NHL
– Penguins’ F Evgeni Malkin has won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. Malkin reached 50 goals and topped 100 points (109) this season. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward defeated Rangers’ G Henrik Lundqvist and Lightning’ F Steven Stamkos to win the award. Lundqvist won the Vezina for his dominance in goal and Stamkos scored a League-best 60 goals to take home the Maurice Richard Trophy.
Gino also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s “Most Outstanding Player” as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA, as well as the Art Ross trophy. He finished with a league-best 109 points, beating out the second-place finisher by 12 goals. Malkin, the first scoring champion to win by a double-digit margin since Jaromir Jagr finished 20 points ahead of Teemu Selanne in 1998-99, also won the Art Ross Trophy in 2009. He scored points in 60 of the 75 games he played in and was the first player since 1995-96 to record at least four five-point games.
Lightning’ F Steven Stamkos won the “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Stamkos, now a two-time winner of the Richard Trophy, became the 20th player in League history to reach the 60-goal plateau. He led the League with exactly 60, a mark he hit on the final day of the regular season. Stamkos went on a run late in the season, scoring 10 goals in his last nine games, to become the first 60-goal scorer since Alex Ovechkin scored 65 in 2007-08. Stamkos scored 48 of his goals at even-strength, the most of any player since 1992-93, and tied for the League lead with 12 game-winning goals. His 156 goals since the start of the 2009-10 season are the most among all players in the NHL. The next closest is Ovechkin, who has 120 goals in that span.
Rangers’ G Henrik Lundqvist has won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender. King Henrik went 39-18-5 with eight shutouts, a 1.97 GAA and .930 SV%. He defeated Kings’ G Jonathan Quick and Predators’ G Pekka Rinne for the award.
Senators’ D Erik Karlsson won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman. The 22-year-old led all blueliners with 78 points, 25 more than the next closest. He had 19 goals and 59 assists. Karlsson was a plus-16 player this season after being a minus-30 last season. His 78 points were the most by a defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom had 80 in 2005-06. Karlsson beat Bruins’ D Zdeno Chara and Predators’ D Shea Weber for the award.
Bruins’ F Patrice Bergeron has won the Selke award for the NHL’s best defensive forward. Bergeron wins the award for the first time, and becomes the first Boston player to win the trophy since Steve Kasper in 1982. Bergeron had 64 points and was a plus-36 with just 20 penalty minutes, 67 blocked shots and 55 takeaways. He was on the ice for 66 goals for and just 34 goals against at even strength. Also factoring into Bergeron’s win was his success in the faceoff circle. He took 34.6 percent of Boston’s faceoffs and won 59.3% of them, including a remarkable 53.5% in shorthanded situations. He led the Bruins forwards in shorthanded ice time with 1:48 per game. He beat Blues’ F David Backes and Red Wings’ F Pavel Datsyuk.
Panthers’ D Brian Campbell has won the Lady Byng Trophy as “the player to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” Campbell had four goals and 49 assists this season while playing in all 82 games during his first season with the Panthers. Despite logging the minutes of a No. 1 defender, Campbell only had six penalty minutes — the second season in a row he was under 10 penalty minutes for the season. He’s the first defenseman to win the award since Red Kelly in 1954. He beat out Oilers’ F Jordan Eberle and Islanders’ F Matt Moulson for the award.
Avalanche’ F Gabriel Landeskog has won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. The 19-year-old became the first Colorado player to win the Calder Trophy since Chris Drury in 1999. Landeskog, the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, finished tied with the Oilers rookie with 52 points, the most among all first-year players in the NHL this past season. He played in all 82 games and averaged nearly 19 minutes per game, while scoring 22 goals and 30 assists. He was just one of four rookies to average more than 1:20 per game on both the power play and penalty kill. He defeated Devils’ F Adam Henrique and Oilers’ F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win the award.
