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Awards Wrap Up & Voting Results
by Alanah McGinley on 06/12/08 at 08:49 PM ET
Comments (10)
A complete summary from the NHL:
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin capped an award-filled season by winning his first career Hart Trophy as the National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings captured his sixth Norris Trophy as the League’s top defenseman at the 2008 NHL Awards Show.
Ovechkin was a runaway choice for the Hart, receiving 128 of 134 first-place votes for 1,313 points in voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who tallied one first-place vote and was the second choice on 66 ballots, was runner-up with 659 points.
Ovechkin tallied 112 points (65 goals, 47 assists) in 82 regular-season games, collecting the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring leader and Maurice Richard Trophy as the League’s top goal scorer. He also led all players in power-play goals (22) and game-winning goals (11). Ovechkin set the single-season NHL record for goals by a left wing, surpassing Luc Robitaille’s 63 with Los Angeles in 1992-93, and his 65 goals were the most by an NHL player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.
Lidstrom, who was the top choice on 127 of 134 Norris Trophy ballots, becomes the third defenseman in League history with six or more Norris wins, joining Hockey Hall of Fame members Bobby Orr (eight) and Doug Harvey (seven). Lidstrom led all NHL defensemen in scoring with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists), ranked second in the NHL in plus-minus (+40) and was fourth among all players in average ice time per game (26:43).
Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk was a multiple winner, capturing the Lady Byng Trophy for combining sportsmanship with a high standard of play and the Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward. Datsyuk becomes the second player to win both trophies in the same season and the first since the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Ron Francis in 1995.
Datsyuk’s Lady Byng win was his third in as many seasons, making him the first player to capture the award three consecutive times since the New York Rangers’ Frank Boucher from 1933-35. Datsyuk finished fourth in the NHL scoring race with a career-high 97 points (31 goals, 66 assists) in 82 games. He led the club in scoring for a third consecutive season, matching the feat of franchise greats Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman.
In capturing his first Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s outstanding defensive forward, Datsyuk led all NHL players in plus-minus with a career-best +41 rating, topped all NHL forwards with 144 takeaways, 67% more than his nearest rival (Dallas’ Mike Modano, 86) and ranked first among Red Wings forwards in blocked shots (42). The Red Wings posted the top defensive record in the NHL with 184 goals-against.
Other honorees included Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, who won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. The first overall pick in the 2007 Entry Draft tallied 16 points in October, the most by an NHL rookie in the season’s opening month since 1992-93. His shootout goal against Buffalo childhood hero Dominik Hasek in his second NHL game gave the Blackhawks their first victory of the season—a 4-3 decision over Detroit Oct. 6. Kane finished the season as the League’s rookie scoring leader and tops on the Blackhawks with 72 points (21 goals, 51 assists) in 82 games.
The New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur claimed the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender for the fourth time in the past five seasons, edging the San Jose Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov 113-106 in the closest race among all awards. Brodeur posted a 44-27-6 record with a 2.17 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and four shutouts, ranking among League leaders in minutes played (first, 4,635), wins (second) and goals-against average (fifth).
The Capitals’ Bruce Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach, edging Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens by 12 points (208-196). Named head coach Nov. 22 with the 6-14-1 Capitals at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, Boudreau led his club to a 37-17-7 mark the rest of the way—capped by seven consecutive victories to close the season—and captured the Southeast Division title in the season’s final game. He became the fastest Capitals coach to 20 victories (34 games) and 30 victories (53 games) in franchise history.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier accepted the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions to his community. Lecavalier has made community giving and charitable work a part of his daily life since joining the Lightning a decade ago. In October 2007, Lecavalier made his largest commitment yet to the Tampa Bay community, announcing a $3-million pledge to construct the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the inaugural NHL Lifetime Achievement Award to Gordie Howe, whose contributions to the game have spanned decades and whose name became more closely aligned with hockey than any other. Over an unprecedented 26-year NHL playing career which began in 1946 and ended in 1980, “Mr. Hockey” played in a record 1,767 games, won six Hart Trophies as MVP, six scoring titles, four Stanley Cups and was a 21-time NHL All-Star. He retired from the NHL at age 52 with League-record totals of 801 goals and 1,850 points.
Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Jason Blake received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. In October, Blake was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a rare but treatable form of cancer. Nonetheless, the Hibbing, Minn. native completed the season as one of only three players to appear in all 82 Maple Leafs games.
The Red Wings’ Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood, who shared the William Jennings Trophy as goaltenders on the club allowing the fewest regular-season goals, also were acknowledged at the NHL Awards Show this evening.
The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) cast ballots for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng and Calder Trophies. The PHWA also voted on the Masterton Trophy. The 30 NHL General Managers voted on the Vezina Trophy. The NHL Broadcasters’ Association (NHLBA) submitted votes for the Jack Adams Award, and a special panel of representatives from the PHWA and NHLBA chose the King Clancy winner. Voting for these awards was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season.
Balloting results were tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young, with the exception of the Masterton and King Clancy trophies. The results for these awards were tabulated by the PHWA and the National Hockey League, respectively.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: 2008+nhl+awards,
Comments
Nabokov got hosed. Just come out and say it, GMs: it’s a lifetime achievement award for Marty.
