The Hart Trophy (League MVP)

Today was the announcement of the nominees for the 2009-2010 Hart Trophy, which is the NHL MVP award. The nominees for 2009-2010

Alex Ovechkin - the 2 time defending league MVP. Led the Washington Capitals to the best regular season record and the President's Trophy.

Sidney Crosby - the 2007 winner of the Hart Trophy. Captain of the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. He shared the Rocket Richard trophy as the league leader in goals for 2009-2010.

Henrik Sedin - Vancouver Canucks - winner of the 2010 Art Ross trophy for leading the league in scoring, the first Canuck to win the award.

2009-2010 Vezina Trophy

The Vezina Trophy for Outstanding goaltender of the year has 2 first time nominees and a 4 time winner nominated this year.

The nominees:

Martin Broduer - New Jersey Devils - Broduer is a 4 time winner of the Vezina Trophy, winning in 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008. This is his 9th nomination. This year he led the league in wins (45), shutouts (9), games played (77) and minutes (4499).

Ilya Bryzgalov - Phoenix Coyotes - first nomination. 42 wins this year with 2.29 goals against average and led the Coyotes to the playoffs.

Ryan Miller - Buffalo Sabres - first nomination 2.22 goals against with 41 wins and led the Sabres to the playoffs before losing in the first round.

2009-2010 James Norris Trophy

This James Norris trophy is handed out to the leagues most outstanding defenseman. The 2008-2009 winner Zdeno Chara will not be defending this year.

The nominees for 2010:

Drew Doughty - Los Angeles Kings - first nomination, he was the youngest player on Canada's Gold medal winning hockey team at this year's Olympics in Vancouver. He had 16 goals and 59 points this year for the Kings and helped them to a playoff birth.
Mike Green - Washington Capitals - nominated last year Green helped the Capitals to the President's Trophy this year for the best regular season record. 19 goals and 76 points for the Capitals in 2009-2010.

Duncan Keith - Chicago Blackhawks - another first time nominee he helped the Blackhawks to the #2 spot in the Western Conference. Also a member of the gold medal winning Canadian Olympic hockey team in 2010. He had 14 goals and 69 points for the Central Division winning Blackhawks.

2009- 2010 Frank J Selke Trophy

The Frank J Selke Trophy for the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game.

The nominees:

Pavel Datsyuk - Detroit Red Wings - defending winner of this trophy going for his 3rd straight win.

Ryan Kesler - Vancouver Canucks - 2nd nomination. 75 points, a career best, and second consecutive nomination for the Selke.

Jordan Staahl - Pittsburgh Penguins - could become the 2nd Penguin to win the award after Hall of Famer Ron Francis the 1995 winner. This is his first nomination for the trophy.

The Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship)

The Lady Byng trophy which is given "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability".

The 2010 nominees:

Pavel Datsyuk - Detroit RedWings - The 4 time defending winner of this award is going for his 5th consecutive Lady Byng. He would become the first player to win the award 5 consecutive years and second all time in Lady Byng Trophies behind Hall of Famer Frank Boucher who won it 7 times between 1927 and 1935.

Brad Richards - Dallas Stars - This is Brad's third nomination and he took home the trophy in 2004.

Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay Lightning - this is the fourth time for Martin to be nominated, he has yet to win the trophy.

2010 Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year)

This week was the announcement of the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year in the NHL. This year's nominees:

Matt Duchesne - Center for the Colorado Avalanche he led all rookies in scoring with 55 points.

Jimmy Howard - Goalie, Detroit Red Wings.

Tyler Myers - Defenseman, Buffalo Sabres led the team in ice time and was one of four rookies to play all 82 games.

2010 Jack Adams Trophy Finalist

Today they announced the finalist for the 2009-2010 Jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year in the NHL.
Here are the Finalist:

Joe Sacco - First year headcoach for the Colorado Avalanche. He led them to a second place finish in the Northwest Division and the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Dave Tippet - Phoenix Coyotes head coach. Took over just before the 2009-2010 season began and guided the Yotes to the 4th best record in the league. If he wins he will be the second Coyotes coach to win, Bobby Francis in 2002 took home the trophy.


Barry Trotz - The only coach in the history of the Nashville Predators, took the Preds to a 3rd place finish in the Central Division and the 7th seed in the Western Conference. This is his 11th season behind the bench for the Predators.

