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Biggest NHL Awards Snubs (Debate-Friendly)

Few topics ignite hockey debates quite like awards voting controversies. While most NHL trophy decisions reflect genuine excellence, some votes have aged so poorly (or seemed inexplicable even at the time) that they remain sources of passionate argument decades later. These snubs reveal the limitations of subjective voting, the power of narrative, and the challenge of comparing different types of greatness. Here are the most egregious, debate-worthy NHL awards snubs that continue to spark arguments among fans and analysts.

January 25, 2026

1. Jim Carey Over Dominik Hasek (1996 Vezina)

The 1995-96 Vezina Trophy vote stands as perhaps the single most indefensible award decision in modern NHL history. Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals won with 52 voting points, while Dominik Hasek finished eighth with just 6.92 percent of the vote.

Let that sink in. The goaltender who would win six Vezina Trophies (including four in the next five seasons) finished eighth despite posting a .920 save percentage in 59 games for Buffalo.

The Numbers:

Carey: .906 save percentage, 35 wins
Hasek: .920 save percentage, already two-time Vezina winner
Chris Osgood finished second
Martin Brodeur finished fourth
All ahead of Hasek

What makes this particularly baffling is that voters knew who Hasek was. This wasn't an unknown breaking through. Hasek had won the previous two Vezina Trophies and was in the midst of a six-year run where he led the league in save percentage five times.

Carey's career collapsed almost immediately. He struggled badly in 1996-97 and was out of the NHL by age 25, finishing with a career .891 save percentage. Hasek collected four more Vezinas, two Hart Trophies, and a Stanley Cup.

This vote remains the gold standard for inexplicable award decisions.

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2. Wayne Gretzky Over Mario Lemieux (1989 Hart)

In 1987-88, Mario Lemieux won the Hart Trophy after scoring 168 points for a Pittsburgh team that missed the playoffs by one point. Voters correctly recognized that dragging a bad roster to near-playoff contention represented true MVP value.

The following year, Lemieux improved on almost every metric:

Led NHL in goals (85) and points (199)
Finished 31 points ahead of Gretzky
Penguins made playoffs comfortably
By previous year's logic, should've been slam dunk

Instead, Gretzky won with 267 voting points to Lemieux's 187, capturing 40 first-place votes compared to Lemieux's 18. Gretzky put up 168 points for Los Angeles (exceptional by any standard except when compared to Lemieux's 199).

The Context: This feels like narrative correction. Voters "making up" for denying Gretzky the previous year by giving him the trophy despite clearly superior Lemieux performance. The trade to LA created a compelling story that overshadowed better numbers.

This remains one of only two instances where a player led the league in both goals and points without winning the Hart. The other? Jarome Iginla in 2001-02.

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3. Jose Theodore Over Jarome Iginla (2002 Hart)

Jarome Iginla accomplished something rare in 2001-02: he won both the Art Ross (96 points) and Rocket Richard Trophy (52 goals), leading the NHL in both categories.

The Burden:

Accounted for 47% of Calgary's goals
Doubled every other Flames player in goals
Had 22 more points than any teammate
Only Craig Conroy even reached 51 points

Despite this historic dominance, Iginla finished as Hart runner-up to Jose Theodore, with both receiving exactly 434 voting points. Theodore's 26 first-place votes edged Iginla's 23.

Theodore posted a .931 save percentage for Montreal, legitimately great goaltending. But historical precedent strongly suggested players who lead in both goals and points almost always win MVP honors. Of previous instances where this occurred, 10 of 12 resulted in Hart Trophy wins.

The Complication: Calgary missed playoffs by one point, which may have hurt Iginla despite the absurdity of penalizing a player who nearly carried a weak roster to postseason through pure individual dominance.

Both deserved recognition, making this rare case where either outcome would've been defensible. But the weight of precedent tips the scale toward Iginla.

