By Caitlyn Golem, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
OWEN SOUND, ON. — The 2015 NHL Awards took place in Las Vegas Wednesday evening. There were many exciting moments and history made.
Carey Price had a lot to say as he took the microphone four times during the night. He took the time to encourage aboriginal youth, and thanked many people. When he was standing next to his four trophies he said:
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m just truly grateful just to be here. I don’t really know what to say. It’s been an amazing experience. This whole season has been just amazing. There is still one more thing I want to get though” clearly referring to the Stanley Cup.
Price, 27 years of age, is the first goaltender ever to earn all four of those awards in one season. The Ted Lindsay Award that Price won is voted upon by the players and Price had this to say about his win :
“I’m very humbled. Especially the players, no offense to everybody else, but I’m very humbled by that because I compete against these guys. We go to war out there, and for them to vote for me is really special.”
During Erik Karlsson’s acceptance speech of his second Norris Trophy, he recognized fellow finalists, Drew Doughty and P.K. Subban saying :
“First off I would like to say to Drew and P.K., great players. We came in at the same time and I still look up to you everyday and I think you’re great.”
He also gave a shout out to his girlfriend :
“Thank you even though I make 20 turnovers a night, I can still come home and know she’ll treat me the same.”
Karlsson alongside Duncan Keith are now the two only active NHL players to have who the Norris multiple times.
Fellow finalist, P.K. Subban, played a big role in the ceremony for the second year in a row. P.K. had this to say :
“I’d much rather be winning a Stanley Cup every year or coming here to be a nominee of some award rather than coming here to host it every year or interviewing players who have won awards, but you know what? It’s a privilege to be a part of the show. And if you look at it the past two years, I’ve had the best of both. In a year I wasn’t a nominee, I got to participate in a way that didn’t really take attention from the award winners but was complementary to the show and to the fans. This year, I’m going to be able to do both, be a nominee for something and also help out in backstage situations.” He also joked when referring to his style saying, “that’s one category where I can’t help guys. That’s on them if my suit steals the show.”
P.K. Subban was the host of the Samsung NHL Social Lounge,where he interviewed players backstage and kept people up-to-date as to what was trending on social media. Subban also talked about his second Norris nomination:
EA Sports unveiled the cover of NHL ’16.
Three time Stanley Cup champions, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, will share the cover title. “I’m honored to not only share the Stanley Cup Championship with Patrick, but to share the EA SPORTS NHL 16 game cover with him too. Our team’s passion and dedication have made this all possible and I’m sure fans will be fired up about it,” said Toews. He was alone on stage after this was announced and when referring to Kane being absent he said, “Let’s be honest. Some guys can’t handle Vegas.”
List of winners:
- Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the “player judged most valuable to his team.”
- Carey Price took home the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender.
- Carey Price won the Ted Lindsay Award which is awarded the league’s most outstanding player.
- Price also shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with Corey Crawford (Chicago Blackhawks) as the goaltender(s) who had the least amount of goals against throughout the regular season.
- Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators) won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the “defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”
- Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers) took home the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.
- Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins) earned his third Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward.
- Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars) won the Art Ross Trophy as the player with the most scoring points at the end of the regular season.
- Jiri Hudler (Calgary Flames) took home the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the “player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
- Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) won his third straight and fifth overall Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the regular season’s leading scorer with 53 goals.
- Bob Hartley (Calgary Flames) won the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year after unexpectedly taking his team to the playoffs.
- Devan Dubnyk (Minnesota Wild) earned the Bill Masterton Trophy as the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”
- Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit Red Wings) took home the King Clancy Trophy as the player “who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.”
- Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks) won the NHL Player Foundation Award as the player “who applies the core values of hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community.”
- Jonathon Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) was given the Mark Messier Leadership Award, selected by Mark Messier, as the player who exemplifies superior leadership in their sport and their community.
- Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) earned the General Manager of the Year Award after taking his team to their best regular season ever.