the Jack Adams Award as the league’s best coach. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has consistently been one of the league’s best coaches, but what he’s done this season so far has been unreal.
He has the Avalanche sitting in first place in the league with a record of 30-2-7 (67 points), or an 82-game pace of 63-4-15 (141 points), which would be the best regular season in NHL history. There are a couple of other head coaches who deserve consideration, such as John Hynes of the Minnesota Wild, Glen Gulutzan of the Dallas Stars, and even Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres, who has the Sabres on a 10-game winning streak and in a playoff spot. But Bednar is in a league of his own through the first half.
Runner-Ups: John Hynes, Glen Gulutzan
There you have it, my midseason award picks. Obviously, things will change from now until April. Let us know if you agree or disagree.
