Superlative awards for the 2022-23 NHL season

With the 2022-23 NHL regular season wrapped up, we're focused on awards here at theScore. We submitted our ballots for the real winners, suggested realistic individual hardware the league should introduce, and now, we're going way off the board with our annual superlative honors.

Let's get started.

Best fit with new team 🏆

Nominees: Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers), Kevin Fiala (Kings), Filip Gustavsson (Wild)

This award had the deepest pool of worthy candidates, leading to the likes of Claude Giroux and Brent Burns not making the cut. Nonetheless, Tkachuk earned the right by finishing the year top-10 in scoring after the biggest trade in recent memory, while Fiala and Gustavsson also impressed with their new teams. Fiala came exactly as advertised, providing much-needed scoring depth in Tinseltown, while Gustavsson took Minnesota's starting gig and ran to a playoff berth by posting a .931 save percentage in 39 appearances.

And the winner is: Tkachuk. He's a legitimate candidate to be an MVP finalist and scored 31 more points than any other Florida skater. Any doubts about his value following the trade from Calgary were erased after he grabbed his new club by the scruff of their necks and carried them to the playoffs.

Worst fit with new team 🏆

Nominees: Ben Chiarot (Red Wings), Tony DeAngelo (Flyers), Jack Campbell (Oilers)

Here we have an award no one wants to find themselves in the running for. Chiarot's long-term deal with Detroit paid little dividends in its first year, while DeAngelo's offensive production took a dive. He was also a healthy scratch more than once under head coach John Tortorella. Finally, if it weren't for the emergence of Stuart Skinner in the Edmonton goal, Campbell's debut season with the Oilers may have been the runaway winner.

And the winner is: Evidently, the droves of fans and pundits that forecasted Chiarot's four-year, $19-million contract being a problem for Detroit had a point. The rugged blue-liner was a team-worst minus-30 and has underlying numbers that indicate the cause is something much more alarming than bad luck.

Best leap year 🏆

Nominees: Jack Hughes (Devils), Tim Stutzle (Senators), Miro Heiskanen (Stars)

Not to be confused with a surprise breakout season, this award highlights players who've carried high expectations throughout their young careers and took the next step into superstardom in 2022-23. Hughes set a Devils single-season record with 99 points, flashing all the brilliance fans expected after he went first overall in 2019. Stutzle became a nightmare for the opposition in his third year and led the burgeoning Senators with 39 goals and 90 points. Last but not least, Heiskanen maintained his excellent defensive standards while exploding for a career-high 73 points, 37 more than his previous best.

And the winner is: Hughes. Nothing against the other candidates, but the Devils phenom staying healthy for most of the year and posting superstar numbers is great for the league and the Devils, who were one of the league's most exciting teams this season.

Non-McDavid MVP 🏆

Nominees: Matthew Tkachuk, David Pastrnak (Bruins), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)

Connor McDavid should be the unanimous Hart Trophy winner after tearing the league apart for 153 points, but we think these three have a great chance to be MVP finalists. Pastrnak joined McDavid in the 60-goal club and led the most successful regular-season team in NHL history in scoring by 46 points. MacKinnon sparked a sputtering Avalanche team back into the Central Division mix with a career-high 111 points in 71 games, good for the league's third-highest points-per-game clip at 1.56.

And the winner is: Tkachuk. We already mentioned his exploits above, and it carries weight that the Panthers aren't nearly as deep as the Bruins or Avalanche. Tkachuk was the only constant in the Cats' roller-coaster season, and he turned out to be the perfect fit after commandeering his way to Florida last summer. Pastrnak was almost the choice here, but even without all his points, Boston would have won a ton of games on the strength of its goalie duo.

Player most likely to regress 🏆

Nominees: Erik Karlsson (Sharks), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Oilers), Josh Morrissey (Jets)

Here we have three players that exceeded expectations this season, and three players we think don't have great odds to repeat in 2023-24. Karlsson and Nugent-Hopkins both eclipsed 100 points for the first time in their lengthy careers, while Morrissey added an offensive element to his game that simply didn't exist over his first seven campaigns.

And the winner is: Morrissey. Karlsson has the background as one of the most prolific offensive defensemen in NHL history, while Nugent-Hopkins is likely to continue sharing a power play with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Morrissey's previous career high in points was 37, leading us to believe this year's output isn't sustainable.

Most drawn-out trade saga 🏆

Nominees: Patrick Kane (Blackhawks to Rangers), Jakob Chychrun (Coyotes to Senators), Bo Horvat (Canucks to Islanders)

This year's trade deadline was a doozy, and the three names above were a tiny fraction of the players that were dealt. That said, each blockbuster chosen as a finalist here seemingly took forever. Kane kept his heart set on the Rangers while they took on highly complex salary cap gymnastics to make a deal work. Chychrun was finally moved after what felt like years on the market, and Horvat had his fate as Canucks captain sealed nearly two months after rejecting Vancouver's final extension offer.

And the winner is: Chychrun, by a lot. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong held the star defenseman captive as long as possible and ultimately moved him for a package of three picks - a price many felt was low. The 25-year-old was even held out of the lineup for nearly three full weeks while the deal with Ottawa materialized.

Sneakiest superstar 🏆

Nominees: Brayden Point (Lightning), Clayton Keller (Coyotes), Carter Verhaeghe (Panthers)

There were dozens of terrific individual outputs across the league this year, but these three did so without taking up much of the spotlight. Point has championship cache, but did anyone happen to notice he scored 51 goals this season? Keller matched Keith Tkachuk's Coyotes record with 86 points and was one of the NHL's most productive players post-All-Star break with 45 points, a total bested by only McDavid, Draisaitl, and MacKinnon. And congrats to you if you bet on Verhaeghe being a top-10 goal-scorer with 42 tallies.

And the winner is: Keller. The Coyotes only ever make headlines for the wrong reasons, but Keller deserved some league-wide attention for his outstanding production on a 27th-place Arizona roster. He also earns some props for having a career year on the heels of a gruesome leg injury sustained late in 2021-22.