Matt Frattin is too good for the AHL.

He has 24 goals in 36 career AHL games, which includes 10 he scored in 13 playoff games.

With a disappointing 6-4-0-1 start and a scant 33 goals forward, the Toronto Marlies will be happy to add the winger to their lineup when he returns from injury, which could be as early as Friday.

Frattin was one of the brighter lights on a strong Marlies team last season, which gave Leafs Nation hope that he would soon help the Maple Leafs.

While Frattin has shown an ability to score at the AHL level, he was used primarily in a bottom six role with the big club, minus a few games played alongside Mikhail Grabovski after Randy Carlyle took over. 

Physically, Frattin has the making on a banging, crashing style forward that would be extremely valuable on the third line. And statistically, he should be able to excel in that role immediately. He scored 8 goals in 56 games, which prorates to about 11 over a full season. That's the amount a good third line winger scores.

But after his goal-scoring barrage in the AHL, perhaps his NHL ceiling is higher than that of a third line player.

The playoffs are already under way and by all indications it will be filled with plenty of drama to keep people up late into the night following double and triple OTs. But before the playoffs progress too much further it's time to hand out some awards from the regular season.

Evgeni Malkin might have the Hart Trophy locked up, but he's yet to win an Alternative NHL Award.

The NHL regular season concludes on Monday and the playoff races in both the East and West won’t be determined until the final weekend of play. Only the final two playoff spots are open in the East, whereas the West has spots 5 to 8 available (although at this point only one new team in each conference can actually make it in). Madness. Last year’s Stanley Cup Champions are holding on desperately to the final playoff spot. Their reward: playing the President’s Trophy winners and their yearly opponent – the Canucks. Interesting indeed.

There is also a heated race for the major trophies, specifically the Hart Trophy awarded to the league’s most valuable player. Corey Perry is making a late charge by essentially scoring on a nightly basis. Earlier this week he scored a hat-trick to become the first (and likely only) player to hit 50 goals this season. He’s now only five points behind Daniel Sedin for the league lead in points, while scoring nine more goals, more short-handed goals and more overtime goals. Perry plays more minutes each night and carried the team during Ryan Getzlaf’s absence. Of course, Sedin is the best player on the best team in the league. It's being debated.

There’s enough talk about the real NHL Awards that you can find detailed arguments anywhere on the net. But what I really want to do is introduce the First Annual Alternative NHL Awards. I know the season isn't over yet, but these races are.