WTFchris
06-15-2007, 11:53 AM
TORONTO -- One year after walking away from the NHL Awards Show gutted, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8471675) couldn’t stop smiling at this year’s end-of-season showcase. Last year, Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8471214) was the overwhelming choice as the winner of the Calder Trophy, awarded to the League’s best rookie. Ovechkin beat Crosby by 444 points, including 124 first-place votes for Ovechkin to just four for Crosby.
But, it was a far different story this Thursday night at the Elgin Theater, the site of the 2007 NHL Award Show. Here, Crosby was the unquestioned star of the night, claiming both MVP trophies on offer -- the Hart and Pearson trophies -- as well as the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s leading scorer and a place on the NHL’s 2006-07 NHL First All-Star Team.
Crosby said his 2006-07 performance was not about atonement for losing out on last year’s Calder; but, rather, a case of trying to be the best player he could be – a goal he convincingly attained.
“It might make it feel a little easier,” Crosby said of the dichotomy between this year’s and last year’s award shows. “Coming into the awards last year, I don’t think I was going to judge my season on whether I won the Calder. I had the best season I could have, but he had a better one.
“That wasn’t what drove me to play this year. I wanted to be better than I was before. That was the motivation; I just wanted to be better.”
And better he was, turning in a season for the ages that was rightly honored Thursday night. His trophy-laden evening turned out to be nothing less than the formal coronation of Crosby as the game’s next great superstar.
“For Sidney, I think he is the new player in the NHL,” said Martin Brodeur (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8455710), the New Jersey Devils (http://www.newjerseydevils.com/) goalie who claimed the Vezina Trophy on Thursday night. Brodeur was one of Crosby’s competitors for the Hart Trophy. “Two years in the NHL and he has been dominating. His leadership, whatever he does out there, is tremendous. The fans love him. Everybody seems to be on his wagon and that is well-deserved also. Like Wayne Gretzky, he is going to make the NHL a better sport.”
Crosby opened Thursday’s tour de force by claiming the Lester B. Pearson Trophy, awarded to the League’s MVP as selected by the National Hockey League Players’ Association. In a theme that would be repeated throughout the night, Crosby, at just 19 years old, seven months, was the youngest player to win this prestigious award.
A little while later he was summoned back to the Elgin Theater stage to accept the Art Ross Trophy to honor his League-leading 120-point campaign, which featured a League-best 84 assists. He dethroned San Jose’s Joe Thornton (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8466138), who won the 2006 Art Ross and finished six points behind Crosby this year.
Crosby is the youngest player to ever win the NHL scoring title and the only teenager to ever lead a North American sports league in scoring.
Finally, Crosby closed the show by accepting the Hart Trophy, the other MVP award. The Hart is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Crosby defeated second-place Roberto Luongo (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8466141) by 424 votes to become the youngest player to win the Hart since a 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky did it in 1980.
When all was said and done, Crosby could not single out one highlight of his magical night.
“It kind of hits you right away,” Crosby said. “I think any individual honors are a privilege and something to be proud of. But, to rank them, I don’t think I could do it. It’s just a great accomplishment.”
Oh yeah, by the way, Crosby was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team, joining last year’s party-pooper, Ovechkin, Ottawa winger Dany Heatley (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8468482), Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8458517), Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8457063) and New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8455710).
But, Crosby was not the only star Thursday night.
Detroit’s Lidstrom continues to make the NHL Awards Show his own personal showcase on an annual basis. For the fifth time in the past six years, Lidstrom claimed the Norris Trophy. Niedermayer, who finished 193 points behind Lidstrom in this year’s voting for the best defenseman award, broke Lidstrom’s recent stranglehold on the award by winning the Norris in 2004.
Lidstrom, who also finished as runner-up for the Norris four times, now has as many Norris Trophy awards as legendary defenseman Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins (http://www.bostonbruins.com/).
“It feels almost a little bit unbelievable,” Lidstrom said. “Bourque was a player I looked up to when I came into the League. He’s always been a star player, a great player at both ends of the ice. It was something that I really appreciated watching when he played. To be tied with him is just a great feeling.”
Repeat winners dominated the other awards, as well.
New Jersey’s Brodeur won his third Vezina Trophy, beating Vancouver’s Luongo by a meager six points, the closest vote since Jose Theodore (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8460535) and Patrick Roy finished with equal points in 2002. Theodore won the award that year based on a greater number of first-place votes.
