Ice Hockey, USA, NHL Awards 2009

On June 18th, the best players of the season have been rewarded during the NHL Awards 2009 ceremony taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Livetipsportal presents you the winners of this year's crew, along with a look at what they've accomplished to get their trophies.

Art Ross Trophy
Rewards the player who had the most points in the regular season
2009 winner: Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Before lifting the Stanley Cup on June 12th as a NHL champion, Malkin posted 35 goals and 78 assists in the regular season, for a total of 113 points. He beat Alexander Ovechkin (110 points) and teammate Sidney Crosby (103 points) to capture the Art Trophy.

Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy
Rewards the best goalscorer of the regular season
2009 winner: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

Arguably the best sniper in the league, Ovechkin has been dominant once more in this category. His 56 goals are ten more than his closest rival's total, and he's the only one who reached the 50 goals mark this season.

William M. Jennings Trophy
Rewards the goalie(s) who played at least 25 games for the team who allowed the lowest total of goals against during the regular season
2009 winner: Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez (Boston Bruins)

Both Thomas and Fernandez have been sensationnal this year. Thomas ended up with a 36-11-7 record, 5 shutouts, 93.3 SV% and 2.10 GAA. A stellar performance that offered him the Vezina Trophy. On his side, Manny Fernandez had a 16-8-3 record, 1 shutout, 91.0 SV% and 2.59 GAA.

Conn Smythe Trophy
Rewards the player judged as the best performer during the playoffs
2009 winner: Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)

In 24 post-season games, Malkin had 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points, the highest total of the playoffs. This is the best playoff performance since the 40 points of Wayne Gretzky in 1993. Malkin is also the first to be the leading points scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs in the same season since another hockey legend did it in 1992: Mario Lemieux. He is also the first Russian player to get that trophy, and only the third European, after Lidström in 2002 and Zetterberg last year.

Hart Memorial Trophy
Rewards the player who is the most usefull to his team
2009 winner: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

Without Ovechkin, the Caps would barely be a playoff team, and would get trashed in the first round in case they get their post-season ticket. With Ovechkin, they are the South-East Division champions, second best team in the Eastern Conference with 108 points, and they lost only in game 7 of their second round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.

Leaster B. Pearson Award
Rewards the player judged to be the best player in the league by the other players
2009 winner: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

Best goalscorer in the league, guy who had the biggest impact on his team this season, there is no wonder that the other players elected him as the best player of the season.

Frank J. Selke Trophy
Rewards the forward who best excels in the defensive aspect of the game
2009 winner: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)

Second best in takeaways, third best in plus/minus, few penalties taken despite not being shy to battle along the boards, and Datsyuk gets his second Selke in a row.

James Norris Memorial Trophy
Rewards the defenseman who shown the best all-around game at the position
2009 winner: Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)

Big Z had 19 goals (4th amongst defensemen), 50 points (12th), a +23 ratio (7th), 169 hits (17th), 123 shots blocked (51th) and 28 takeaways (46th), showing the best combination of offensive skills, defensive skills, physical play, and technical play. Not the best in any of those categories, but clearly the best combination of all of it.

Vezina Trophy
Rewards the goaltender judged as the best at his position
2009 winner: Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)

We already mentionned Thomas' stats: a 36-11-7 record, 5 shutouts, 93.3 SV% and 2.10 GAA. Which ranked him 6th in the league for the number of wins, 10th in the shutouts category, and most noticeably 1st in both save percentage and goals against average.

Calder Memorial
Rewards the player who shown the most talent in his first season
2009 winner: Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets)

At just age 20, Mason had a stellar rookie campaigne that saw him get a 33-20-7 record (9th in wins), 10 shutouts (1st), 91.6 SV% (11th) and 2.29 GAA (2nd). He also has been a major reason why the Jackets reached the playoffs for the first time ever in franchise history.

Jack Adams Trophy
Rewards the coach who did the best job with his team
2009 winner: Claude Julien (Boston Bruins)

Julien lifted the Bruins at the top seed of the Eastern Conference with a 53-19-10 record, with the 2nd best offense in the league (274 goals for) and the best defense in the league (196 goals against, only team under 200). Being the best defense while running an offensive style has been a major accomplishement. He is also the one who transformed Marc Savard not only in the great playmaker he already was, but also in a stud defensive player, while he was a defensive liability in the past. That's how Savard get a +25 ratio this season, a huge contrast with the -74 he combined in his previous 10 NHL seasons. Julien also transformed Chara from a very good defenseman to the best defenseman in the league. And he is also monitoring all the young Bruins, and especially Milan Lucic, who improves at an incredible rythm.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
Rewards the player who exhibits great sportsmanship and combines with a high level of play
2009 winner: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)

Best forward when it comes to defense (as rewarded by his second straight Selke Trophy), Datsyuk is basically known for his offensive skills, that seen him rank 4th in the league with 97 points (32+65). And he did all of it while receiving only 22 penalty minutes over the season. No surprise he captured his fourth consecutive Lady Byng Trophy.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
Rewards the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey
2009 winner: Steve Sullivan (Nashville Predators)

Sully was close to retire. He needed several surgeries to treat a fractured spinal disc that sidelined him 687 days and forced him to miss 142 games over the past two seasons. He didn't retire. Once fully recovered, he came back to play. You'd have a hard time finding anyone showing such combination of perseverance and dedication to hockey.

King Clancy Memorial Trophy
Rewards the player who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership, while making a noteworthy contribution to the community
2009 winner: Ethan Moreau (Edmonton Oilers)

Moreau is very active in the charity actions in the Edmonton area. He is also the undisputed captain of the franchise, and the clear leader of the team both on and off the ice.

First NHL All-Star Team

G – Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)
D – Mike Green (Washington Capitals)
D – Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)
C – Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
RW – Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames)
LW – Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)

Second NHL All-Star Team

G – Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets)
D – Nicklas Lidström (Detroit Red Wings)
D – Dan Boyle (San Jose Sharks)
C – Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings)
RW – Marian Hossa (Detroit Red Wings)
LW – Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils)

All-Rookie Team

G – Steve Mason (Columbus Blue Jackets)
D – Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings)
D – Luke Schenn (Toronto Maple Leafs)
C – Patrick Berglund (St. Louis Blues)
W – Bobby Ryan (Anaheim Ducks)
W – Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks)

While the players are now on holidays, general managers still have a lot of work to do to get ready for the next season. The next event will be the NHL Entry Draft, which will take place in Montreal on June 26-27. And then the free agency market will start on July 1st. We'll keep you regularly updated with what's happening there.

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