Blues’ head coach Ken Hitchcock has won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top head coach. Hitchcock started the season still employed by the Blue Jackets as an adviser, but was hired by the Blues early November and hired him to take over a team that was off to a 6-7-0 start under Davis Payne. Under Hitchcock, who arrived on November 6, the Blues went 43-15-11 to finish the season with 109 points, second in the Western Conference. They set franchise records for wins (49) and points in addition to numerous records for defence and goaltending. Hitchcock is a first-time winner of the Jack Adams Award. As the coach in Dallas he was the runner-up in 1997 and third in 1998 and 1999. Hitchcock defeated Rangers’ coach John Tortorella and Senators’ coach Paul MacLean.
Canadiens’ F Max Pacioretty has won the Bill Masterton Trophy as “the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perserverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” Patches authored one of the great comeback stories in hockey history during the 2011-12 season, scoring 33 goals and adding 32 assists less than a year after seeing his career put in jeopardy after a big hit from Boston’s Zdeno Chara on March 8, 2011. Pacioretty suffered a fracture to the fourth cervical vertebra and a severe concussion. He defeated Maple Leafs’ F Joffrey Lupul and Senators’ F Daniel Alfredsson to win the award.
Blues’ G Jaroslav Halak and G Brian Elliott have won the Bill Jennings Trophy. The tandem of Halak and Elliott combined to allow the fewest goals in the NHL (165) to bring the Jennings Trophy back to St. Louis for the first time since Roman Turek won it in 1999. Halak and Elliott combined for a League-high 15 shutouts, which tied a modern-day NHL record originally set by the Blackhawks in 1969-70. It also set a Blues record for most shutouts in a season, breaking the mark of 13 set by Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante in 1968-69.
Coyotes’ F Shane Doan won the Mark Messier Award, going ”to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.” Doan won for his contributions in leading his team to its first division title and past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Doan beat out Rangers’ F Ryan Callahan and Kings’ F Dustin Brown.
Flyers’ F Claude Giroux is the winner of the EA Sports NHL ’13 cover athlete. Giroux was third in the NHL in scoring with 93 points. He defeated Predators’ G Pekka Rinne in the fan vote. Of note, the last three players to land on the cover (Blackhawks’ F Patrick Kane in 2010, Blackhawks’ F Jonathan Toews in 2011 and Lightning’ F Steven Stamkos in 2012) all had huge seasons in the year they were on the cover. Kane and the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010. The other Flyers to grace the cover were Rod Brind’Amour in 1992 and Eric Lindros in 1999.
Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong has won the the award for NHL General Manager of the Year. Armstrong fired Davis Payne in early November after a 6-7-0 start and hiring Ken Hitchcock. The Blues ended up winning 49 games, good for a second-place finish in the Western Conference. Armstrong signed former Stanley Cup winners Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott last summer. They each had successful seasons in St. Louis and were part of the veteran leadership group. Armstrong also signed G Brian Elliott to a 1-year/2-way contract. Armstrong defeated Predators’ GM David Poile and Panthers’ GM Dale Tallon to win the award.
Predators’ F Mike Fisher won the NHL Foundation Award which is presented to the player “who applies the core values of hockey — commitment, perseverance and teamwork — to enrich the lives of people in his community.”. Fisher beat out Maple Leafs’ D John-Michael Liles and Islanders’ F Matt Moulson.
NFL
– Citing a source with knowledge of the situation, PFT reports that Vikings’ WR Percy Harvin’s unhappiness in Minnesota is not contract related. Harvin tweeted on Wednesday evening. “I said I have issues to be worked out. Money not at all being the problem. I’ve done everything asked and more.” Harvin may be referencing his playing time–he played in just 58.4% of the offensive snaps in 2011, and was on far fewer times in the red zone.
MLB
– Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Yankees, Giants and Blue Jays scouted Astros’ RHP Wandy Rodriguez’s start Tuesday against the Royals. Morosi reports that the Astros are prepared to listen to offers for Rodriguez, who is making $10M this season and is owed $13M next year. The Astros hold a $13M option for 2014, but it becomes a player option in the event of a trade.
– Rays’ RHP Joel Peralta’s glove was sent to New York to be evaluated by MLB officials. Peralta was ejected from Tuesday’s game against the Nationals after umpires found a significant amount of pine tar on his glove. The 26-year-old will likely face a minor suspension and a fine.