Brodeur, who set a record for wins in a season, with 48, and had a League-leading 12 shutouts, was adjudged by the League’s GM’s to be just a hair better than the 28-year-old Luongo, who had 47 wins and finished in the top five in each of the major goaltending statistical categories.
“It’s kind of nice,” Brodeur said of his latest Vezina. “I’m 35 years old and still hanging in with the young guys.”
New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8468685), 25, and Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8462147), 30, were also finalists for the Vezina. It was a tough night for Luongo, who was a finalist for three awards – the Hart and Pearson being the others – but walked away empty-handed.
Carolina Hurricane forward Rod Brind’amour won his second-straight Selke Trophy, awarded to the League’s best defensive forward. He is the first repeat winner of the Selke since Dallas’ Jere Lehtinen (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8459024) won in 1998 and 1999.
Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8467514) was the final repeat winner of the night, taking home his second-straight Lady Byng memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player that exhibits the most gentlemanly play and sportsmanship. Datsyuk is the first repeat winner of this award since Anaheim’s Paul Kariya (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8459426) turned the trick in 1996 and 1997.
It was also a special night for some first-time winners.
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8471215) earned the Calder Trophy that eluded Crosby last year. The leading rookie scorer in the League with 85 points, Malkin dominated the vote by getting 120 of 133 first-place votes. Colorado’s Paul Stastny (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8471669) finished second and Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8473533) was a distant third.
Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault, in his first season with the Canucks, was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the League’s best coach. He beat out reigning Jack Adams honoree Lindy Ruff of Buffalo and Pittsburgh’s Michel Therien. Vigneault was a finalist for the Adams in 2000, while with Montreal, and finished second to Joel Quenneville of the St. Louis Blues. Eighteen games into the following season, he was fired by the Canadiens.
“It was a long journey back,” said Vigneault, who led Vancouver to a Northwest Division title and second-round appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. “I did my best everywhere I have been and tried my hardest and now I am back in the NHL.”
Boston rookie Phil Kessel (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8473548), who came back from a bout with testicular cancer, was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game. Another cancer survivor, Montreal’s Saku Koivu (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8459442), was given the King Clancy Trophy for his humanitarian contributions. Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8467329), who had a League-high 52 goals, was presented with the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the top goal-getter in the NHL.
Original Story (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=318437)
But, it was a far different story this Thursday night at the Elgin Theater, the site of the 2007 NHL Award Show. Here, Crosby was the unquestioned star of the night, claiming both MVP trophies on offer -- the Hart and Pearson trophies -- as well as the Art Ross Trophy as the League’s leading scorer and a place on the NHL’s 2006-07 NHL First All-Star Team.
Crosby said his 2006-07 performance was not about atonement for losing out on last year’s Calder; but, rather, a case of trying to be the best player he could be – a goal he convincingly attained.
“It might make it feel a little easier,” Crosby said of the dichotomy between this year’s and last year’s award shows. “Coming into the awards last year, I don’t think I was going to judge my season on whether I won the Calder. I had the best season I could have, but he had a better one.
“That wasn’t what drove me to play this year. I wanted to be better than I was before. That was the motivation; I just wanted to be better.”
And better he was, turning in a season for the ages that was rightly honored Thursday night. His trophy-laden evening turned out to be nothing less than the formal coronation of Crosby as the game’s next great superstar.
“For Sidney, I think he is the new player in the NHL,” said Martin Brodeur (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8455710), the New Jersey Devils (http://www.newjerseydevils.com/) goalie who claimed the Vezina Trophy on Thursday night. Brodeur was one of Crosby’s competitors for the Hart Trophy. “Two years in the NHL and he has been dominating. His leadership, whatever he does out there, is tremendous. The fans love him. Everybody seems to be on his wagon and that is well-deserved also. Like Wayne Gretzky, he is going to make the NHL a better sport.”
Crosby opened Thursday’s tour de force by claiming the Lester B. Pearson Trophy, awarded to the League’s MVP as selected by the National Hockey League Players’ Association. In a theme that would be repeated throughout the night, Crosby, at just 19 years old, seven months, was the youngest player to win this prestigious award.
A little while later he was summoned back to the Elgin Theater stage to accept the Art Ross Trophy to honor his League-leading 120-point campaign, which featured a League-best 84 assists. He dethroned San Jose’s Joe Thornton (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8466138), who won the 2006 Art Ross and finished six points behind Crosby this year.
