McDavid reigns at NHL Awards
Connor McDavid was worried about his speech — not necessarily what he was going to say, but just that he would have to stand up and say something. “I hate that part,” he said. “I’m not going to be the guy giving the big, long speech. It will be short and brief and simple.”
Call it an occupational hazard of being one of the best players in the NHL. That title became official at the NHL Awards on Wednesday in Las Vegas, where McDavid, who led the league in scoring with 100 points, beat out Sidney Crosby and Brent Burns for the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s MVP.
It was the cherry on top of a spectacular sophomore season for the 20-year-old, who in his first year as captain of the Edmonton Oilers led the team to its first playoff appearance in 11 years. Though they lost to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 7 of the second round, oddsmakers in Vegas already have the Oilers as 12-1 favourites — behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins — to win the Stanley Cup in 2018.
“It’s so exciting. We have one good year and people are doing that,” McDavid told Postmedia News in a one-on-one interview earlier in the day.
“Ultimately, we’ve only had one good year and each season is a new challenge … The media and the fans are going to put expectations on us, but I think we put those same pressures on ourselves.”
It’s not just the Oilers who have raised expectations. With the exception of the Vancouver Canucks, every Canadian team is on a path to something brighter. It all starts with their talent. Some of the best players and coaches in the NHL are based in Canada, and a number of players on Canadian teams picked up hardware on Wednesday.
Toronto’s Auston Matthews won the Calder Trophy, beating out Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine as the league’s top rookie. The Calgary Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau won the Lady Byng Trophy and Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators took home the Masterton Trophy.
And while they did not win, Ottawa defenceman Erik Karlsson finished second in Norris Trophy voting, while Toronto’s Mike Babcock and Edmonton’s Todd McLellan were second and third, respectively, for the Jack Adams Award.
It was quite the turnaround from a year ago, when McDavid missed half the year with an injury, the Leafs finished last overall and no Canadian teams made the playoffs.
“Every Canadian team is a good team. Every team in Canada as of right now could be a playoff team,” said Karlsson, who led defencemen in playoff scoring with 18 points in 19 games.