On Wednesday, June 24, the NHL held its annual NHL Awards in Las Vegas. Goaltender Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens was the Miranda Lambert at any country music awards show and walked away with four awards. And unlike the four awards your kid might have gotten at sports camp, the NHL doesn’t give any awards for best attendance record.
Monsieur Carey Price won the Ted Lindsay Award, along with the Hart, Vezina, and William H. Jennings Trophies. He was awarded the William H. Jennings Trophy which honors the goaltender tandem who has allowed the fewest goals during the regular season. He shares the award with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks. This 2014-2015 season, Price had a league-best 44 wins, 1.96 goals against average, and .933 save percentage. Despite this being a stats-based award, the numbers that he was able to put up are jaw-dropping impressive.
His impressive play on the ice warranted his winning the Vezina Trophy, an award voted upon by the general managers as to whom is the best goaltender at his position. Price beat Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild to win the award. Twenty-seven out of all thirty general managers voted for Price, which means only one, other than those of Price’s competition, did not cast a vote for him. If I were to guess, maybe Don Maloney, general manager of the Arizona Coyotes, because Dubnyk started last season in Arizona before being traded to Minnesota in January.
It was little surprise that Carey Price also was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to the player who was most valuable to his team during the regular season. Along with the astounding numbers that Price achieved, he was also the key to the Canadiens success this past season. Since the Habs lack a truly explosive offense, the team relied heavily on Price becoming a brick wall to win games. The Canadiens success lay in Price being nearly perfect night in and night out. If he were suffering a long-term injury, their ability to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference would have been in serious jeopardy. I think for these reasons Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and John Tavares of the New York Islanders were finalists rather than winners this season. Price is the first goaltender and Canadien to win the Hart since Jose Theodore in 2002.
The Ted Lindsay Award is the “Most Outstanding Player” as voted on by the NHLPA. Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Alex Ovechkin were finalists in the voting. Players deem the Ted Lindsay Award as special since it is voted on by their peers, so it is quite a prestigious honor. Price is only the second Habs player to have won the award since Guy LaFleur (1976, 1977, and 1978), and he is the first goaltender to win since Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres won in 1997 and 1998.
Despite all the accolades that Carey Price received during the night, he continued to remain humble and deflect attention to his team. During his Hart acceptance speech, he conceded, “This award goes to an individual, but it takes a team to help that individual.” During media day on Tuesday before the awards ceremony, Price talked about his role and wanting to win the Stanley Cup, “When you don’t win, there’s more you can do. As a bigger part of this team, I feel like that’s on me. I’ve got to be that much better.” Despite the fact that he was nominated for three very prestigious awards, Price still looks inside himself to push to be better. He also had a very nice moment to recognize the First Nations Youth. For those who weren’t aware, Price’s mother, Lynda, was once the chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation. He reminded those that he is proof that the improbable is possible. He revealed that many thought his dream to become a goaltender in the National Hockey League was unlikely but hard work and perseverance got him to where he is today. He also reminded them to be proud of their heritage. It was a very touching moment.
One award that Carey Price did not win, probably because he wouldn’t be eligible for it anyway, is the James Norris Memorial Trophy. Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators won over finalists Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and P.K. Sub of the Montreal Canadiens. The Norris Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and he received 146 of 157 votes and received 964 voting points. This past season, Karlsson lead all defensemen in points with 21 goals and 45 assists for 66 points. This was the third time in four seasons that Karlsson had done this. He was also second in goals of all defensemen, with only Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Arizona Coyotes having more with 23 goals.This was the second Norris Trophy for Karlsson, having won in 2012, and he joins Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks as the only two defenseman with multiple Norris wins. Karlsson gave a cute speech sending well-wishes to Ottawa Senators Eugene Melnyk who recently underwent a kidney transplant and thanking his girlfriend, Melinda, who he says “treats me the same even if [he] makes twenty turn-overs.”
Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers took home the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is given to the best rookie as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. He beat out Mark Stone of the Ottawa Senators and Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames. Ekblad set the record for goals (12), assists (27), and points (30) for a rookie Panthers defenseman. He was two points shy of Bobby Orr‘s rookie campaign in 1966-67. He is also the second Panthers player to have won the Calder Trophy in the last three years. Teammate Jonathan Huberdeau won in 2013. Like Price, Ekblad humbly “accepts on behalf of [his] teammates,” again acknowledging hockey is truly a team sport.
On a side note, as the camera panned out to the audience, you can see Mark Messier. He looks up at Ekblad on the stage, and he seems confused as to wonder who it is or why Ekblad had a beard since the Panthers had not made the playoffs. It’s probably just me, but I thought it was funny.
Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins walked away with the Selke Trophy over Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. The Selke is given to the forward who demonstrates the best defensive skills as voted upon by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Bergeron lead the league in face-offs with 1,951, face-off wins with 1,175, and face-off win percentage with 60.2%. He was top five in 5-on-5 puck possession, shot attempt differential (SAT), ratio of players on-ice SAT vs off-ice SAT (SAT REL%), and SAT in one-goal games in periods 1 and 2 and tie games in the third period (SAT CLOSE). This is Bergeron’s third Selke win, having won in 2012 and 2014.
Jiri Hudler of the Calgary Flames won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy over Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and Anze Kopitar. The Lady Byng is awarded to the player who exhibits the best sportsmanlike play while also being a top player. He is the first Calgary Flame to win the award since Joe Mullen in 1989, Hudler is the first Czech to win the Lady Byng and most likely the first to receive the award without shoes. He revealed that he did no pack a suit and assumed Las Vegas would be the sort of place where one could easily buy one along with shoes. He did dress rather impeccably, but he did not have time to break-in the new shoes. He had hoped that the Byng would have been presented toward the beginning of the ceremony, but when that didn’t happen, he decided on comfort and allowed his bright red socks to protect his feet.
In what was one of the most entertaining moments of the night, Hudler took out his cell phone to read the audience texts he had received since arriving in Las Vegas. He said Coach Bob Harley had texted him to make sure Johnny Gaudreau was in bed by midnight. He said Johnny Hockey then texted him to tell Bob that he was definitely in bed by 11 o’clock. Despite the laughs and joviality, Hudler admitted in the media day before the ceremony that he signed as a free agent in 2012 because he saw it as an opportunity to “be Calgary’s [Pavel] Datsyuk or Calgary’s [Henrik] Zetterberg… [He wanted] to be around a young group like [they] have and show them the ropes.” As Hudler ended his speech, he reminded everyone of what was really important, “Most of all, January 7th was the best day of my life. My daughter was born, Anna Josephine. You know what? Sports awards are awesome. But life is life, and I love my daughter.”
The NHL Foundation Award went to Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers were both finalists. The NHL Foundation Award is given to the player who enriches the lives of the community through commitment, perseverance, and teamwork. The NHL Foundation will also give $25,000 to the charity or charities decided by the winner. Burns chose Defending the Blue Line and Folds of Honor. Defending the Blue Line is a charity that helps the children of the military to participate in hockey by giving them equipment, tickets, and special experiences with their favorite hockey players. Folds of Honor gives educational scholarships to the family members of the injured and deceased military members.
Brent Burns has made “Burnzie’s Buzzcut” an annual event in which he and teammates shave their heads for charity. Fans can bid to be given the honor of giving the haircut. He supports and raises awareness for the San Francisco Zoo and the Katie Moore Foundation.
Coach Bob Hartley of the Calgary Flames walked away with the Jack Adams Award which acknowledges the coach whose efforts most aided in the team’s success during the regular season as voted by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Finalists included Peter Laviolette of the Nashville Predators and Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers. Although all three finalists could have easily won, Bob Hartley seemed the most unlikely to be winning the award if you were take a poll before the season began. No one expected such a young team in the beginning of a rebuild to blow through the NHL and take a third seed in the Pacific Division. They seemed to be a team that defied stats, and it had to be because of the Hartley’s coaching that the team was finding such improbable success. He received 63 of the 75 ballots cast and received 237 of the voting points. The Calgary Flames tied for first in the league with overtime wins with nine, ranked second in third-period goal-differential with a +31, and had the most blocked shots. This was the first time Hartley and the Calgary Flames organization have ever won a Jack Adams.
