DEVIL’S IN DETAILS WHEN PICKING NHL’S TOP PLAYER
The players have spoken.
Snubbed by the media in voting for the Hart Trophy, Connor McDavid earned the respect of his peers as the winner of the Ted Lindsay Award as “most outstanding player” Wednesday at the NHL awards.
It made sense. And yet it was also a bit of a surprise.
For the second straight year, McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring leader with 108 points. But his production was at times overshadowed by how poorly the Edmonton Oilers played, which was a large part in him not even being a finalist for the Hart Trophy.
“I’m actually shocked,” McDavid said of winning the Ted Lindsay Award. “I definitely didn’t think I would win it, just because everything was made about not being in the playoffs. I didn’t think there was much of a chance.”
New Jersey’s Taylor Hall edged Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon by 12 first-place votes for the Hart.
Hall finished sixth in scoring with 93 points — 15 fewer than McDavid — but his impact on the team was unmatched as the Devils went from last in the East in 2016-17 to an unlikely playoff berth.
“At the start of the season, people wrote us off. People have wrote me off,” said Hall. “It feels pretty good standing up here now and to have the MVP and to have had a successful season in Jersey.”
The Hart recognizes the most valuable player to his team, while the Ted Lindsay essentially goes to the player who had the best season.
In that regard, voters might have got both correct.
“I don’t want to bash on the media or anything like that. The Hart is obviously a very important trophy, but to have the players vote for (the Ted Lindsay) means so much,” said McDavid. “It’s so special to know that I have that respect and that they feel that way about me. It definitely means a lot.”
ON AN ISLE OF HIS OWN
In one of the largest landslides, New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal was the unanimous winner of the Calder Trophy as top rookie, picking up 160 of 164 first-place votes. But the results might have been closer had Vancouver’s Brock Boeser not suffered a season-ending back injury in the beginning of March.
“It was actually against us that the injury happened,” said Barzal, who led all rookies with 85 points. “It was super unfortunate. I was actually sick to my stomach looking at him there. I do think it would have been fun. There was so much buzz as to whether he was going to get 40 goals or where he was going to end up.”
HOW SWEDE IT IS
Victor Hedman joined seventime winner Nicklas Lidstrom and two-time winner Erik Karlsson as the only Swedes to have won the Norris Trophy.
“Being only the third Swede is pretty special,” said the Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman, who seemed unprepared for his moment in the spotlight.
“I was very nervous,” said Hedman. “I’m going to be honest, I was hoping (awards host and illusionist) Darcy Oake was going to come out and get rid of me.”
GOLDEN MANAGEMENT
Upon winning the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, William Karlsson did the gentlemanly thing by thanking his teammates.
Or, as he put it, “the other Golden Misfits.” That includes head coach Gerard Gallant, who won the Jack Adams Award, and George McPhee, who was the general manager of the year.
“Kudos to them for bringing this team together,” said Karlsson. “There are a lot of good hockey players on our team. Obviously, the management and the guys in the office did a great job of selecting all the guys and getting the group together.”
SELKE SUCCESS
Anze Kopitar finished third in the Hart Trophy voting. But winning his second Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward was more than just a consolation prize for the Los Angeles Kings centre.
“I have said this all along, I take pride in playing the complete game,” said Kopitar. “I’ve been pretty successful at it in the last years. To be here and standing here just shows it doesn’t go unrecognized now.”
SALARY CAP GOES UP
Signing John Tavares, John Carlson and Erik Karlsson just got easier.
Pending approval from the NHL Players’ Association, teams could have an extra US$5 million to spend this summer after commissioner Gary Bettman announced the salary cap for next season will be between $79.5 million and $80 million.
“Revenues were robust, the business is growing,” said Bettman, adding the number could have been higher. “A large part of our thinking is we want a number that keeps the escrow down.”