Islanders 2021 end-of-year fan vote awards results

We asked you to vote on what New York Islanders should win 1 of 6 awards. Here are the results from the vote and how that changed from the mid-season vote.

Voting on our end-of-year awards is over. Thank you to everyone who voted. If you remember, at the halfway point of the season we asked you to vote on what New York Islanders player deserved one of six awards.

The Hart, Calder, Norris, Selke, Lindsay, and the Bob Nystrom award were all up for a vote. So, with the season over we asked you once again to tell us who you thought deserved an award.

And now with the end-of-year vote concluded let’s look at who you picked and how that changed from the mid-season vote!

Remember, this is an all Islanders-only ballot. We’re just trying to see who on the team, compared to his teammates, deserves an award.

First up is the Hart Trophy:

Hart Trophy

Mid-Season Winner: Barzal (53.6%)
End of Year Winner: Varlamov (34.7%)

At the mid-point of the season, Mathew Barazal was the runaway favorite for the most valuable player award. With 24 points in 28 games, it’s easy to see why Barzal was the overwhelming favorite to take the MVP trophy.

But now that the season is over the fan vote swung in favor of Semyon Varlamov.

And it’s not like Barzal was poor over the second half. Yes, he had that six-game stretch from March 14 to March 25 where he recorded only a single point, but he was still scoring at a 0.77 points-per-game pace in the second half. That’s 64 points over an 82 game season type of production.

Again, that’s not bad, but it wasn’t as good as his first half where he was scoring at a 0.857 points-per-game pace. That’s 70 points over a full 80 game season. Barzal wasn’t the same dominating presence in the second half* as he was in the first half.

*Except for that wild five-point performance against the Washington Capitals in April.

The vote for Varlamov didn’t materialize because all of a sudden he started playing well. Varly was about as good in the first half as he was in the second half.

Varly 1st Half Stats: 0.929SV% and 2.05GAA
Varly 2nd Half Stats: 0.930SV% and 1.94GAA

So again Varly was good in both halves, I think what put him over the top was how he sustained that incredible save percentage and GAA through the season. He’ll be a major key for the Isles in the playoffs.

Calder Trophy

Mid-Season Winner: Wahlstrom (89.2%)
End of Year Winner: Wahlstrom (66.9%)

OK, this wasn’t too hard. There were only two choices to pick from. Oliver Wahlstrom and Ilya Sorokin were the only two rookies* to play for the Islanders this year. But I figured the vote would have been closer than this with the way Sorokin ended the regular season.

*Bellows still counted but he barely played so I didn’t consider him when drawing up the ballot.

I was sure Wahlstrom would take the honors again at the end of the season vote, but I figured the vote would be closer to 50% than it actually ended up being. Sure, a 13% drop is pretty large, but Wahlstrom basically won the mid-season vote in a landslide.

And look Sorokin was good.

In Sorokin’s final 13 games he averaged a 0.924SV% and a tidy 2.00 GAA. In his first year of NHL action, Sorokin was as good as advertised. Yes, it didn’t start well be he clearly grew into the role and will easily be the goalie of the future we were promised.

But the Islanders have been missing a pure sniper like Whalstrom for a long time. He could be the missing piece for the Isles. If he can become a consistent 30-goal threat the Islanders can be one of the scarier teams in the NHL. And I think that’s why Wahlstrom won the vote so heavily.

Norris Trophy

Mid-Season Winner: Pelech (51.6%)
End of Year Winner: Pelech (74.2%)

I love this. God do I love this. To most fan bases the Norris Trophy goes to the defenseman with the most points. And that makes sense, that’s how the actual award is typically decided. But why do we always give the defenseman who has the largest offensive impact the best defenseman award?

Don’t get me wrong, production matters and should matter in this vote, but it shouldn’t be the criteria for the award. A defenseman’s ability to shut down opponents in the defensive end matters too.

That’s where Adam Pelech fits in. He’ll never put up the type of production that will win him a Norris Trophy someday. He’s just not that type of defenseman. But he’s elite when it comes to shutting down opponents. What he does on the ice (that isn’t captured on the scoresheet) is, again, elite.

That’s why Islanders fans give him the Norris. But honestly, I’m surprised he ran away with the vote the way he did.

In the first half, Pelech had just over 50% of the vote. Defensive partner Ryan Pulock had 31.7% of the vote. But with the season over, Pelech pulled away what was effectively half of Pulock’s vote share.

And look, Pulock seems like the easier player to vote for. His 17 points is second on the team for defensemen, and he’s also nearly as good as Pelech on the defensive side of the game. He’s more balanced than Pelech.

But this is why I love this vote from the fans, they recognize that without Pelech the Islander aren’t the same team anymore. That’s how they absolutely tanked in the second half of 2019-20.

Lindsay Trophy

Mid-Season Winner: Barzal (59.7%)
End of Year Winner: Barzal (54.9%)

So remember, this isn’t the most valuable player like the Hart Trophy, this is the most “outstanding” player. And that’s Mathew Barzal. No question.

This play alone should cement his place as the most outstanding player for the New York Islanders this year:

That’s not his only highlight-reel goal from the season. Barzal put up a top-five of incredible goals this year this might just be the best of the bunch. Again, Barzal is without question the most outstanding player for the New York Islanders.

And you all basically agreed with Barzal getting essentially 55% of the vote. While he lost a few percentage points from the mid-season voting he’s still clearly top dog here.

Anthony Beauvillier surprisingly came in second with a measly 10.7% of the vote. Beau has been good this year. Specifically in the latter half. In his final eleven games, he put up seven goals and 13 points. Including a seven-game point streak to end the year. Hopefully, that continues into the playoffs.

Bob Nystrom Award

Mid-Season Winner: Lee (39.3%)
End of Year Winner: Cizikas (26.6%)

Anders Lee was the favorite to win the internal award at the halfway mark of the year, but an injury that shut down his season stopped that from happening. Had he finished the year he would have certainly won it this year.

Taking the award though is a worthy winner (and past winner) in Casey Cizikas. The fourth-line center is the beating heart of the team. He drives his line that plays “the Islanders way” and gives the entire team their identity.

The Bob Nystrom award is given to the player who exemplifies: “leadership, hustle, and determination”. Isn’t that exactly what the fourth line does night-in and night-out?

Makes sense that Cizikas and linemate Matt Martin have split the award eight times over the last nine years. Anders Lee won the award in 2016-17, ending a five-year run by Martin.

I wanted to take a second to thank everyone for voting. I know placing six votes twice over a shortened NHL season isn’t necessarily a Herculean task but it means a lot to me that you participate in our little survey. Thank you, you’re the best.