It’s a busy week for the NHL as the league honors its annual award winners Wednesday in Las Vegas, followed by the Entry Draft on Friday in Dallas.

We’ve already released a mock draft of the first round’s top 15 picks, so it’s time to take sides for the seven major end-of-season accolades to be handed out at the NHL Awards ceremony.

Vezina Trophy | Best Goaltender

WINNER: Pekka Rinne (Nashville)

RUNNERS-UP: Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay)

Connor Hellebuyck proved the Winnipeg Jets were consistent goaltending away from being a true contender. Andrei Vasilevskiy lived up to the hype in his first full NHL season and gave Lightning fans a glimpse of the bright future.

But 35-year-old goaltender Pekka Rinne stole the show with a 42-13-4 record, backed by a .927 save percentage, 2.31 goals against average, and a league-leading eight shutouts.

There are politics in play, but after being so good for so long and having been nominated three other times (he finished second in 2011 and 2015 and third in 2012), Rinne will finally get the call as this year’s top netminder.

Jack Adams Award | Coach of the Year

WINNER: Gerard Gallant (Vegas)

RUNNERS-UP: Jared Bednar (Colorado), Bruce Cassidy (Boston)

Jared Bednar rebounded from a massively disappointing 2016-17 season with the Colorado Avalanche by guiding his team to the playoffs, where it pushed the then-Stanley Cup favorite Nashville Predators to six games in the first round. Bruce Cassidy rolled out a handful of pure rookies every night and saw his Boston Bruins lose in the second round.

Gerard Gallant just coached an expansion team to the Stanley Cup Final—there’s no shame in coming up short given the entirety of the Golden Knights’ season. Gallant is the easy choice, even with three highly qualified nominees.

What he did was unheard of, as he brought the consistently called misfits and outcasts together, found an identity, and rode it to a cumulative 64-31-7 record.

James Norris Trophy | Best Defenseman

WINNER: Drew Doughty (Los Angeles)

RUNNERS-UP: P.K. Subban (Nashville), Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay)

Many are quick to point out the incredible defensive players around P.K. Subban, but this year he was the absolute best of them all. Victor Hedman is the clear No. 1 in Tampa Bay, where he benefits from a huge offense.

As great as they are, Drew Doughty is set to claim his second Norris Trophy as perhaps the greatest all-around defenseman in the game today. He’s often overlooked as a West Coast player, but he’s incredibly responsible in his own zone and can bring it on the other side of the ice, as well. 

His career-high 60 points (10 goals, 50 assists) came after his lowest average ice time in four seasons (26:50) and a plus-23 rating.

Frank J. Selke Trophy | Best Defensive Forward

WINNER: Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles)

RUNNERS-UP: Sean Couturier (Philadelphia), Patrice Bergeron (Boston)

Sean Couturier finally had his breakout season offensively, as the top line center helped Claude Giroux rediscover his game. Patrice Bergeron was seemingly on his way to his first 40-goal and 80-point season before an injury.

But Anze Kopitar is the clear winner as a Hart Trophy nominee. He started 51.9 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone, controlled 53.1 percent of shots, and won 54.1 percent of his faceoffs.

Oh, and he also scored career highs with 35 goals, 57 assists, and 92 points with a plus-21 rating while skating more than 22 minutes a game as a 30-year-old. 

Calder Memorial Trophy | Best Rookie

WINNER: Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders)

RUNNERS-UP: Brock Boeser (Vancouver), Clayton Keller (Arizona)

Before Brock Boeser suffered a season-ending injury, the rookie of the year race was all about the Canucks forward and the Islanders’ Mathew Barzal. That’s no knock on the Coyotes centre Clayton Keller, who brings a new, promising energy to Arizona.

In the end, Barzal scored 22 goals and 63 assists for 85 points in 82 games, all before his 21st birthday. Barzal was electric all year long and features blazing speed, shiftiness, and pure offense.

A consistent game-changer, he could be the key to the New York Islanders luring John Tavares to re-sign. They would create a one-two punch for years as the team searches for stability moving forward.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy | Most Gentlemanly Player

WINNER: Aleksander Barkov (Florida)

RUNNERS-UP: Ryan O’Reilly (Buffalo), William Karlsson (Vegas)

Truthfully, it’s quite the toss-up between the three contenders when it comes to gentlemanly play. Ryan O’Reilly took just one minor penalty all season, while William Karlsson’s six minors (12 PIM) were fewest among the league’s top-40 scorers.

Barkov wound up with seven penalties (14 PIM) but is often overlooked on a Panthers team that’s ready to begin proving itself in 2018-19.

Since his draft day, Barkov has been hailed as a junior Anze Kopitar, a three-time top-three finisher. For a player so actively in the play on both ends of the ice, it’s a skill of its own for Barkov to be as dominant as he is without much discipline.

Hart Memorial Trophy | MVP

WINNER: Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado)

RUNNERS-UP: Taylor Hall (New Jersey), Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles)

The big one is here. Though a strong case can be made for Taylor Hall single-handedly turning New Jersey into a playoff team and Kopitar’s all-around fantastic stats, there’s one true winner.

Nathan MacKinnon’s otherworldly breakout turned a ridiculously bad 2016-17 Avalanche squad into an exciting, up-and-coming playoff team over the course of a single season. The 22-year-old finished with 39 goals and 97 points in just 74 games and has all the skills to match Connor McDavid as the best player in the world.

MacKinnon was the most valuable player to his team given what each candidate brought to the table each night, both with the talent around them and their ability to take over in tough situations.

Don’t miss the NHL Awards ceremony at 8 PM EST Wednesday to find out who the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) voted to win every award.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.