TAMPA, Fla. – Toronto Maple Leafs star striker Auston Matthews picked up the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA’s Most Outstanding Player in the NHL Awards Tuesday night.
Matthews, 24, scored 60 goals, leading the NHL for the second straight season. He set a Maple Leafs franchise record and a single-season record for most goals for a U.S.-born player. He led the NHL in tied goals (44), goals per game (0.82) and shots (348). He was tied for sixth in points with 106, the highest total of his career.
“I think it’s a great honor to wear blue and white, to represent the city of Toronto and to wear the Maple Leaf every night,” he said. “Every time your name has been engraved in history, with an organization like this, it’s something I don’t take for granted.”
Matthews received 119 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers was second on the ballot, and New York Rangers goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin was third.
Matthews is the first Maple Leafs player to win the NHLPA Player of the Year Award, which was first voted for by the players and was first awarded in 1971. He is the second American player to win it, joining to Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane (2015-16). McDavid and Nashville Predators defender Roman Josi were runners-up to Ted Lindsay.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it feels really good,” Matthews said. “It’s special to have my family here with me. There are a lot of great players in this room.”
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The closest vote of the night was for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the best NHL defense by the PHWA. Colorado Avalanche defender Cale Makar won his first Norris with 1,631 points in the vote, with 92 first-place votes. Josi was second (1,606) with more first place votes than Makar (98). The allocation of points on the ballot, which ranks the top five options, is 10-7-5-3-1. Makar was nominated for 195 ballots, while Josi was nominated for 194.
Tampa Bay Lightning defender Victor Hedman was third for the Norris.
Both Hedman and Makar will play the fourth game of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday night.
“It simply came to our notice then [the award]Makar said. “But for me right now, I’ve forgotten a bit. You have to move on. Obviously, these are strange circumstances [the awards] they will be presented before the end of the season. As a team, we’ve put ourselves in a great place right now. We just have to capitalize on that. “
Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalkeeper in the league, which is voted by NHL general managers. The other finalists were runner-up Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames and Juuse Saros of the Predators.
“It means a lot to me,” said Shesterkin, who completed his third season in the NHL. “I didn’t think about it when I got to the NHL. But sometimes you think I might have a chance. In the first preseason game against the Islanders, I didn’t play. A little kid. [fan] he showed me a picture of myself and said, “Future winner of the Vezina Trophy.” I think, “Why not?” We have a good team for that. “
Shesterkin led the NHL with an average of 2.07 goals and a .935 save percentage in 53 games, bringing the Rangers to 110 points in the regular season, the third-highest total in franchise history. . He was first nominated for Vezina and joined Henrik Lundqvist and John Vanbiesbrouck as Rangers who won the Vezina since the current criteria for the award were established in 1981-82.
Some hoped it might be a unanimous choice, but Frederik Andersen of Carolina, Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay, and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders also won first place.
Detroit Red Wings defender Moritz Seider won the Calder Memorial Trophy for Newcomer of the Year, as voted for by the PHWA. He played all 82 games with the Red Wings and averaged 23:02 in ice time per game, the best among the rookies. He led all rookie defenders in points (50), the third highest for a first-year blue-line player in the last 30 years. He led all debutants in assists (43) and power-play points (21).
Seider laughed a lot at the awards ceremony when he said that his parents did not attend because they had just returned from a holiday in Croatia.
“They scheduled their vacation and there were no more days to run away from home,” he said. “They definitely looked at it. Very proud to bring something [for them]. “
Seider garnered 170 first votes. Trevor Zegras, the Anaheim Ducks striker who set several outstanding goals this season, came in second with 15 first-place votes. Maple Leafs debutant Michael Bunting, who stood out at 26, was third in the vote.
Julien BriseBois of Lightning, Chris Drury of the Rangers and Joe Sakic of the Avalanche are the three finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year 2021-22 award. The winner will be announced in the NHL draft next month in Montreal.
The NHL Awards were held at Armature Works on the day off between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup final.
The league previously announced several awards during the playoffs: Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings; Jack Adams Award: Daryl Sutter, Flames; Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens; Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award: Noel Acton of Baltimore. Frank J. Selke Trophy for Best Defensive Forward: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for Knight Player: Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets; King Clancy Memorial Community Service Trophy: PK Subban, New Jersey Devils.