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NHL Awards

Nominees Announced For Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2018.

Past winners of the award include Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).

Below are the nominees from each team (will be updated as the final nominees are announced):

Anaheim Ducks –

Arizona Coyotes – Jakob Chychrun

Boston Bruins – David Backes

Buffalo Sabres – Kyle Okposo

Calgary Flames – Matt Stajan

Carolina Hurricnes – Jordan Staal

Chicago Blackhawks – Jeff Glass

Colorado Avalanche – Carl Soderberg

Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski

Dallas Stars – Mattias Janmark

Detroit Red Wings –

Edmonton Oilers – Adam Larsson

Florida Panthers – Roberto Luongo

Los Angeles Kings – Dustin Brown

Minnesota Wild – Matt Cullen

Montreal Canadiens – Antti Niemi

Nashville Predators – Austin Watson

New Jersey Devils – Brian Boyle

New York Islanders – Josh Bailey

New York Rangers – Chris Kreider

Ottawa Senators – Mark Borowiecki

Philadelphia Flyers – Claude Giroux

Pittsburgh Penguins – Kris Letang

San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton

St. Louis Blues – Carter Hutton

Tampa Bay Lightning – Steven Stamkos

Toronto Maple Leafs – Roman Polak

Vancouver Canucks – Derek Dorsett

Vegas Golden Knights – Brad Hunt

Washington Capitals – Devante Smith-Pelly

Winnipeg Jets – Tyler Myers

NHL Awards Recap

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The NHL Awards were held Wednesday night and even though they were quite overshadowed by the simultaneous expansion draft selections, some interesting choices were made for the trophies. Below are the award winners, finalists and final voting totals:

Ted Lindsay Award — Most Outstanding Player (as voted by his peers)

Winner: Connor McDavid
Runners-up: Brent Burns, Sidney Crosby

Selke Award — Best Defensive Forward

Winner: Patrice Bergeron
Runners-up: Ryan Kesler, Mikko Koivu
Voting

Norris Trophy — Best Defenseman

Winner: Brent Burns
Runners-up: Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman
Voting

Calder Trophy — Rookie Of The Year

Winner: Auston Matthews
Runners-up: Patrik Laine, Zach Werenski
Voting

General Manager Of The Year

Winner: David Poile
Runners-up: Peter Chiarelli, Pierre Dorion
Voting

Jack Adams Award — Coach Of The Year

Winner: John Tortorella
Runners-Up: Mike Babcock, Todd McClellan
Voting

Bill Masterton Award — Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication

Winner: Craig Anderson
Runners-up: Andrew Cogliano, Derek Ryan

Lady Byng Trophy — Most Gentlemanly

Winner: Johnny Gaudreau
Runners-up: Vladimir Tarasenko, Mikael Granlund
Voting

Vezina Trophy — Goaltender Of The Year

Winner: Sergei Bobrovsky
Runners-up: Braden Holtby, Carey Price
Voting

Hart Trophy — Most Valuable Player

Winner: Connor McDavid
Runners-up: Sidney Crosby, Sergei Bobrovsky
Voting

Official Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Roster

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Rumors no more, the selections for the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft are finally being released at the NHL Awards. Because they are releasing them in reverse order of the 2016-17 standings (and throughout the entire show), keep it right here for the updates.  If you want to see who is expected to be the selection of your team, check out what leaked earlier today.

Here are the players selected by the Vegas Golden Knights by position:

Forwards:

Teemu Pulkkinen (ARZ)
William Carrier (BUF)
Cody Eakin (DAL)
Tomas Nosek (DET)
Jon Marchessault (FLA)
Connor Brickley (CAR)
Chris Thorburn (WPG)
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI)
James Neal (NSH)
Brendan Leipsic (TOR)
David Perron (STL)
Oscar Lindberg (NYR)
Erik Haula (MIN) — Signs three-year deal. $2.75MM AAV.
William Karlsson (CBJ)

Defensemen:

Luca Sbisa (VAN)
Jon Merrill (NJD)
Brayden McNabb (LAK)
Jason Garrison (TBL)
Deryk Engelland (CGY) — Signs a one-year, $1MM deal. Has up to $1MM performance bonuses.
Colin Miller (BOS)
Marc Methot (OTT)
David Schlemko (SJ)
Griffin Reinhart (EDM)
Alexei Emelin (MTL)
Clayton Stoner (ANA)
Trevor van Riemsdyk (CHI)
Nate Schmidt (WSH)

Goaltenders:

Calvin Pickard (COL)
Jean-Francois Berube (NYI)
Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)

NHL Awards Preview

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Caught up in the excitement of the Expansion Draft, it’s easy to forget that there is also an awards show tonight. Yes, the best trophy in all of sports, the Stanley Cup, has already been presented to the Pittsburgh Penguins, as has the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP to their captain, Sidney Crosby. Crosby also already locked up the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the most regular season goals. Edmonton Oilers wunderkind Connor McDavid captured the Art Ross Trophy for the most regular season points as well. Braden Holtby locked up the William M. Jennings Trophy already too, as the Washington Capitals allowed the least amount of goals against in the regular season. Yet, all three of these players and many more still have a lot on the line tonight. Here are the nominees for tonight’s NHL Awards:

Hart Trophy – Most Valuable Player

Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

  • Star goalie helped to lead the Blue Jackets to their best record in franchise history, all while topping the league in save percentage (.931) and goals against average (2.06)

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

  • The NHL’s leading goal-scorer and back-to-back winner of the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

  • 20-year-old phenom led the league in points and assists and took his team from the draft lottery to the second round of the playoffs

Norris Trophy – Best Defenseman

Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

  • Not only led all defenseman in scoring with 76 points, but finished ninth overall among some of the league’s most dynamic forwards. Can check with the best of them as well.

Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

  • A down year for the Bolts was a career year for Hedman, who finished just four points behind Burns with 72, and led all blue liners with 56 assists

Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

  • If this award had been voted on after the playoffs, it might have been a different result. The NHL’s best puck-mover may still pull it off behind a 71-point campaign and an improved defensive game

Read more

Rumored Vegas Golden Knights Expansion Selections

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The Vegas Golden Knights will reveal their expansion selections at tonight’s NHL Awards show, but details have started to come in on who each team will lose. There are many rumors floating around, but these are the most reputable. As with anything, nothing is final until the actual selections are announced tonight. This page will be updated with new information as it comes in.

Here are the latest rumored selections along with their source:

Anaheim Ducks: Clayton Stoner — Bob McKenzie of TSN

Arizona Coyotes: 

Boston Bruins: Colin Miller — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Buffalo Sabres: William Carrier — Frank Seravalli of TSN

Calgary Flames: Deryk Engelland — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Carolina Hurricanes:

Chicago Blackhawks: Trevor van Riemsdyk — Frank Seravalli of TSN

Colorado Avalanche:

Columbus Blue Jackets: William Karlsson — Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch

Dallas Stars: Cody Eakin — Jim Toth of TSN

Detroit Red Wings: Tomas Nosek — Craig Custance of The Athletic.

Edmonton Oilers: Griffin Reinhart — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Florida Panthers: Jon Marchessault — Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet

Los Angeles Kings: Brayden McNabb — John Shannon of Sportsnet

Minnesota Wild: Erik Haula — Michael Russo of the Star Tribune

Montreal Canadiens: Alexei Emelin — Eric Engels of Sportsnet

Nashville Predators: James Neal — Bob McKenzie of TSN

New Jersey Devils: Jon Merrill — Frank Seravalli of TSN

New York Islanders: Jean-Francois Berube — Bob McKenzie of TSN

New York Rangers: Oscar Lindberg — Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Frank Seravalli of TSN.