I guess a save percentage that’s 0.01 higher and a handful of more minutes played wins the trophy. Every other stat or category goes in Nabokov’s favor. Weak weak weak, shame on you.
Posted by Mike on 06/13/08 at 12:33 AM ET
Re: Mike…
If you’re going to complain about Nabokov vs. Brodeur, at least don’t act like 1% is a tiny difference and Nabokov had a great statistical advantage. Nabokov had 2 more shutouts, 2 more wins (on a far superior team) and gave up just 5 fewer goals…not exactly domination.
The Save percentage differential meant that if Nabokov faced the same number of shots as Brodeur, and had the same Sv%, he would have allowed 20 more goals. That’s significant.
You can make an argument for Nabokov, but the stats go against Nabokov much more than they work in his favor.
Posted by Tim on 06/13/08 at 09:46 AM ET
Lidstrom, who was the top choice on 127 of 134 Norris Trophy ballots
Who are these seven idiots?
I assume Eric Francis is one, the man lives in Phaneuf’s jock strap.
Posted by shep from california on 06/13/08 at 09:51 AM ET
I guess you gorgot to mention, Tim, that Brodeur also had 6 more losses as well. The only thing Brodeur had going for him was save %. And in all fairness, Nakobov only really played in 75 full games (was pulled or came in relief in two games).
Of course, Brodeur is also on the east coast and that pretty much gave it to him. If East GM’s actually knew who Nabokov was, he would have received more votes, I’ll bet.
Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 06/13/08 at 10:06 AM ET
Let’s see Nabokov played on a better team (mainly because of him), faced stiffer competition from teams in the west and held the fort more because his team played more of an offensive style than the defensive Devils. I guess all the shots from the blue line added up to another Vezina for Brodeur. Tough one for Nabokov.
Posted by ray on 06/13/08 at 11:56 AM ET
I was pretty angry when the Vezina was awarded. Nabokov really got screwed. I also agree with the poster above who thinks Pisani should have gotten the Masxterton.
Posted by NHLJeff from Pens fan in Chicago, IL on 06/13/08 at 12:46 PM ET
The only thing Brodeur had going for him was save %
Which is arguably the most important stat for an individual award for a goaltender. Do you disagree?
Wins/losses are a team stat, I’d call GAA a team stat.
You might say shutouts are an individual stat…let’s look at that. Nabokov blanked Nashville, Phoenix three times, St Louis, and Edmonton. Looks like only one playoff team, and an eighth seed at that. Brodeur whitewashed Atlanta, Montreal, Calgary, and Philly. Three playoff teams, including a top seed and the highest scoring team in the league. I’m not sure you can call this an advantage for Nabokov.
I’m no fan of the shootout, but I’d have to say they reflect at least one aspect of individual goalie performance. Nabokov was 6-6, allowing 18 goals on 40 shots. Brodeur was 8-4, giving up 9 goals on 43 shots. I think it’s fair to allow that Brodeur is the better pressure goalie (this is somewhat reinforced by their OT records: N 3-2, B 7-2…but again this is a team stat).
For those that go on about the competition being stiffer in the West, I agree. But that is because the West teams play better defense. The East scored 100+ more goals than the West, 15 of the top 25 scorers played in the East, and so on. So to say that Nabokov personally faced tougher opponents than Brodeur is bunk.
Posted by shep from california on 06/13/08 at 01:40 PM ET
Nabokov was robbed plain and simple.
I admire Brodeur but that award does not belong to him this year, im tired of hearing the excuse that the sharks are the better team, thats horse sh1t they had scoring issues all year long and New Jersey whooped them when they played, yes maybe the sharks got further in the playoffs than the devils but that only helps nabokov’s case. I’m so pisst off that Nabokov was robbed of that award!
Posted by Louis from Edmonton on 06/13/08 at 03:08 PM ET
Sorry, Ray, you just lost us some ground for the case for Nabokov right there. San Jose played the neutral zone trap way more than the Devils did this year. And yes, there is stiffer competition in the west (I believe) but really only on the defensive side of the puck so Shep actually has us there.
And maybe you’re somewhat right about my save % comment but if that was all that mattered, why didn’t Dan Ellis get nominated? Nabokov had the upper hand in every other major category. And why, then, did Nabokov get on the First all-star team and Brodeur on the second? Because I think the GM’s are biased towards voting for an East goalie instead of a west one (aka: Luongo 2007). That’s my opinion, though and you’re free to argue it if you wish.
At least Nabokov took it in stride. We’re arguing for him here but it doesn’t matter to him. All he cares about is the Stanley Cup and hopefully they can get it next year with next year’s Vezina Trophy winner.
Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 06/13/08 at 03:53 PM ET
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I realize the Masterson trophy isn’t exactly on the same level as the other awards, but the fact that Blake was chosen over Pisani…... well, I’m surprisingly perturbed over that.
I mean, seriously, I realize that anyone in the blue-and-white is going to have a leg up in voting regardless, but it’s not even close.
I don’t want to be the guy that belittles cancer, but seriously, it’s a pill a day. Wow. Pisani almost DIED, not to mention had the odds stacked against him ever playing hockey again.
Le sigh.
Posted by Rex Waverly on 06/12/08 at 10:33 PM ET