Playoff Highlights

Stanley Cup History

April 22nd 1962 - Toronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2

The 1961-62 season ended with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks in 3rd place behind the 1st place Canadiens and the Maple Leafs. The Canadiens had run away with the regular season title amassing 98 points. With 2 of the top 5 scorers for the season in Hull and Mikita the Blackhawks looked like they had a good chance to defend their cup, but they had to get past the mighty Canadiens to make it to the finals again. They surprised Montreal and won their semi final series 4 games to 2 and were now facing the Toronto Maple Leafs who dispatched the New York Rangers 4-2 in their series.
The Leafs had last been in the finals in 1959 and 60 but lost both years to the Canadiens who were putting together 5 straight Stanley Cup titles.
Toronto opened the Finals at home and took both games from the Hawks 4-1 and 3-2. When the series moved to Chicago the Hawks returned the favor and tied the series at 2 with wins of 3-0 and 4-1.
When the series was back at the Maple Leaf Gardens for game 5, it was all Leafs in an 8-4 victory but the Hawks looked to tie it up back at home for game 6 but the Maple Leafs pulled the stunner winning game 6 2-1 as Dick Duff netted the series winner at 14:14 of the 3rd period.
This was the first Stanley Cup for the Leafs since 1949. This would be the first of 3 consecutive Stanley Cup titles for the Maple Leafs, winning again in 1963 and 1964 over the Detroit Redwings.
The bright spot for the Hawks was Stan Mikita won broke Gordie Howe's 1955 playoff record of 20 points by getting 21 points.
The Blackhawks would return to the finals again in 1965 but fall short 4 games to 3 to the powerhouse Canadiens.

Highlights of the Pens vs Sens

Save of the Night

Martin Broduer shows flashes of his past brilliance and last night was one of the best saves this playoff year against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Playoff Highlights from the Weekend

Go YOTES!!!!

The Great One says Goodbye

Today in appropriately enough 1999, Wayne Gretzky skated his last regular season game in the NHL. Sadly it was with the NY Rangers but it was great moment in indeed. The Rangers lost in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 but the crowd didnt care all they wanted to do was salute the Great One for a career unparalled in hockey history.
He finished his career with 60 NHL records, including all-time scorer (2,857), Most MVP awards (9 Hart Trophies), and the most hat tricks (10) during the playoffs. He led the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL in 1980 and then on to 4 Stanley Cup championships in 5 years before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings after the 1988 season were he helped them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993.

1961 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks and Redwings were the surprise teams in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1961 after finishing 3rd and 4th in the regular season. The Blackhawks upset the highly favored Canadiens 4-2 and Detroit upsetting the #2 Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Chicago was emphatic in knocking off Montreal in games 5 and 6 winning both by the score of 3-0.
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2 and won game 6 in Detroit.
This was the first Cup for Chicago since 1938 and the most recent in Blackhawks history.

Today in Hockey History

1991 - St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
from earlier in the series, these 2 teams decided to see who had the guts to play this series

OLD TIME PLAYOFF HOCKEY!!

This Weekend on the NHL on NBC

Today in Hockey History

1927 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Senators beat Boston Bruins, in 2 games & 2 ties

1940 - Stanley Cup: New York Rangers beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2

1944 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens sweep Chicago Blackhawks in 4 games

1996 - Ottawa Senators eliminate Stanley Cup Champs New Jersey Devils from playoffs

1997 - Hartford Whalers last NHL game

William Jennings Trophy 2009-2010

This year the William Jennings Trophy went to Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. This 5th win for Brodeur who had previously won in 1997,1998,2003 and 2004.
The Jennings trophy is awarded each year to "the goalkeeper(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it. Winners are selected based on regular-season play." This was the rule for the Vezina Trophy until 1981, then with the addition of the Jennings trophy the Vezina was awarded to the Most Outstanding Goaltender as voted on by the NHL general managers.


Brodeur won the trophy this year giving up a league low 191 goals.

2009-2010 Rocket Richard Trophy Winner

This years Rocket Richard Trophy race ended in a tie between Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Steve Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning with 51 goals.

This year had the fewest goals for the winner(s) since 2004 when 3 men (Jarome Iginla,Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk) tied for the trophy with 41 goals.

 The 2 time defending Richard trophy winner Alexander Ovechkin finished runner up with 50 goals.

2009-2010 Art Ross Trophy Winner

The Art Ross Trophy winner is Henrik Sedin with 112 points. He is the first Vancouver Canuck to win the NHL scoring title. Sedin is the 8th different player in a row to win the scoring title since Jaromir Jagr won back to back titles in 2000-2001. Last year's winner with Evgeni Malkin finished 19th this year with 77 points after last years 113.