Ottawa Senators: Marc Methot — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

Philadelphia Flyers: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Craig Custance of The Athletic

Pittsburgh Penguins: Marc-Andre Fleury – Bob McKenzie of TSN

San Jose Sharks: David Schlemko — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

St. Louis Blues: David Perron — James Mirtle of The Athletic

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Toronto Maple Leafs: Brendan Leipsic — Darren Dreger of TSN

Vancouver Canucks:

Washington Capitals: Nate Schmidt — Pierre LeBrun of TSN

Winnipeg Jets:

Expected Trades With Vegas Golden Knights

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The Vegas Golden Knights assuredly have more deals worked out than we know so far, but Bob McKenzie of TSN gave us a long breakdown of the ones that are expected to happen. With some added details from others like Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch and Arthur Staple of Newsday, here are the deals that the hockey world is pretty sure have been agreed upon. To be clear, none of these trades are final until they are announced at tonight’s NHL Awards ceremony:

Minnesota Wild

Vegas signs Erik Haula to multi-year contract, forfeiting expansion selection. Sends conditional draft pick.

Minnesota sends Alex Tuch.

Anaheim Ducks

Vegas selects Clayton Stoner.

Anaheim sends Shea Theodore.

Chicago Blackhawks

Vegas selects Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Chicago sends Marcus Kruger.

This deal in particular should be subject to skepticism, as today’s news surrounding Marian Hossa complicates things. Scott Powers of The Athletic has been told that Kruger will remain with the Blackhawks through tonight, though it’s unclear what that would mean for van Riemsdyk who is still eligible to be drafted.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Vegas will not select Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo or Jack Johnson.

Columbus sends 2017 first-round pick, a prospect, and David Clarkson.

New York Islanders

Vegas will not select certain players left exposed (unclear who exactly has been included).

New York sends 2017 first-round pick, and  Mikhail Grabovski.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Vegas selects Marc-Andre Fleury.

Pittsburgh sends unknown draft pick.

There are also deals in place with other teams including Florida and Tampa Bay, but reports have been inconsistent on the details thus far. McKenzie’s thread gives some insight into what they could be, but at this point it is still speculation. Again, each of these should be considered still only expected as details are fuzzy on each of them. We’ll update this page with any other deals that are leaked in the next few hours.

Tortorella, Blue Jackets Discuss Extension

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Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella has spoken with Columbus management about an extension. The Blue Jackets’ 108 point season in 2016-17 shocked nearly everyone, setting the franchise record for most points in a season. They also had the second longest winning streak in NHL history, at 14-0-0, before settling back into a more pedestrian clip. They were felled by the eventual champions from Pittsburgh in an incredibly disadvantageous divisional matchup in the first round. Still, Tortorella turned the team around to see 16 more wins overall while guiding the growth of many standouts, such as rookie Zach Werenski and sudden goal-scoring force Cam Atkinson.

Tortorella coached the 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning to a Game 7 victory over the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup Final to earn his only championship behind the bench. He coached for 4 seasons with the New York Rangers and 1 disappointing season in Vancouver before landing in Columbus. Tortorella is league-renowned for his abrasive demeanor in press conferences and preaching a hard-nosed style of play. There is a solid chance Tortorella takes home the Jack Adams at the NHL Awards – he is nominated alongside Toronto’s Mike Babcock and Edmonton’s Todd McLellan.

If Tortorella were extended, it is unclear for how many years the contract would be. His current deal expires at the end of the 2017-18 season, and he is still being compensated by the Canucks after his termination there. Portzline suggests that a contract could be in excess of $2 MM.

Vegas Holding Steady On Trade Front

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According to Vegas GM George McPhee, the team has not yet made any transactions. NHL.com’s Dan Marrazza explains McPhee is reluctant to finalize any movement until the overall situation becomes clearer. Lost in all the frantic floundering leading up to the roster freeze yesterday and the release of protection lists this morning, Vegas still needs to ice a cohesive team. Although they certainly have a vision of what the team should look like, and have isolated certain players on their radar, the ultimate decisions are still far away. McPhee openly stated that he is willing to negotiate with other teams in order to keep their rosters intact. But as we have learned from potential side deals, the prices could be quite high.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp wrote that the Knights will “wait until late” to make their final selections in the case of a last-minute negotiation with another team. McPhee directly stated that they “don’t have anything” but that “they have lots of things lined up”. This somewhat contradicts the previously reported arrangement with Columbus to take a 1st round pick in exchange for not selecting Josh Anderson or Joonas Korpisalo. His purposely vague statements add fuel to the fire that has become league-wide speculation. With the NHL officially leaving all trade announcements under wraps until the official unveiling of the roster, all eyes will be on McPhee and his team. Insiders will undoubtedly try to force leaks of information, and will probably have success in doing so. Ultimately, however, it seems likely that McPhee has already essentially “closed” deals with other teams, but is being coy for the sake of spectacle.