Crosby is the youngest player to ever win the NHL scoring title and the only teenager to ever lead a North American sports league in scoring.
Finally, Crosby closed the show by accepting the Hart Trophy, the other MVP award. The Hart is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Crosby defeated second-place Roberto Luongo (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8466141) by 424 votes to become the youngest player to win the Hart since a 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky did it in 1980.
When all was said and done, Crosby could not single out one highlight of his magical night.
“It kind of hits you right away,” Crosby said. “I think any individual honors are a privilege and something to be proud of. But, to rank them, I don’t think I could do it. It’s just a great accomplishment.”
Oh yeah, by the way, Crosby was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team, joining last year’s party-pooper, Ovechkin, Ottawa winger Dany Heatley (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8468482), Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8458517), Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8457063) and New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8455710).
But, Crosby was not the only star Thursday night.
Detroit’s Lidstrom continues to make the NHL Awards Show his own personal showcase on an annual basis. For the fifth time in the past six years, Lidstrom claimed the Norris Trophy. Niedermayer, who finished 193 points behind Lidstrom in this year’s voting for the best defenseman award, broke Lidstrom’s recent stranglehold on the award by winning the Norris in 2004.
Lidstrom, who also finished as runner-up for the Norris four times, now has as many Norris Trophy awards as legendary defenseman Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins (http://www.bostonbruins.com/).
“It feels almost a little bit unbelievable,” Lidstrom said. “Bourque was a player I looked up to when I came into the League. He’s always been a star player, a great player at both ends of the ice. It was something that I really appreciated watching when he played. To be tied with him is just a great feeling.”
Repeat winners dominated the other awards, as well.
New Jersey’s Brodeur won his third Vezina Trophy, beating Vancouver’s Luongo by a meager six points, the closest vote since Jose Theodore (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8460535) and Patrick Roy finished with equal points in 2002. Theodore won the award that year based on a greater number of first-place votes.
Brodeur, who set a record for wins in a season, with 48, and had a League-leading 12 shutouts, was adjudged by the League’s GM’s to be just a hair better than the 28-year-old Luongo, who had 47 wins and finished in the top five in each of the major goaltending statistical categories.
“It’s kind of nice,” Brodeur said of his latest Vezina. “I’m 35 years old and still hanging in with the young guys.”
New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8468685), 25, and Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8462147), 30, were also finalists for the Vezina. It was a tough night for Luongo, who was a finalist for three awards – the Hart and Pearson being the others – but walked away empty-handed.
Carolina Hurricane forward Rod Brind’amour won his second-straight Selke Trophy, awarded to the League’s best defensive forward. He is the first repeat winner of the Selke since Dallas’ Jere Lehtinen (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8459024) won in 1998 and 1999.
Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8467514) was the final repeat winner of the night, taking home his second-straight Lady Byng memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player that exhibits the most gentlemanly play and sportsmanship. Datsyuk is the first repeat winner of this award since Anaheim’s Paul Kariya (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8459426) turned the trick in 1996 and 1997.
It was also a special night for some first-time winners.
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8471215) earned the Calder Trophy that eluded Crosby last year. The leading rookie scorer in the League with 85 points, Malkin dominated the vote by getting 120 of 133 first-place votes. Colorado’s Paul Stastny (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8471669) finished second and Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8473533) was a distant third.
Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault, in his first season with the Canucks, was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the League’s best coach. He beat out reigning Jack Adams honoree Lindy Ruff of Buffalo and Pittsburgh’s Michel Therien. Vigneault was a finalist for the Adams in 2000, while with Montreal, and finished second to Joel Quenneville of the St. Louis Blues. Eighteen games into the following season, he was fired by the Canadiens.
“It was a long journey back,” said Vigneault, who led Vancouver to a Northwest Division title and second-round appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. “I did my best everywhere I have been and tried my hardest and now I am back in the NHL.”
Boston rookie Phil Kessel (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8473548), who came back from a bout with testicular cancer, was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game. Another cancer survivor, Montreal’s Saku Koivu (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8459442), was given the King Clancy Trophy for his humanitarian contributions. Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8467329), who had a League-high 52 goals, was presented with the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the top goal-getter in the NHL.
Original Story (http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=318437)