It was a big night for Washington Capitals superstar, Alexander Ovechkin, who walked away with the Hart, Lester B. Pearson (second straight year) and Maurice “Rocket” Richard (again, second straight year) trophies.  This comes after he revealed that he has been having a great time in Las Vegas where he had won $500 at the blackjack tables. 
Of course, he also had a fantastic season, finishing with 56 goals which is 10 better than any other player in the league.   Ever humble, Ovechkin said: "I’m proud of my country. It’s always nice to be No. 1."
While he was accepting …read more

Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin was presented with the 2009 Art Ross Trophy as the regular-season scoring leader.  The young Russian player was clearly nervous as he shared a stage with Alexander Ovechkin (who was accepting the Rocket Richard award) but his English is improving. 
I seriously cannot imagine getting up in a room full of people on a televised event and having to give an acceptance speech in a language that I barely know.  Just think of the Oscars – most of the winners only speak English and they struggle.
To make light of the situation, Ovechkin joked Malkin …read more

Mark Messier, himself, presented the Mark Messier Leadership Award to Calgary Flames captain, Jarome Iginla. Amazingly, Messier was able to refrain from bursting into tears.  I know it’s off-topic but can you imagine what it’s like to present a current player with an award named after you?  It’s crazy!  Of course, Messier gets to decide (all alone) who gets the prize so at least he can’t complain about the recipient.
During Iginla’s acceptance speech, in addition to all the traditional thank yous, he mentioned that it was great to get the award "from someone I’ve looked up to since I …read more

Kevin Connolly of HBO’s Entourage helped present the award for this year’s James Norris Memorial Trophy.  It was presented to Boston Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, who took his time and really enjoyed accepting the award.

After talking a bit about what winning means to him, he explained that he was cut from every team he played on as a kid and said he “shouldn’t have made it past juniors.” 
He wanted to send a message to all of the kids at home who were watching the awards since many of them have probably been turned away by coaches that didn’t …read more

Film producer Jerry Bruckheimer helped present the Jack Adams Award which recognizes the league’s best coaches.  Even though I thought Andy Murray deserved to win for all his hard work with the St. Louis Blues, the prize was given to Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins. 
He was pretty long-winded in his acceptance speech which was delivered in both English and French.  It’s nice that he was recognized, though, because the Bruins had an incredible season.

image: NHL.com

Boston Bruins goaltender, Tim Thomas, was very emotional as he accepted the 2009 Vezina Trophy.  He was talking about how amazing it is to be named along with the legends since he’s spent so much time just getting on the roster. 

He mentioned his family and his voice was cracking by the time he talked about how his wife travelled with him around the world and never complained. 
The heartfelt moment was a far cry from how he was acting when he and Manny Fernandez accepted the Jenning’s Trophy. 
image: NHL.com

Jeremy Roehnick really struggled while he was presenting the very first “Scotiabank Fan Fav” Award (yes, that’s spelled correctly) but finally it was named that Vancouver Canucks goaltender, Roberto Luongo, was named the recipient.  I couldn’t help but laugh when he was booed. 
To win the prize, Luongo beat out Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) and fellow goaltenders Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary) and Martin Brodeur.  Other nominees included Columbus netminder Steve Mason, Washington’s Mike Green, Carolina’s Eric Staal and San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov.

image: NHL.com

The Boston Bruins were honored with the 2009 Jennings Trophy, which is awarded to the team that allows the fewest goals.  Of course, they brought up goaltenders, Tim Thomas and his backup, Manny Fernandez.  Naturally, Thomas took priority at the microphone and went down a long list of people that he thanked.
Things got a little interesting when Thomas said “do you want me to thank your wife, Manny?”  Of course, Fernandez said “no, that’s fine.  I’ll jump in from here.”  The audience laughed at first but then it turned into whistles and catcalls.  Ahhh, the life of a backup goaltender…

image: …read more

After ten years with the Edmonton Oilers, captain Ethan Moreau was honored at tonight’s 2009 NHL Awards with the King Clancy Trophy for his on and off ice leadership skills. 
His humanitarian efforts in his community did not go unnoticed, of course, as he is very active with several charities in the Edmonton area. 
Moreau made sure to not only thank his teammates and his club’s organization but, also, made sure he showed his appreciation to his city and fans who have supported him for a decade.
image: NHL.com

Steve Sullivan was clearly moved when it was announced that he had won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy which is awarded tot he player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey."
I can imagine that there was a time when Sullivan thought he might not ever play hockey again, never mind win an award.  He was sidelined for almost two years as he recovered from a serious back injury and once he returned to the Nashville Predators lineup, he registered 11 goals and 32 points in 42 games.
He thanked his teammates for always believing in him …read more