The 2012 NHL Awards take place next month in Las Vegas but until then, the SB Nation hockey crew decided we were going to vote on the awards ourselves. After all, we're much more qualified to make such decisions compared to the PWHA, general managers and owners....right? Each day this week and into next we'll announce one winner, continuing today with the Lady Byng Trophy.

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability". The winner, according to SB Nation, is...

Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers

• Second Place: Matt Moulson, New York Islanders
• Third Place: Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers

Be sure to check out SB Nation to see how the voting worked out. This award was tough to nail down and many, many players were nominated. Once again, we see that Loui Eriksson was completely left off the list. He only received one First Place vote. Who could that have been from?

My ballot: (1) Loui Eriksson, (2) Brian Campbell, (3) Jordan Eberle

Obviously, we all know this vote was a sham. Eriksson was robbed.

What kind of player is Steve Ott? What kind of player can he be? Fans of 29 other teams would no doubt have little trouble asnwering that question, but close observers of the Dallas Stars have experienced shifting opinions in recent years.

Steve Ott scored 116 goals in three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires on one end of the spectrum, and set a team record for the Hamilton Bulldogs during the lockout with 279 PIMs on the other. He's played every role in between in Dallas. Witness here how just five seasons ago he carried the label "enforcer/fighter" when injuring his ankle in October of 2006.

As his "star" has risen (please forgive me) in Dallas so too have his responsibilities and tangible contributions on the score-sheet. When Ott scored 37 points in the final 40 games of the 2008-2009 season after years of agitation and "irritainment" he would significantly change the way Stars fans look at his game.

"Which Ott will we get tonight?", fans would ask. Joe Nieuwendyk and his staff had need to test the ceiling for Ott's offensive talent last season in the wake of the mess left by Hicks Sports Group, and a season of mixed results on that front seems to have once and for all defined what his role should be.

Tom Gaglardi spent four days in Dallas earlier this month, and if the quotes he and Jim Lites gave are any indication, the front office came together as a group to solidify plans and a direction for this off-season. Lites spoke of Steve Ott on the Norm Hitzges show, and likely crafted his words with that unified sense of direction (and therefore the thoughts of Joe Nieuwendyk and Tom Gaglardi) behind them:

"We like the way our bottom six forwards look out of what we have and what we can put together. It might mean taking a player or two that played up in the top six down. Steve Ott, for instance, that kind of player, and better define his role."

Is Steve Ott's long evolution reaching the end of the road? Don't we know who he is now, what his potential is, what he's capable of, and where he's best used?

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Oh Dustin Brown, are you trying to make me hate you more?

The Los Angeles Kings captain played a huge role in helping his team advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993 as they dispatched the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 5. But he also showed why he's considered a pretty reprehensible player by opposing fans who watch him repeatedly.

Without even getting into the diving issue (if you want to relive those laughs, see here), Brown laid out a classic kneeing hit in overtime on Phoenix's Michal Rozsival. He was not penalized on the play, but let me break down for you why all the arguments about this being a clean hit are wrong.

First, the rulebook definition of kneeing:

50.1 Kneeing - Kneeing is the act of a player leading with his knee and in some cases extending his leg outwards to make contact with his opponent.

Now, once you've watched Brown's hit, you might ask yourself, "Self, there's also shoulder contact in that hit, and his knee isn't ridiculously far from his body. Is that really kneeing?" Yes, because while the shoulders do bounce off each other, the momentum from the hit actually comes from the knee into Rozsival. You can tell that because of how they spin coming out of the contact. Rozsival just drops straight down because he didn't get spun (which would have happened if any momentum from the hit had come into his shoulder). His knee gave because that's where the momentum of the hit came through. If it was full-body or primarily shoulder, he would have spun because the impact would have been spread and not on a small joint that was not braced for that type of impact. Because Brown was properly braced for a knee hit, his knee stays stable and he spins. With no momentum coming from the upper-body contact, this cannot be considered a full-body hit with knee involvement. The other dead giveaway is Brown's stance. He is gliding with his legs set in a way where it looks like he should be turning to the left (i.e., left knee further from his body than his right) but is not turning anymore. That's a classic extended knee stance.

And since people keep bringing it up, kneeing is not limited to kneecap-on-kneecap contact. Using the knee to hit any part of a player's body, from thigh to hamstring to shinpad to elbow if you can pull it off, is kneeing.

