Key Takeaways:
- Being only the third Maple Leaf and the first since Ted Kennedy in 1954–1955, Auston Matthews of Toronto won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player.
- Shesterkin is the third Rangers goalie to receive the Vezina award over the past 40 years, following John Vanbiesbrouck and Henrik Lundqvist (2011–12) and Henrik Lundqvist (1985-86).
On Tuesday night, Auston Matthews of Toronto took home the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, becoming just the third Maple Leaf and the first since Ted Kennedy in 1954–1955.
The 24-year-old forward ended far in front of Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin for the award presented during the NHL Awards Show after receiving 119 first-place votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
“I won’t lie; it feels fantastic. The two-time reigning champion Lightning and Colorado Avalanche will square off in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, so Matthews acknowledged that winning the award in Tampa was somewhat bittersweet.
Matthews remarked there is some regret over not being able to see you play.
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The league’s best goaltender, Shesterkin, won the Vezina Trophy. The Norris Trophy, given to the league’s finest defenseman, went to Cale Makar of Colorado, and the Calder Trophy, given to the league’s top rookie, went to Moritz Seider of Detroit.
Matthews set a team record for wins and points with the Maple Leafs (54-21-7, 115 points), becoming the only player to reach that mark since Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay did it ten years ago. In the beginning round of the playoffs, Toronto was defeated by the Lightning, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Maple Leaf’s star won the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player in the regular season, which was decided by votes cast by NHL Players Association members. He also set career highs with 46 assists and 106 points.
Shesterkin joined Henrik Lundqvist (2011–12) and John Vanbiesbrouck as the third Rangers goalie to win the Vezina award in the previous 40 years (1985-86). Before leading a playoff run that came to an end against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference final, he finished 36-13-4 with an NHL-best 2.07 goals-against-average and.935 save percentage.
Since goaltender Roger Crozier in 1964–1955, Seider is the only Red Wings player to get the Calder Trophy. With 50 points, he finished top among first-year defensemen, beating out Michael Bunting of Toronto and Trevor Zegras of Anaheim.
Makar joins Adam Fox, Erik Karlsson, Denis Potvin, and Bobby Orr as the fifth defenseman to win the Norris within his first three regular-season games (twice). In addition to helping the Avalanche finish with a Western Conference-best 119 points, he led all defensemen in scoring with 28 goals (56-19-7).
Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay and Roman Josi of Nashville was beaten out for the 2019–20 Calder Trophy.
The other Norris finalists, in Makar’s opinion, “are such fantastic players.” “They have been rough on me all season.”
Source: CTV News
