Hall wins Hart, but McDavid gets his due
The players have spoken. Snubbed by the media in the voting for the Hart Trophy, Connor McDavid earned the respect of his peers as the winner of the Ted Lindsay Award as the “most outstanding player” at the NHL Awards on Wednesday night.
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 Trophy.
Hall actually finished sixth in scoring with 93 points — 15 fewer points than McDavid — but his impact on the team was unmatched as the Devils went from last in the East in 201617 to an unlikely playoff berth.
“It was a total team effort this year,” said Hall.
That’s the thing to remember with the two awards: their definitions are similar, but not different. 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.”
BOESER’S INJURY HELPED BARZAL
In one of the largest landslides, New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal was the unanimous winner of the Calder Trophy as the top rookie, picking up 160 of 164 first-place votes. But the results might have been closer had Vancouver’s Brock Boeser (29 goals and 55 points in 62 games) 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.
“In terms of the scoring race, if he was healthy I’m sure he was going to hit that 40-goal mark. Who knows at that point.”
HOW SWEDE IT IS
Victor Hedman joined seven-time 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 reserved 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 (NHL Awards host and illusionist) Darcy Oake was going to come out and get rid of me.”
GOLDEN MANAGEMENT
Upon winning the Lady Byng Memorial 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 took home the General Manager of the Year Award.
“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 $5 million US to spend this summer after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the salary cap for next season will be between $79.5 million- to $80 million.
“Revenues were robust, the business is growing,” said Bettman, adding that the cap number could have been even higher. “A large part of our thinking is we want a number that keeps the escrow down.”
SEATTLE IS STILL ON TRACK FOR 2020
There was no news at the Board of Governors’ meeting regarding Seattle’s expansion team application. But Bettman still believes that we could see the next franchise in the league by 2020.