Handing out 10 NHL awards, from most underrated player to game of the …

With the NHL regular season all but over, it’s time to hand out some awards. But not the typical NHL awards you would think of. Ten points as per usual, featuring 10 honors that unfortunately don’t get an actual trophy.

Best trade of the offseason

First, a reminder of the parameters on what qualifies. The NHL has an official trade tracker for the 2022-2023 season on their website, so the trade has to have happened from the start of the tracker up until the first game of the season.

This is not about a trade where both teams benefitted, but if that happens, then great! We love a good hockey trade that benefits both teams, but that is rare. We also acknowledge trades where a team knowingly pays up a huge price to add a player while recognizing that is exactly how trades generally work. This is about at least one team netting out big value relative to what they parted with on the deal.

There were a ton of options to sort through for this one.

The number of value trades was astonishing to look back on. There were a few trades that netted good players on huge value, namely the Oilers getting Klim Kostin for Dmitri Samorukov, the Devils acquiring John Marino for Ty Smith and the Kraken adding Oliver Bjorkstrand for a third and a fourth.

The Carolina Hurricanes acquired Brent Burns (and Lane Pederson) from San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Steven Lorentz, goalie Eetu Makiniemi and conditional third-round pick in 2023 NHL Draft. Burns has 16 goals and nearly 60 points this season! He has come as advertised and is clearly rejuvenated playing on a contender.

But the winner really does seem obvious here. Florida swung big in the summer and hit a grand slam. Matthew Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt and a Round 1 pick in the 2025 draft. The trade was a blockbuster from day one but it became more lopsided as the season went on. Jonathan Huberdeau is about to turn 30, had just 15 goals and 55 points in 79 games and his eight-year, $84 million…