NHL Awards

NOTE: SPOILERS LIE AHEAD. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE AWARDS YET AND/OR DON'T KNOW WHO WINS, STOP READING NOW!

I always love watching the Awards; seeing the guys get recognized for their hard work, get all dressed up in suits & ties, walk the red carpet. The whole atmosphere is just amazing.

Calder Trophy: Steve Mason. No shock there... ten shutouts in his rookie season is simply amazing. I really liked Bobby Ryan, and Kris Versteeg had a good year too. But hands down, Mason deserved it.

Lester B. Pearson Trophy: Alex Ovechkin. Mmk. But in my eyes.... Malkin > Ovechkin any day.

Masterton Trophy: Steve Sullivan. I can deal with this. He missed 142 games with a back injury, then made an amazing comeback! I was originally pulling for Zednik (obviously, the incident happened in Buffalo, and I feel a strong connection to him. But then again, he's left the NHL to pursue his Russian interests... so.... no.) Anyone but Chelios. Yes, he's 42 and I give him credit for playing so long... but just... no.

Lady Byng & Selke Trophies: Pavel Datsyuk. That's four Lady Byngs in a row for Datsyuk... which makes it pretty obvious that he MUST be a gentleman. I appreciate and respect that in a player. It's easy to get dirty, but Datsyuk doesn't. The Selke... okay. I can't bring myself to dislike Datsyuk.

King Clancy Trophy: Ethan Moreau. After reading up about all the stuff this guy has done in the community.... definitely well deserved.

Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas. Uh.... I wanted Steve Mason :(

Jack Adams Award: Claude Julien. I wanted McLellan... but then again, almost none of these awards went how I wanted them to.

Norris Trophy: Zdeno Chara. Didn't expect. I really thought (and hoped) that Green was going to get it.

Hart Trophy: Alex Ovechkin. I WANTED MALKIN. DAMN IT.

(But guess what? It's okay, because GENO got the Cup. So while Ovie goes home and cuddles with his mini Hart and Lester Pearson trophies.. Geno can snuggle with the Holy Grail.)

::: Note: I don't hate Ovechkin. I actually sometimes adore him. But Malkin is much higher on the list:::

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So that's that for another year. Hopefully next year some Sabres will be nominated so I can see them in suits and *swooon* over them. Nice to see Pat Kane (hometowner) presenting the Calder, and Pat Lafontaine (I sat on his lap when I was five!) presenting the Masterton.

Oh... and in other news. Blackhawks GM Rick Dudley has suddenly resigned "to pursue other options." I'm thinking maybe he got offered a coaching job somewhere?

Dan Bylsma received a call from PRESIDENT OBAMA to congratulate the Pens on winning the Cup.

And (based on this week's Sabres Lunch Express), Tim Kennedy is pretty awesome. He played with Justin Abdelkader at Michigan and dressed up like Scooby Doo, he's a hometown boy, and he went on vacation with Chris Butler. Sweettttt.

ps. The All-Star and All-Rookie teams were just announced. Geno (and Mike Green) FTW. Nice to see Steve Mason there too. And I'm pretty much in love with the All-Rookie team. Mason, Schenn, Patrik Berglund (my newest love), Bobby Ryan, Kris Versteeg, and Drew Doughty. Full of awesomeness.