LAS VEGAS (AP) — Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was the big winner at Thursday’s NHL awards show, taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player. league, as decided by the NHL Players Association.
Three other major awards were presented on Thursday.
Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was chosen as the league’s best rookie, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender, and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks was named winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenseman.
MacKinnon had a career-high 140 points this season, winning both awards for the first time. He opened the season with a 35-game home streak, second only to Wayne Gretzky.
MacKinnon finished the season with 54 goals and 89 assists.
He beat Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers for Hart and Kucherov and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs for Lindsay.
Bedard, one of the most highly anticipated prospects in recent years, was the overall pick in last year’s draft by the Blackhawks and led all rookies with 61 points. He was also first with 22 goals and 39 assists tying for the lead.
Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild and Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils were the other candidates.
Hellebuyck, who also won the Vezina in 2020, allowed 2.39 goals per game, had a .921 save percentage and recorded five shutouts. Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers and Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks were the other finalists.
Hughes, who won the Norris Trophy for the first time, led all defensemen with 92 points and 75 assists. He also scored 17 goals. Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Cale Makar of the Avalanche were the other contenders.
Previously announced awards include:
— Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive lineman for the second time in four years.
– Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. He also won in 2021.
– Rick Tocchet received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL Coach of the Year. He led the Vancouver Canucks to the Pacific Division title.
– Jim Nill, GM of the Dallas Stars, was named the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award winner.