Finally, kneeing can still happen with shoulder contact. We all agree that Bryan Marchment was a dirty, dirty player whose knee-on-knee hit on Joe Nieuwendyk cost the Stars a shot a much deeper playoff run in 1998, right? Well that's considered a classic knee now, but it was actually from behind with some very substantial body contact. But because Marchment's knee was extended and used to target Nieuwendyk's lower body, it is a classic kneeing. Also, this hit from Kevin Porter earned him four games despite the fact that the shoulders also clack.

After the jump, more on Sheldon Souray and other free agents, reaction from the Kings and Coyotes game, including a very cranky Mike Smith, and epic playoff beards.

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The 2012 NHL Awards take place next month in Las Vegas but until then, the SB Nation hockey crew decided we were going to vote on the awards ourselves. After all, we're much more qualified to make such decisions compared to the PWHA, general managers and owners....right? Each day this week and into next we'll announce one winner, continuing today with the Norris Trophy.

The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position."The winner, according to SB Nation, is...

Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Second place: Zdeno Chars, Boston Bruins

Third Place: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

Here is my ballot for the award: (1) Alex Pietrangelo, (2) Zdeno Chara, (3) Erik Karlsson

Once again, the ultimate winner of this award was completely left off my ballot. Why did I not believe Shea Weber even deserved a vote? I believe in the ultimate spirit of the award, that the Norris belongs to the best all-around defenseman -- not just the one that scores the most points or has the best offense. Weber is a great defenseman and one that we'd love to have in Dallas, but I didn't feel that he had his best season and certainly not better than the three I had on the ballot.

I feel like this award is many times a reputation award as well. I think that, when it really boils down to it, Alex Pietrangelo had the more impressive season out of any defenseman in the NHL. And that is why I voted how I did.

This scouting report is on Everett Silvertips Defenseman Ryan Murray. Ryan Murray is the top ranked defenseman in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the Captain of the Everett Silvertips and has played the previous 3 seasons with the Silvertips in the WHL. He played 6 games for the Canadian national team at the World Championships going pointless through 6 games. During the 2011-2012 Playoffs he led his team in points.

Rankings:

Final CSS North American Rank: 2nd
Future Considerations: 3rd
ISS: 3rd
Hockey Prospect: 2nd
The Hockey Guys: 3rd
Craig's List: 12th

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"I'd like to stay here," Sheldon Souray told Dallas media six weeks ago at the conclusion of the season. "I think they have a real good thing going. I know they're going to make changes...If anyone thinks they're not making changes then we're all a little naive. Hopefully they see me as part of the solution moving forward."

Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi spoke at length with the Bob and Dan Show on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket last week and when the subject of what to do with the unrestricted free agent came up the new boss indicated that the door is indeed still open for #44 to return to Glen Gulutzan's blue line.

"I know there were discussions late in the season with him, and I know that Joe is pretty clear on where Shelly would like to be and where he'd like to go, so add that to the list of big decisions that Joe has to make."

Souray indicated in April that the Stars had "tested the water" but clearly no decision has been reached. He added that he obviously has to look at what's out there if it gets to July 1st, but also stated "I really like it here. I don't want to leave." Emphasis on the really was his. Not mine.

"It's a tough call because I like what he does for our group" Gaglardi told Bob and Dan. "I think he gives our group a lot of courage. Having that guy back there...you can be a little feistier when you know that guy's in the lineup because you know he's going to have your back."

The question for Dallas is likely about term and dollars. At the right price (last year's for instance) he's a steal and a solid add whatever else is done in free agency.

What does a decision either way on Souray tell us about the Stars' plan for their defense, and is he a viable fall-back option if trying to land a big piece in a dry market fails? That and more Gaglardi quotes after the jump...

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The 2012 NHL Awards take place next month in Las Vegas but until then, the SB Nation hockey crew decided we were going to vote on the awards ourselves. After all, we're much more qualified to make such decisions compared to the PWHA, general managers and owners....right? Each day this week and into next we'll announce one winner, starting today with the Vezina Trophy.

The Vezina is handed out each season to the top goaltender in the NHL. According to SB Nation, the winner is:

Jonathan Quick

Quick postsed a 35-21-13 record this past season with a stellar 1.95 GAA and .929 save percentage. He was the primary reason the Kings were able to get to the postseason, as he buoyed a team that struggled with offense for most of the season. Quick is certainly a worthy winner of the award.

Henrik Lundqvist came in second, with Mike Smith coming in third in the voting.

Let's take a look at my ballot for the award:

1. Henrik Lundqvist
2. Mike Smith
3. Pekka Rinne

Wait...what? That's right, I left Quick off my ballot. The only argument I can see being made is that Quick should have made the ballot in place of Rinne, but in my mind Smith and Lundqvist both had superior regular seasons compared to Quick.

What say you? Was I completely off my rocker with this ballot?