Inspired by Sunday night’s Academy Awards, which I didn’t watch, I will attempt to put a fantasy hockey spin on the old classic. There will be no red carpet fawning or lists of the best and worst dressed players, that stuff is for The Hockey News.

 

Costume Design

 

Rest assured, those awful Toronto Maple Leafs white uniforms (sponsored by Wite Out and Benjamin Moore Paints) they wore during Saturday night’s outdoor game did not make the list. There are four Original Six franchises amongst the nominees. This award is subjective and very much in the eye of the beholder.

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Chicago Blackhawks

St. Louis Blues

Winnipeg Jets

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Detroit Red Wings

Montreal Canadiens

Toronto Maple Leafs

 

Winner – Toronto Maple Leafs. Just a classic look with that old school maple leaf on the front. Take how great those jerseys look, along with how bright the future appears to be and you’ve got a winning combination in Hogtown.

 

Best Performance in a Comedy

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Brock Boeser (Vancouver Canucks) – 61-29-26-55 (next best on team has 46 points), tied for 10th in NHL with 10 power-play goals, 23 power-play points, second highest rookie scorer

 

Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) – 66-24-38-62 (next best on team has 45 points), fifth most shots on goal in NHL (236)

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Josh Bailey (New York Islanders) 62-16-48-64, ninth in league with 28 power-play points

 

Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders) 66-18-49-67, top rookie scorer, two more points than John Tavares

 

Mark Stone (Ottawa Senators) 55-20-40-60 (next best on team has 47 points)

 

Winner – Mark Stone. The Senators season has been a circus with talk of dealing their franchise player, trading of veterans and poor attendance numbers. Through it all, Stone has weathered the turmoil and is four points away from a career best campaign with 18 games remaining on the slate.

 

Foreign Language Film

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Leon Draisaitl (Germany, Edmonton Oilers) – 61-21-37-58

 

William Karlsson (Sweden, Vegas Golden Knights) – 65-35-24-59, tied for third in NHL goal scoring, leads league in plus/minus (plus-39)

 

John Klingberg (Sweden, Dallas Stars) – 65-7-48-55, leads NHL in defence scoring

 

Anze Kopitar (Slovenia, Los Angeles Kings) – 66-27-44-71

 

Patrik Laine (Finland, Winnipeg Jets) – 65-35-23-58, tied for third in league goal scoring, first in power-play goals

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Nikita Kucherov (Russia, Tampa Bay Lightning) – 64-33-52-85, tops league in points, seventh in shots on goal (229), tied for fourth in NHL power-play points (31)

 

Evgeni Malkin (Russia, Pittsburgh Penguins) – 62-36-43-79, tied for fourth in NHL power-play points (31)

 

Alexander Ovechkin (Russia, Washington Capitals) – 65-40-32-72, leads NHL in goal scoring and shots on goal (279), 117 hits

 

Andrei Vasilevskiy (Russia, Tampa Bay Lightning) – 38-12-3, 2.41 goals-against average, 0.926 save percentage, leads NHL in shutouts (7), third in saves (1591)

 

Jakub Voracek (Czechia, Philadelphia Flyers) – 66-14-57-71, tied for fourth in NHL power-play points (31)

 

Winner – Nikita Kucherov. Admittedly, there was a heavy Russian presence in the nominations. Kucherov has 21 points in his last 14 games. He will have to fend off Connor McDavid among others down the stretch if he is going to win his first scoring title, but the Russian has a strong supporting cast to help bring the title home.

 

Directing

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Gerard Gallant (Vegas Golden Knights) – first in Pacific Division, 89 points

 

Peter Laviolette (Nashville Predators) – first in West, 93 points

 

Paul Maurice (Winnipeg Jets) – second in Pacific Division, 87 points

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Bruce Cassidy (Boston Bruins) – second in Atlantic Division, 88 points

 

Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning) – first in NHL, 94 points

 

John Hynes (New Jersey) – fourth in Metropolitan Division, 74 points

 

Winner – Gerard Gallant. When you take an expansion team to the top of the division in your first year, you’re gonna win some hardware

 

Hairstyling Lifetime Achievement Award

 

Awarded post-humorously to Jaromir Jagr. You haven’t been gone long, but we already miss your flowing mullet.

 

Sound Mixing (Complaints Falling on Deaf Ears Award)

 

Western Conference

 

Jeff Carter (Los Angeles Kings) – 11-3-3-6, averaged 28 goals and 66 points over each of the last three seasons

 

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona Coyotes) – 64-9-23-32, league worst minus-35, making him unusable in roto leagues where plus/minus is a category

 

Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks) – 66-1-27-28, minus-18, 22 penalty minutes, 32 hits, eight power play points, 40.5 average draft position in Yahoo

 

Eastern Conference

 

Max Pacioretty (Montreal Canadiens) – 64-17-20-37, minus-16, snaps string of four straight 30 goal seasons, 31.0 average draft position in Yahoo

 

Justin Schultz (Pittsburgh Penguins) – 47-3-15-18, 12 penalty minutes, seven power-play points

 

Shea Weber (Montreal Canadiens) – 26-6-10-16, prior to this season, averaged 48.5 points per year over the last four campaigns

 

Winner – Max Pacioretty. Tough season for Patches, Habs fans and fantasy owners alike.

