The announcement of the nominees for the NHL’s Calder Trophy have been revealed. Surprisingly, Filip Forsberg wasn’t among the finalists.
The decision has left many fans scratching their heads, wondering why the Nashville Predators offensive dynamo was left off the list.
Johhny Gaudreau and Mark Stone are well deserving of being two of the three finalists, as they led all rookies in scoring with 64 points. However, favoring Panthers defenseman, Aaron Ekblad, over Forsberg was a questionable call.
Ekblad has had a marvelous rookie season, and deserves a great deal of recognition for the Panthers surprising playoff run. Although, the decision to place him over Forsberg as the third finalist is asinine. Ekblad wasn’t even the top scoring rookie defenseman, as Dallas Stars blue liner John Klinhberg finished with 40 points, one more than the total of Ekblad.
Meanwhile, Forsberg’s 63 points led the Nashville Predators, a strong accomplishment considering the team finished the season with a 47-25-10 record. In addition, Forsberg finished with more goals and a higher +/- rating than finalist, Gaudreau.
Not to take away anything from Aaron Ekblad, but Forsberg has had hands down the better season. It’s incredibly tempting to give an NHL rookie defenseman who scored 39 points a nod as a Calder finalist.
Which begs the question about how Ekblad was even better than Klingberg. You can’t possibly make a case that Ekblad’s +12 rating made the difference, considering Klingberg finished the season +5.
Adding fuel to the fire, Klingberg played in 16 fewer games than Ekblad. It comes down to this, Forsberg finshed one point behind the two other Calder finalists. Ekblad didn’t even lead defensive rookies in points.
Both Stone and Gaudreau led their team’s to the postseason. Ekblad didn’t do that, but Forsberg did.
So, why isn’t he a Calder finalist? Good luck explaining that one.