The uncertainty that will come with not submitting a list until the final hour has to be frustrating to GMs around the league. It is understandable from Vegas’ perspective – they are attempting to put the best roster and deals together to give the franchise a solid starting point. But the drawn out process can only serve as a detriment to the other 30 franchises who will want to know with absolute certitude what their rosters are. McPhee seems to be using every available ounce of leverage to squeeze assets out of desperate organizations, and his refusal to openly confirm any trade agreements only helps his bargaining position.

Vegas’ official roster will be unveiled Wednesday June 21st, at the NHL Awards Ceremony.

Trades With Vegas Will Not Be Announced Until June 21st

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The news that none of us wanted to hear was confirmed today, as Pierre LeBrun of TSN relays a communication from the league to teams today. They were each instructed not to reveal any trades made with the Vegas Golden Knights before the June 21st event, in which the expansion rosters will be announced alongside the NHL Awards ceremony. This is likely why we haven’t heard much from the expansion franchise despite GM George McPhee claiming that he wanted to start ironing out deals last week. It seems at least a handful of teams will have trades to announce, making the Awards show must-see television for any hockey fan next week.

It’s interesting that the league would have to go out of their way to make sure no leaks happen, as it’s hard to imagine any gain from a team revealing it’s expansion draft plans. As it stands, teams like Anaheim can still use the leverage of a possible deal in any trade talks with other teams. It will be interesting to see just how many deals are revealed during the draft, as already Chicago, Anaheim and Columbus have been seriously linked.

For all the talk about how weak the expansion class is for the Golden Knights to choose from, it does seem like they’ve done a good job so far extracting every bit of leverage out of the situation to acquire assets that may have not been available. If they can secure good young players or picks in return for avoiding a certain selection, it will only strengthen their program down the line. Because they’re not realistically expected to compete for a few years, even a young player like Josh Manson who is three years away from free agency may be less valuable to them than the asset they’ll acquire not to take him.

NHL Announces Finalists For GM Of The Year

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The NHL continues to unveil award finalists ahead of this June’s NHL Awards in Vegas. Today: the General Manager of the Year.

Edmonton’s Peter Chiarelli, Nashville’s David Poile, and Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion are the three finalists. All three men lead their team’s to great seasons, and solid playoff runs, with Nashville and Ottawa currently in their respective Conference Finals.

Chiarelli made a blockbuster trade last June, trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. He also signed Kris Russell and Matt Benning to finally stabilize the Oilers’ defense. Previous Chiarelli acquisition Cam Talbot started 73 games and was likely the best Oiler not named Connor McDavid. The Oilers improved to 103 points, and finished second in the Pacific Division. However, not all of Chiarelli’s decisions worked out: backup Jonas Gustavsson allowed 17 goals in seven appearances before hitting the waiver wire, and trade deadline acquisition David Desharnais scored just three goals and eight points in 31 games between the stretch drive and playoffs.

Poile has been involved in some major trades over the last few seasons, and perhaps none were bigger than the P.K. Subban for Shea Weber blockbuster last June. Our Seth Lawrence recently took a look at the win-win trades that Poile has made while building his Conference finalist. Besides Subban-for-Weber, Poile also traded Seth Jones for number one center Ryan Johansen and acquired sniper James Neal for Patric Hornqvist. Poile is the only GM in Predator’s history; he took the helm of the team in 1998. He has been nominated four times for the GM of the Year Award.

While Poile has been GM for 19 years, Dorion has only been at the helm of the Senators for 13 months. His biggest move was the Mika Zibanejad-for-Derick Brassard trade last summer. He’s also brought in Mike Condon, Alexandre Burrows, Viktor Stalberg, and Tommy Wingels as his team posted 98 points and their first Conference Finals berth since 2007.

Pittsburgh’s Jim Rutherford is the current holder of the award.

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