Leafs’ Matthews wins NHL MVP
Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews won the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the NHL at the league awards Tuesday night in Tampa, Florida.
Matthews led the NHL with 60 goals, the most ever in a season by a Maple Leafs player and most by a United States-born player in a season. The center was the first to score that many since Steven Stamkos scored 60 for the Lightning in 2011-12.
Matthews tied Stamkos for sixth in the NHL with 106 points (46 assists) in 73 games, was first with 348 shots on goal and was fifth in game-winning goals (10). He scored 16 power-play goals, which was tied for third, and was plus-20 while averaging 20:37 of ice time per game. Matthews has scored at least 34 goals in each of his six seasons, leading the league in each of the last two (41 goals in 52 games last season).
Oilers center Connor Mcdavid was second and Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was third.
Matthews is the second U.s-born player to win the Hart; Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane won it in 2015-16.
In other awards announced before this edition went to print, Cale Maker of the Avalanche won the Norris Trophy for top defenseman and defenseman Moritz Seider of the Red Wings won the Calder Trophy for top rookie.
The Stars named Peter Deboer their new coach, a month after he was fired by the Golden Knights. The 54-year-old Deboer, who previously led the Devils and Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season with both of those clubs, was let go by the Knights after 2 seasons . ... The Oilers gave coach Jay Woodcroft a three-year contract extension for taking over the team in February and leading them to the Western Conference final as interim coach. He took over Feb. 10 after Dave Tippett was fired following a 7-13-3 run that had the Oilers sitting fifth in the Pacific Division. The Oilers underwent a total turnaround under the 45-year-old Toronto native, going 26-9-3 for the final 38 games of the regular season to finish second in the division.
Basketball: Rockets G John Wall exercised his $47.4 million player option for the 202223 season, ESPN reported. The Rockets will continue to seek trade scenarios in the coming weeks, but are expected to work with Wall on a contract buyout if a swap can’t be found. Wall, 31, was acquired in a trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Wizards prior to the 2020-21 season. Wall started 40 games for the Rockets in 2020-21 and averaged 20.6 points and 6.9 assists. The Rockets and Wall agreed to shut him down late in the season, trying to protect his body and trade value . ... Former Purdue star Caleb Swanigan died at 25. The Allen County Coroner’s office confirmed that Swanigan died Monday of natural causes at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. A private doctor will be handling his death certificate, according to Rebecca Maze, a senior investigator at the coroner’s office. The 6-foot-9 center was from Fort Wayne and attended Homestead High School before playing for the Boilermakers from 2015-2017. He averaged more than 14 points and 10 rebounds for Purdue. Swanigan was named Big Ten player of the year and a consensus AP firstteam All-american in 2017. He was a firstround draft pick in 2017 by the Trail Blazers, and also played for the Kings. Swanigan last played in the NBA in 2020.