Sid the Kid Gets 50 and 51

Pens beat the Islanders as Sidney Crosby nets 50 and 51 to tie Steve Stamkos for the league lead in goals.



Stamkos gets 51

Boston College tops Wisconsin hockey title

Boston College tops Wisconsin 5-0 for hockey title - SI.com - Hockey

Steve Stamkos get his 50th

Steve Stamkos scores number 50

Ovi Scores 50

from last night, Alexander Ovechkin scores his 50th goal of the 2009-2010 season

NCAA Hockey Final tonight

Tonight at Ford Field in Detroit is the NCAA Men's Hockey Championship.

It will be Wisconsin and Boston College facing off in a rematch of the 2006 Finals won by the Badgers.

Boston College upset top seed Miami of Ohio 7-1 and Wisconsin dismantled upstart Rochester Institute of Technology 8-1, to set up tonight's final.

Here is how they got there.

Wisconsin's Blake Geoffrion wins Hobey Baker Award

Wisconsin's Blake Geoffrion wins Hobey Baker Award - SI.com - Hockey

UH OH...well I hope he is ready for a career in the minors.

Last Regular Season Game at the Igloo

Highlights from the final regular season game at Pittsburgh's Igloo between the Pens and New York Islanders.

Tonight at the Igloo

More Than 50 Former Pittsburgh Penguins Help Celebrate Final Regular-Season Game at Mellon Arena and the video shown before the game tonight.

The IGLOO

Tonight is the final regular season home game for the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Civic/Mellon Arena, known to all fans as "The Igloo"

Highlights 04/07/2010

This Week in Hockey History

Remembering the NHL's Wildest day
The end of each NHL season usually brings a frantic chase for the final playoff berths, but no season had the kind of wild finish that hockey fans saw April 5, 1970, the final day of the 1969-70 season -- 40 years ago this week.

NHL Network lineup

NHL Network has some special programming coming up celebrating the 2009-10 season

Highlights 04/03/2010

Blackhawks clinch Central Division

Blackhawks clinch Central Division title - nhl - SI.com

Today in Hockey History

• 1977 - Boston Bruin Jean Ratelle scores his 1,000th NHL point
  
  
  

1982 - Buffalo Sabre Gil Perrault scores his 1,000th NHL point


Today is the 65th birthday of goalie Bernie Parent. He was the goalie for the Broadway Bullies in 1974 and 1975 as they stormed to the Stanley Cup title and he took home the Vezina and Conn Smythe Trophies both years. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.

Today in Hockey History (April 3rd)

This day in 1988 the Pittsburgh Penguins Mario Lemeiux won his first of 6 Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer in the NHL. 

Mario would also win the trophy in 1989, 92,93,96 and 1997.

This was the first year that Wayne Gretzky did not win the trophy in the 1980s. Gretzky had won the trophy every year since the Edmonton Oilers joined the NHL in 1980.

Mario would also win the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP for 1987-88 and it was the first year since 1979 (Bryan Trottier) that someone other than Wayne Gretzky would win the Hart Trophy.

Gordie Howe

March 31st was the 82nd birthday of Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. Still called the greatest to play the game there isnt much to say about Gordie Howe that hasn't been said. He set the standard for which all others are judged.
Here is a look at his record book:

NHL/WHA

• 23-time NHL All-Star
• 12-time NHL First All-Star Team
• 9-time NHL Second All-Star Team
• 4-time Stanley Cup champion (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955)
• 6-time Art Ross Memorial Trophy winner (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1963)
• 6-time Hart Memorial Trophy – 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963
• Lester B. Patrick Award winner (1967)
• Lionel Conacher Award (1963)
• Hockey Hall of Fame (1972)
• 2-time Avco World Trophy winner (1974, 1975)
• Gary L. Davidson Trophy winner (1974)
• 2-time WHA All-Star.
• Top 5 in NHL scoring for 20 consecutive seasons
• Most games played for a single franchise (1687, Detroit Red Wings)
• Most NHL games played (1767)
• Oldest NHL player at time of retirement (52)
• Oldest person to play in an NHL game (52), also only player to play in the NHL after age 50
• Only player to play in the NHL in five different decades (1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s)
• NHL Lifetime Achievement Award winner (2008)
• His #9 was retired by the Detroit Red Wings and the Hartford Whalers. Although the Houston Aeros Howe played for no longer exist, the AHL team of the same name has also retired #9 for Howe.
• In 1998, he was ranked #3 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, the highest-ranking right wing on the list.

Other

• Order of Canada (1971)
• Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1975)
• Canada's Walk of Fame (2000)