The Tampa Bay Lightning 2024-25 Midseason Awards

Midway through the 2024-25 hockey calendar, Bolts writers Benjamin Pierce and Thompson Brandes get together to hand out trophies to the players and memorable moments of the first half of the season. Some accolades will be real—awarded to the memorable performances and milestones of note. Others not so much—mainly here to celebrate the awesome, wacky and sometimes viral moments the season has had to offer. Cool? Cool. Let’s hand out some hardware.

MVP Award: Nikita Kucherov

Even for those of us that struggle to sink the ‘gimme’ putts on the golf course, this one was a tap-in.

I always knew Nikita Kucherov was one of the NHL’s elite players, but I’m not sure I truly understood just how deep the talent runs (skates?) for No. 86 until I got to see it in person this year. And, as I’ve said numerous times this season, the reaction is often simply, ‘Wow.’

Kucherov is off to a dynamic start to the season, one year removed from winning the Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in scoring with 144 points. The Russian forward leads the Lightning with 70 points in 42 games and sits third in the NHL scoring race as of Wednesday.

As Lightning fans have become accustomed to, Kucherov has brought the flash, sizzle and dazzle all season long—just ask the Detroit Red Wings about his goal last Saturday.

Just how good has Kucherov been? He’s currently on pace for a 127-point season, a top three season of his NHL career at 31 years old. At that rate, we could see Kucherov hit the 1,000-point mark this season. He has 943 points in 769 games. – Benjamin Pierce

SportsCenter Top Play of the Midway Mark: Brayden Point

Runners up: Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov

With respects to Brandon Hagel, who ripped one bar-down after locking Erik Karlsson in a cryochamber, and Nikita Kucherov, who danced around Red Wings defenders with the ease of a classical danseur, Brayden Point’s January game-winner is the top candidate for a No. 1 on Top Ten.

With under a minute to play against Carolina, Kucherov put it on the tape for Point, who put two Carolina defenders in the spin cycle before flipping it over the shoulder of Pyotr Kochetkov for the win.

The score moved him within one point of 600 for his Lightning career, making him the third-fastest player behind Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos to reach the mark. – Thompson Brandes

Best Defenseman Award: Victor Hedman

The Big Swede’s first season as captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning has been filled with honors.

The franchise’s all-time leading scorer on defense claimed two more records this season and has seven goals to pair with 31 assists for 38 points—seventh among NHL defensemen.

Hedman has played more games than any other player in Lightning history, passing longtime teammate Steven Stamkos with his 1,083rd game on Dec. 28 against the New York Rangers. Hedman also became the first player in Lightning history to record 600 assists, doing so in the team’s 4-3 shootout win over the Anaheim Ducks last Thursday.

Tampa Bay’s top defender has been busy, averaging a team-high 23 minutes, 27 seconds of time on ice per game. He is four games shy from playing in his 1,100th NHL game.

Hedman’s two-way game has kept Lightning fans on their feet all season, and he’s peppering opposing goalies—his 110 shots are fourth-most on the team, trailing only some of the NHL’s most prolific attackers this season in Kucherov, Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel.

They say the best players find ways to make the right plays, and this guy’s been doing it all year. – BP

The “That’s My Puck, Baby—Don’t You Ever Touch My Puck” Award for Best Denial: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Mason McTavish thought he had it. The Ducks center caught a favorable rebound, escorted the puck around Mitchell Chaffee’s blind side, and with nothing but twine in sight, he thought he had it.

But he did not.

That’s the Andrei Vasilevskiy Experience. The reason players vote him their top goalie of choice with one game on the line. The instinct, the length, the reflex. One must endure the pain of facing the Big Cat before even considering the glory. At the end of the day, that’s Andrei Vasilevskiy’s puck. – TB

The Most Improved Award: Mitchell Chaffee

How about the Swiss Army Knife that is Mitchell Chaffee?

He can shoot, he can skate, he can hit, and he’s also a great interview (which matters to very few people but goes a long way for us media folk).

Chaffee has filled a variety of roles for the Lightning in 2024-25, and he’s had success doing so. The 26-year-old forward has already established NHL career highs in games played (42), goals (8), assists (4) and points (12) this season.

Chaffee’s shot has gathered praise from multiple teammates and coach Jon Cooper this season, and it’s a rifle. It’s part of the reason Chaffee has seen time on the team’s top power play unit this season, in which he has two power-play goals so far.

Chaffee has played up and down the lineup for the Lightning, spending time in the top six while also providing the occasional boost from lower in the depth chart. As of late, he’s also proven that versatility we spoke of, adding a bit of a bullying presence to the Bolts—Chaffee participated in his first NHL fight earlier this month, and his 42 hits in January are third-most in the NHL after Tuesday.

The guy can do a little bit of everything, and he’s getting opportunities because of it. It appears Chaffee has established himself as a full-time NHL player, and the Lightning are reaping the rewards. – BP

The "Bluto" Blutarsky Award for Best In-Game Carnage: Alexandar Georgiev

The Bolts got into the Thanksgiving spirit with a heavy peppering of multiple netminders in their late-November matchup with Avs. The 8-2 win saw five Brandon Hagel assists and three points from Nikita Kucherov, the majority of which came in the first period. Avs goalie Justus Annunen was pulled fast and replaced by Alexandar Georgiev, who quickly let up three goals of his own. By the time it was 6-1 midway through the second, the Bolts finally gave Georgiev a story that had no end, resulting in a very large hockey stick rocked to smithereens. John Belushi’s fabled guitar-smashing, Animal House reveler would be proud to hand Georgiev this hardware. – TB

The Heart and Soul Award: Ryan McDonagh

Fans of the Lightning were euphoric when they found out Ryan McDonagh was returning to the Lightning via this summer’s trade with the Nashville Predators.

The Heart and Soul Award was knitted up for McDonagh after he took a puck to the face in a Jan. 14 game in Boston. The veteran played two nights later despite a purple bruise and a visible cut.

Not much keeps Mac off the ice.

The veteran defenseman who won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning has been a steadying presence in his first season back with the club. And he’s put his body on the line, too—the 35-year-old defenseman leads the Lightning with 90 blocked shots this season and is approaching the NHL’s top 10 for career blocked shots.

McDonagh has been a consistent presence for the Bolts blueline and is the only defenseman to play in all 46 games for Tampa Bay this season. His leadership and steady play on the ice has been visible and welcomed.

McDonagh has a goal and 13 assists this season, and his +18 rating leads the team. He has settled right back into a consistent spot in the team’s top four, playing much of the season next to fellow defensive stalwart Erik Cernak.

McDonagh will also celebrate his 1,000th NHL game in the coming months.

Stick taps to No. 27. – BP

The Todd Cleary Award for Best Celebratory Artwork: Rich Pellegrino

The Lightning’s most legendary goaltender calls for a poster of legendary proportion. Enter New England artist Rich Pellegrino, an award-winning illustrator with a long line of work spanning from Kobe Bryant to the Kansas City Chiefs. The details in Pellegrino’s Vasilevskiy poster are uncanny—a touch of bravado in the behind-the-back snag, a comedic callback to Vasy wearing the Conn Smythe Trophy over his head at the 2021 boat parade. It sizes up to the memories Vasilevskiy has delivered Bolts fans over so many years now. All of which is to say, it's a pretty damn cool poster. – TB