4. Martin Brodeur Over Roberto Luongo (2004 Vezina)

Roberto Luongo posted a .931 save percentage for the Florida Panthers in 2003-04, a team that finished dead last in the Eastern Conference. Carrying a terrible team to stellar goals-against represents one of goaltending's most difficult feats.

The Historical Context: Only three goaltenders in NHL history posted .930+ save percentage while playing for last-place team:

Bernie Parent (1974): Won Vezina
Dominik Hasek (1998): Won Vezina
Roberto Luongo (2004): Finished third

Martin Brodeur won with .917 save percentage (14 points lower than Luongo) while playing behind New Jersey's elite defensive system, widely regarded as best in hockey.

This wasn't meant as knock on Brodeur. He's all-time great with four deserved Vezinas. But 2003-04 was reputation win, nothing more.

For Luongo (who never won Vezina despite multiple elite seasons), this snub represents significant career what-if.

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5. Mike Green Robbed Twice (2009, 2010 Norris)

Mike Green scored 31 goals and 73 points in just 68 games during 2008-09, one of the most remarkable offensive performances by defenseman in modern NHL history.

To put this in context: Green scored 31 goals as defenseman during dead-puck era, when scoring was at lowest point in decades.

The Snubs:

2009: Finished second behind Zdeno Chara
2010: Finished second behind Duncan Keith
Critics argued "all offense, no defense"
Advanced metrics showed competent defense with dominant offense

The back-to-back snubs reflected persistent bias against offensive defensemen in Norris voting. Voters preferred traditional two-way, shutdown blue-liner over game-breaking offensive catalyst.

Green never won Norris despite multiple seasons of elite production, cautionary tale about how stylistic preferences can override objective performance.

6. Drew Doughty Over Erik Karlsson (2016 Norris)

Erik Karlsson averaged point per game in 2015-16, finishing fourth in NHL scoring race with 82 points. He led league in assists, logged over 28 minutes per game, and was on ice for second-most goals scored of any NHL player.

This represented one of most dominant seasons defenseman has had in years. Karlsson was already two-time Norris winner, cementing status as game's premier offensive defenseman.

He finished second to Drew Doughty, who earned 1,254 voting points to Karlsson's 1,020.

Doughty's Case:

Superior defensive metrics
Stronger team performance (Kings made playoffs)
"Complete game" narrative
Two-way excellence

Both deserved recognition, but for many observers, Karlsson's historic offensive season (point-per-game when only elite forwards achieved that) represented game-breaking impact that should've overcome defensive metrics.

The debate continues: should Norris reward most well-rounded defenseman or one who impacts winning most dramatically, regardless of style?

Other Notable Snubs

John Gibson (2018 Vezina) Posted .927 save percentage in 60 games for Anaheim but didn't receive Vezina nomination. Elite performance despite heavy workload and inconsistent team defense.

Evgeni Malkin (NHL Top 100) When NHL compiled its 100 greatest players list in 2017, three-time Cup champion and two-time Hart winner Malkin was inexplicably left off. Over 1,100 points and sustained excellence across multiple championships should've made him lock.

Why Snubs Matter

These controversies reveal how subjective voting can fail to capture objective excellence. They show power of narrative (Gretzky's LA trade), reputation (Brodeur's Devils legacy), and stylistic bias (Green's offense-first approach) to override performance.

Awards shape Hall of Fame cases, contract negotiations, and historical legacy. When voters get it wrong, players lose more than hardware. They lose recognition that impacts their place in hockey history.

Jim Carey's career flamed out, but his Vezina remains in record books. Hasek recovered with four more wins, but the 1996 snub stands as reminder that even obvious greatness doesn't guarantee recognition.

The Best Part: These debates never die. Decades later, fans still argue whether Lemieux got robbed in 1989 or whether Theodore's 2002 Hart was justified. That's what makes these snubs special: they give us eternal ammunition for bar arguments and hockey debates.

So next time someone tells you awards voting is objective, just mention Jim Carey's Vezina Trophy. That usually ends the conversation.

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