TAMPA, FL – Toronto Maple Leafs striker Austin Matthews received the Hart Trophy as NHL’s Most Valuable Player and the Ted Lindsay Award as NHLPA’s Most Outstanding Player at the NHL Awards on Tuesday night.
The 24-year-old Matthews scored 60 goals, leading the NHL for the second consecutive season. He set a record for the Maple Leafs franchise and a one-season record for the most goals scored by an American-born player. He leads the NHL in equal goals (44), goals per game (0.82) and shots (348). He was sixth on points with 106 – the highest amount in his career.
Matthews won 119 votes for first place for the Hart Trophy, which is voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid was second in the vote, and New York Rangers goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin was third.
Matthews was the first Maple Leafs player to win the NHLPA Most Outstanding Player Award, which was first awarded in 1971. McDavid and Nashville Predators defender Roman Josie were the runners-up for Ted Lindsay. Matthews is the second American-born player to win the award, along with Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane in 2015-16.
“Being respected by the players you fight every night,” he said, “it just means a lot to me.”
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The next vote of the evening was for the Norris trophy, given to the best NHL defender in the PHWA. Colorado Avalanche defender Cale McCarthy won his first Norris with 1,631 points in the vote, with 92 votes in first place. Josie was second (1606) with more votes for first place than Makar (98). The distribution of points in the ballot, which ranks the top five choices, is 10-7-5-3-1. Although it is listed in 195 ballots, while Yossi is listed in 194.
Tampa Bay Lightning defender Victor Hedman was third for Norris.
“We have some important things to do [Wednesday]”Makar said during the show, quickly turning his attention to the Stanley Cup final.” But for the boys, it applies to them. “
Shesterkin won the Vezina trophy as the best goalkeeper in the league, which was voted by the NHL general managers. The other finalists were second-placed Jacob Markström of the Calgary Flames and Juse Saros of the Nashville Predators.
“It is a great honor for me to be here,” Shesterkin said at the ceremony. “It’s good to play for the New York Rangers, it’s an amazing feeling.
Shesterkin led the NHL with 2.07 goals against the average and a 0.935 percent save in 53 games, leading the Rangers to 110 points from the regular season, the third highest overall in the franchise’s history. He was first nominated for Vezina and joined Henrik Lundqvist and John Vanbisbrook as Rangers, who won Vezina since the current award criteria were set in 1981-82.
Some expected it to be a unanimous choice, but Caroline’s Frederick Andersen, Tampa Bay goalkeeper Andrei Vassilevsky and New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin also had first place votes.
Detroit Red Wings defender Moritz Seider has won the Calder Memorial Rookie of the Year trophy, according to a PHWA vote. He played all 82 games for the Red Wings and averaged 23:02 ice time per game, which is at the top among the rookies. He led all rookies in the defense by points (50), which is the third highest level for a blue liner from the first year in the last 30 years. He led all rookies in assists (43) and points in power play (21).
“It’s a great honor, I’m not prepared for a speech, so I’ll just go with the flow here,” he said. “It’s a great organization with Detroit, it’s a lot of fun to be Red Wing.
Seider garnered 170 votes in first place. Trevor Zegras, the Anaheim Ducks striker who has scored several goals this season, was second with 15 votes in first place. Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Michael Bunting, 26, was third in the poll.
Julien BreezeBois of Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Drury of the New York Rangers and Joe Sakic of Colorado Avelanche are the three finalists for the 2021-22 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year award. The winner will be announced in the NHL draft next month in Montreal.
The NHL Awards took place at Armature Works in Tampa on the weekend between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The league has previously announced several awards during the playoffs: Marc Messier NHL Leadership Award: Ange Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings; Jack Adams Award: Daryl Suther, Calgary Flames; Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Carrie Price, Montreal Canadiens; Willie O’Ree Hero Award: Noel Acton of Baltimore, Dr. Frank J. Selke Trophy for best striker in defense: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Lady Bing Memorial Trophy for Most Gentleman: Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets; King Clancy Memorial Trophy for Community Service: PK Subban, New Jersey Devils.
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