This year Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks and Glen Sather of the New York Rangers fell short to Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Bay Lightning for GM of the Year. Although it is really difficult to evaluate the work of a general manager in a year, you can still recognize positive moves that brings an organization forward. Steve Yzerman stood out this year because of his ability to create such a strong Lightning team this year, although it has been a five-year process. Many experts did not pick the Bolts to be contending for the Stanley Cup this year, but they did. Yzerman made some key free agency pick-ups by bringing in Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman from the New York Rangers and Valterri Filppula from the Detroit Red Wings. They added veteran experience to a young team that had little playoff experience. Trading for Ben Bishop in 2013 was also a big move to bring stability to the position. He has made sound draft picks and key undrafted player pick-ups to further enhance the team. Although the Bolts fell short this year, Yzerman has laid a foundation for success for years to come.
Perhaps the most insane and infuriating moment of the NHL Awards Show came with the presentation of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy which is rewarded to the player who best shows perseverance and sportsmanship in the face of adversity. Last year, Dominic Moore of the New York Rangers won the award after losing his young wife to cancer. He took some time off to grieve and came back to have a tremendous year with the Rangers. The year before that Josh Harding of the Minnesota Wild won the trophy for his shutout win and five playoff starts after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This trophy goes to players who have stared death or a traumatic life event in the face and continued to persevere.
This year, the nominees were Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild, Andrew Hammond of the Ottawa Senators, and Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Let me start by saying that I am a Devan Dubynk fan. I never believed he was as bad as everyone thought while he was on the Edmonton Oilers. I always believed that it was impossible for any goaltender to thrive given the performance of the team, and Edmonton has an entire organization of problems, which only seem to be turning around now. I was happy that his struggles seemed to be behind him as he absolutely blew people away with his performance on the ice with the Wild. The head tracking technique has really been allowed him to hone his game. But in terms of adversity, like with Moore and Harding, I don’t see it. I don’t think he deserves the award because he surprised everyone by not sucking. The same can be said of Andrew Hammond. The Senators started the season as one of the bottom teams in the league but seemed to find their way and with help from Hammond. Fans heralded him the Hamburglar and threw burgers on the ice. This also warranted McDonalds to give him free food for life. He joked that if the whole hockey thing fell threw, he was happy that he still had a meal plan. So technically, Hammond had more adversity than Dubnyk since he never had to dodge a burger.
Who really should have been given the award is Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Last year, Letang missed a considerable amount of the season because he had a stroke. There was a time when he was not even sure it would be safe for him to return to hockey because, you know, oxygen stopped flowing to his brain and he was only 26. He recovers and returns this season and plays nearly the entire season, but he did miss a few games with concussions and a groin injury. He was also one of the top defensemen in the league despite the fact that with those concussions come a higher risk of a stroke returning. But apparently, that is not as impressive as everyone thinking you suck then taking your team to the playoffs. Although, the Penguins also made it to the playoffs. Every year there is an award that make me mad and hate the whole awards show, and this was the one. I’m still mad about it because I’m not sure how almost dying and still being a top contributor on your own team and then league doesn’t get you a trophy for being a comeback player.
Lastly, to calm myself down. Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks was awarded the Mark Messier Leadership Award. This is a newer award, and it is presented to players who are lead their players by example on the ice and through charitable contributions and efforts in the communities. This year Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks (who coincidentally kind of looks like Messier on a non-HD television) and Andrew Ladd of the Winnipeg Jets. I think we all know how incredible a captain Toews is for the Blackhawks, but he also is engaged with many charities. He is active in the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Four Feathers Golf Invitational. He serves as a chairperson on the Israel Idonije Foundation which helps poorer communities with social and emotional life skills. He is also very involved with Misericordia, a Chicago-based group, that helps families with mild to profound disabilities.
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