 

Short Film (Animated)

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Jake Allen (St. Louis Blues) – 19-19-2, 2.83 goals-against average, 0.904 save percentage

 

Cam Talbot (Edmonton Oilers) – 22-26-2, 3.12 goals-against average, 0.903 save percentage

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators) – 18-20-5, 3.29 goals-against average, 0.900 save percentage

 

Brayden Holtby (Washington Capitals) – 29-14-4, 3.00 goals-against average, 0.908 save percentage

 

Matt Murray (Pittsburgh Penguins) – 23-13-2, 2.82 goals-against average, 0.909 save percentage

 

Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) – 15-22-6, 2.98 goals-against average, 0.904 save percentage

 

Winner – Carey Price. The Price was wrong this year. The consensus top-ranked goaltender in fantasy hockey heading into the season had his fantasy owners animated this year and dropped many fantasy teams out of contention early in the campaign. This season is well off his usual fantasy excellence. Over the previous four campaigns combined, Price has a 2.16 goals-against average and 0.928 save percentage.

 

Documentary (Feature)

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) – 34-10-8, 2.40 goals-against average, 0.922 save percentage, six shutouts (second in NHL)

 

Carter Hutton (St. Louis Blues) – 16-7-3, leads league in both goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (0.934)

 

Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators) – 35-9-4, 2.33 goals-against average, 0.927 save percentage, six shutouts (second in NHL)

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Frederik Andersen (Toronto Maple Leafs) – 32-17-5, 2.74 goals-against average, 0.920 save percentage, leads league in saves (1722), five shutouts

 

Tuukka Rask (Boston Bruins) – 26-11-4, 2.28 goals-against average, 0.919 save percentage

 

Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 38-12-3, 2.41 goals-against average, 0.926 save percentage, leads NHL in shutouts (7), third in saves (1591)

 

Winner – Andrei Vasilevkiy. The top fantasy goaltender this season. Great value if you were able to draft the 16^th ranked (pre-season) Yahoo goaltender.

 

Actor in a Supporting Role

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings) – 65-19-26-45, plus-24, 156 hits

 

Evander Kane (San Jose Sharks) – 64-21-24-45, tied for fifth in NHL shots on goal (236), 131 hits

 

Jonathan Marchessault (Vegas Golden Knights) – 62-22-43-65, third in NHL plus/minus (plus-32)

 

Eric Staal (Minnesota Wild) – 66-34-31-65, tied for fifth in NHL goals, 182 shots on goal, three short-handed points

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders) – 66-18-49-67, top rookie scorer

 

Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers) – 66-29-34-63, plus-26, 195 shots on goal

 

Vincent Trocheck (Florida Panthers) – 63-24-33-57, 110 hits, 220 shots on goal

 

Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals) – 61-11-18-29, second in NHL penalty minutes (154), eighth in hits (185)

 

Winner – Vincent Trocheck. A mild upset, but the under-rated Panther contributes in just about every roto category there is.

 

Actor in a Leading Role

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks) – 66-10-42-52, second in NHL shots on goal (271)

 

Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) – 57-31-46-77, averaging 1.35 points-per game, tops in league

 

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) – 65-30-49-79, new face of the NHL

 

Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars) – 65-34-26-60, fifth in NHL goals, third in shots on goal (260)

 

Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg Jets) – 65-18-56-74, second in NHL in power play points (34)

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Taylor Hall (New Jersey Devils) – 61-30-42-72

 

Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 64-33-52-85, tops league in points, seventh in shots on goal (229), tied for fourth in power-play points (31)

 

Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) – 62-36-43-79, tied for fourth in power-play points (31)

 

Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) – 65-40-32-72, leads NHL in goal scoring and shots on goal (279), 117 hits

 

Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 66-27-50-77, plus-23, tied for fourth in NHL power-play points (31)

 

Winner – Alexander Ovechkin. Still the king. Multi-category stud still wears the crown atop the fantasy hockey throne in rotisserie leagues.

 

Best Picture

 

Which team looks as though they will go all the way and have their names etched on the Stanley Cup after all is said and done this season.

 

Western Conference Nominees

 

Nashville Predators – 93 points (most in West), plus-46 goal differential

 

Vegas Golden Knights – 89 points, plus-45 goal differential

 

Winnipeg Jets – 87 points, plus-45 goal differential

 

Eastern Conference Nominees

 

Boston Bruins – 88 points, plus-51goal differential

 

Pittsburgh Penguins – 80 points, two-time reigning Cup champs

 

Tampa Bay Lightning – 94 points (most in East), plus-58 goal differential

 

Washington Capitals – 81 points, less pressure

 

Winner – Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts have what will prove to be the right mix of depth, high end talent, veteran experience, skilled youth and goaltending. It will be difficult to get past the Penguins, but the final pieces were put in place when they acquired J.T. Miller and Ryan McDonagh.