NHL Hands Out Consolation Prizes
Turns out that Las Vegas was the perfect venue for Thursday night's 2009 NHL Awards.
In a town famous for turning winners into losers, most of the trophies went to guys who looked like winners all year, until they lost big in the playoffs.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, with their so-so regular season, came away empty handed. Evgeni Malkin was given the Art Ross Trophy for most points, but we already knew about that.
The Penguins didn't care, because they have the only trophy that matters.
The individual awards are for regular season performance. Voting is done before the playoffs begin.
With the show coming just a few days after Pittsburgh's triumph, it was a reminder that 82-game excellence means little when it's followed by playoff disappointment.
The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins cleaned up, which must have felt more bitter than sweet.
Remember how great they were, back before the real games began in April?
The Detroit Red Wings did okay, too. But their 2009 story has already been written, and it doesn't include much celebrating.
Here's the list of Thursday night's "winners," as well as this year's All Star Teams:
Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player):
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Finalists: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Norris Trophy (Top Defenseman):
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Finalists: Mike Green, Washington Capitals; Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy (Top Goaltender):
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
Finalists: Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild; Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Calder Trophy (Top Rookie):
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Finalists: Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks; Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks
Pearson Award (MVP as voted by the players):
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Finalists: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings; Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Selke Trophy (Top Defensive Forward):
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Finalists: Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks; Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
Jack Adams Award (Top Coach):
Claude Julien
, Boston Bruins
Finalists: Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks; Andy Murray, St. Louis Blues
Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly Conduct):
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Finalists: Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils; Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
Masterton Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication):
Steve Sullivan, Nashville Predators
Finalists: Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings; Richard Zednik, Florida Panthers
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jean Beliveau
First All-Star Team
Second All-Star Team
All-Rookie Team
(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Comments
Ouch!
Golly, Penguins fans aren’t happy unless the world sees their teams greatness. The NHL has done their awards in the same manner for a long time. It recognizes excellence in the regular season. Everyone knows this, and no one but Penguins fans complain.
What a dumb analysis. So the whole season only is the last playoff round. Don’t enjoy and celebrate the great play during the season. Of course, not winning the Cup is a downer but there is only one team that wins it. It’s pretty dumb dismissing the 31 who didn’t get the cup. They were all winners, not whiny losers, as the Jamie sees it.