The 2011 NHL season makes its final curtain call.
One thing I like about the NHL is that it gives out its annual season awards after the playoffs conclude. It's like a little extra tidbit... if the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the main course, then the awards show becomes a light dessert. Not necessary if you don't want it, but nice for those who do. I always wonder about playoff bleed-through, with playoff performances affecting the vote for what are regular season awards, but that never seems to be too much of an issue.
I won't speak on all awards; but I'll make mention on the few I had strong opinions on. Admittedly, I can't speak with complete authority on them all because I'm limited in what regular season hockey I get to watch. Most of what I see comes from the playoffs. So, without further ado...
The Hart Trophy - MVP - Corey Perry, ANA. A deserved award; he was phenomenal on the ice this season and carried the Ducks into the playoffs with 19 goals in the last 16 games of the season. Arguably an upset over Daniel Sedin of the Canucks, but I'd argue that Perry had to do more with less, whereas the Canucks are pretty loaded on multiple lines.
The Norris Trophy - Top Defenseman - Nicklas Lidstrom, DET. The 41 year-old Lidstrom didn't slow down this year. I thought it would be a tight race between him, Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara and it was, but not enough to stop Lidstrom from getting his seventh Norris. Only Bobby Orr has more, with eight. Lidstrom's coming back next year and has shown no signs of slowing down yet.
The Selke Trophy - Best defensive forward - Ryan Kesler, VAN. Two-way forwards are as important to a team as anything. Detroit fans know that from watching Pavel Datsyuk, who is no stranger to this trophy. But Kesler has been a revelation this year - the Sedin twins aside, I think Kesler is the most valuable player on the Canucks team. He simply has great puck instincts and knows where to be. I expect he'll only get better as he continues to play.
The Adams Trophy - Coach of the Year - Dan Bylsma, PIT. I can't say enough about this. By rule, I dislike the Penguins, because of my Red Wings fandom and the 2009 Cup loss to them. But even I have to concede that Bylsma ran away with this award this year. Without Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby, the Penguins still raced into a playoff spot and topped 100 points this year. Absolutely remarkable, given the injuries they sustained. That shows fantastic resolve and that comes from coaching. I tip my hat to you, Dan Bylsma. Well done.
The Vezina Trophy - Best goaltender - Tim Thomas, BOS. The Stanley Cup, the Vezina, and the Conn Smythe make for the best year a goalie can hope for. Thomas was, hands-down, the best goalie in the league this year. He was the difference for Boston in the playoffs and he got them there with stellar regular-season play. The 37 year-old took a long and arduous path to the top, but that only makes this success story all the more notable.
The Calder Trophy - Rookie of the year - Jeff Skinner, CAR. I'll be honest; I'm shocked it didn't go to Logan Couture, who absolutely carried the Sharks at times in the playoffs. He played like a veteran and was a constant thorn in the side of Mike Babcock when the Sharks knocked off the Red Wings. But again, that's why I say above - the playoffs can bleed into these awards sometimes, or so you'd think, but perhaps not here. Admittedly, I didn't get to see any Carolina games this year, but Skinner did post 63 points in his rookie campaign, with 31 goals and 32 assists. I like Couture's +18 to Skinner's +3, personally, but that's just me. Both men should be stalwart producers for their teams going forward. The race between them was one of the closest in the award's history, second only to the voting between Barret Jackman and Henrik Zetterberg in 2003.
The other trophy winners can be seen on NHL.com.
Quick baseball updates from last night.
The Twins saw their 8-game winning streak end in a 5-1 defeat to the Giants; the Tigers avoided being swept by the Dodgers in a 7-5 win. Cleveland also ended a 2-game skid, keeping pace with the Tigers, by beating Colorado, 4-3. The Padres took a series victory over the Red Sox in Fenway, 5-1, in a game plagued with rain delays that ultimately cost them the 9th inning. The Yankees got crushed by the Reds, 10-2. The White Sox also won last night, 4-3, giving them the series win this year against their cross-town rival Cubs.
Tomorrow.
The Daily Sports Update has plans to be out of town tomorrow and thus may not be able to update the blog. If not, look for an update Saturday. Without many games tonight in baseball (only 5), I don't think we'll miss too much. But with the All-Star Game coming up soon, look for a rant in the future about how ridiculous it is in sports these days, with All-Star and Pro Bowl voting usually starting before teams have even closed out the first complete month of the season.
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