Oilers’ McDavid MVP at age 20
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid won his first Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player last night at the annual postseason awards show in Las Vegas, the home of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
McDavid’s victory capped a breakthrough sophomore season for the 20-year-old center, who won the league scoring title and led the Oilers back to the Stanley Cup playoffs after an 11year absence. The former No. 1 pick beat out fellow finalists Sergei Bobrovsky of Columbus, the Vezina Trophy winner as the top goalie for a second time, and Pittsburgh star center Sidney Crosby.
“I’m so proud to be in Edmonton,” McDavid said. “I’m so proud to be an Oiler, and so proud to play with the guys.”
San Jose’s Brent Burns won his first Norris Trophy as the top defenseman.
Toronto center Auston Matthews easily took the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. Matthews is the Maple Leafs’ first Calder winner since Brit Selby in 1966.
Nashville’s David Poile was named the NHL’s top executive and Columbus’ John Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s top coach.
Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson won the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Anderson left the Senators during the season to support his wife, Nicholle, in her fight against throat cancer, but returned to become Ottawa’s career victories leader.
Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanlike play.
Vegas picks players
The Vegas Golden Knights finally have some players to put on the desert ice this fall.
Stanley Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh), defensemen Colin Miller (Bruins), Marc Methot (Ottawa) and Alexei Emelin (Montreal), 30-goal scorer Jonathan Marchessault (Florida) and fellow forwards David Perron (St. Louis) and James Neal (Nashville) were among the veterans selected by the Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft.
Fleury took the stage in a Golden Knights jersey to wild cheers from his new home fans during the awards show and expansion draft presentation. The three-time Cup winner lost his starting job with the back-to-back champion Penguins to Matt Murray, but he’ll get to start over in the desert with two years on his contract.
In addition to the expansion picks, the Golden Knights also announced additional acquisitions of a handful of veterans and free agents, including Anaheim defenseman Shea Theodore and Florida forward Reilly Smith.
“I believe we’ve put together a great team from the net out,” Vegas owner Bill Foley said. “I believe fans are really going to like the team, and the trades and the draft picks and the prospects that we have.”
Hossa out for ’17-18
A severe reaction to medication for a skin disorder has put Chicago winger Marian Hossa’s career in doubt. The 38-year-old veteran of three Stanley Cup winners in the past seven seasons stunned the NHL by announcing he won’t play next season because of severe side effect from medication to treat a progressive disorder he has been dealing with for years.
Hossa has four years left at a salary-cap hit of $5.275 million, though if placed on long-term injured reserve, the cap-strapped Blackhawks would face less of a roster crunch.