Ryan Dadoun

2019 NHL Awards: All the winners, video, more

By Ryan DadounJun 19, 2019, 10:28 PM EDT

A lot naturally happened during the 2019 NHL Awards and there are still some winners left to highlight. Before we do that though, let’s recap some of tonight’s big winners:

Calder Trophy: Elias Pettersson

Lady Byng: Aleksander Barkov

GM of the Year: Don Sweeney

Norris Trophy: Mark Giordano

Masterton Trophy: Robin Lehner

Selke Trophy: Ryan O’Reilly

Jack Adams: Barry Trotz

Vezina Trophy: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay: Nikita Kucherov

Now let’s tackle the other winners.

King Clancy Trophy: Jason Zucker,

Zucker and his wife Carly began the Zucker Family Suite and Broadcast Studio with a $160,000 donation and have raised over $1.2 million in under a year. The project allows kids and their families at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital to watch Minnesota Wild games in a space that mimics the experience of being at the game.

Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Wayne Simmonds

Before being traded to the Nashville Predators in February, Simmonds was deeply involved with the Flyers’ community efforts. Among other things, he was a board member for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation for six years. He also spent four years as an honorary chairman of their annual golf tournament, which is the foundation’s biggest fundraiser.

Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award: Rico Phillips

Of course, the Art Ross Trophy went to Nikita Kucherov, the Rocket Richard Trophy went to Alex Ovechkin, and the Jennings Trophy was shared by Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss.

First All-Star Team:
G: Andrei Vasilevskiy
D: Brent Burns
D: Mark Giordano
C: Connor McDavid
RW: Nikita Kucherov
LW: Alex Ovechkin

Second All-Star Team:
G: Ben Bishop
D: Victor Hedman
D: John Carlson
C: Sidney Crosby
RW: Patrick Kane
LW: Brad Marchand

All-Rookie Team:
G: Jordan Binnington
D: Rasmus Dahlin
D: Miro Heiskanen
F: Elias Pettersson
F: Anthony Cirelli
F: Brady Tkachuk

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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.

Islanders’ Barry Trotz claims Jack Adams Award

By Ryan DadounJun 19, 2019, 9:44 PM EDT

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Barry Trotz left the Washington Capitals after guiding them to a Stanley Cup championship and took over a New York Islanders’ squad that many people didn’t believe in. His team shattered expectations though with their 48-27-7 record and for that he was named the Jack Adams Award winner Wednesday night. The trophy is given annually “to the coach voted as the best in the NHL” by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

When Trotz took over the Islanders, they were coming off a 35-37-10 and they would be moving forward without their former captain and best player in John Tavares. Despite that, Trotz guided the Islanders to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 on the strength of their defense and goaltending.

This is the second time that Trotz has won the Jack Adams Award. He previously claimed it with the Washington Capitals in 2016. The only other bench boss to ever win the award twice is Al Arbour.

Trotz also surpassed Arbour for fourth place in the all-time wins list as a head coach during the 2018-19 campaign. Trotz has 810 wins, putting him behind just Ken Hitchcock (849), Joel Quenneville (890), and Scotty Bowman (1,244).

You can view the full vote below:

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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.

Masterton Trophy goes to Islanders’ Robin Lehner

By Ryan DadounJun 19, 2019, 9:19 PM EDT

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Robin Lehner had an amazing year on the ice and off the ice he became a source of inspiration for others. For that, he won the Masterton Trophy, which is awarded annually by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.”

“I’m not ashamed to say I’m mentally ill but that doesn’t mean I’m mentally weak,” Lehner said as he accepted the trophy.

He battled drug addiction and was diagnosed as bipolar and ADHD with PTSD and trauma. Before the season began, he wrote an article that appeared in The Athletic, opening up about what he went through. In it he admitted that he had “never had a sober season of hockey my entire career,” but he got help and was able to get sober.

“I am not sharing this story to make people think differently of Robin Lehner as a professional goalie,” he wrote. “I want to help make a difference and help others the way I have been helped. I want people to know that there is hope in desperation, there is healing in facing an ugly past and there is no shame in involving others in your battle.

“My journey is still new. Every day is a battle and each day a new chance to grow as a man. It is time to take the ‘crazy person’ stamp from bipolar disorder. I am working hard to become the latest to battle this unfair stigma. Our battle together is just beginning.”

After that confession, he went onto record the best season of his career. He had a 25-13-5 record, 2.13 GAA, and .930 save percentage in 46 games to help the Islanders surprise the league by posting a 48-27-7 record.

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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.

Bruins’ Don Sweeney wins GM of the Year Award

By Ryan DadounJun 19, 2019, 8:43 PM EDT

Don Sweeney took over as the Boston Bruins’ general manager in 2015 and has guided them to three straight playoff berths and a 49-24-9 record in 2018-19. On Wednesday night during the 2019 NHL Awards, his efforts were acknowledged with the GM of the Year Award.

A panel of NHL exclusives, print and broadcast media, as well as the 31 GMs annually give the award “to the general manager who best excelled at his role during the regular season.” Though the award focuses on the season, the voting does take place after the second round.

Sweeney made two significant moves before the trade deadline, acquiring Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle. Though the two had a limited impact during the regular season, they provided valuable secondary scoring during the Bruins’ run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

One of his big moves though came before the campaign when he signed goaltender Jaroslav Halak to a two-year, $5.5 million contract. That move played off beautifully for the Bruins as Halak was an ideal backup in 2018-19. He took the pressure off Tuukka Rask during his early season struggles and allowed Boston to use their starting sparingly enough that he was fresh for the postseason.

Here is the full results for the 2019 vote:

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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.

Canucks’ Elias Pettersson captures Calder Trophy

By Ryan DadounJun 19, 2019, 8:13 PM EDT

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For just the second time in NHL history, a member of the Vancouver Canucks has won the Calder Trophy. Elias Pettersson followed in the footsteps of Pavel Bure when he was handed the award during Wednesday’s NHL Awards show in Las Vegas. The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and given “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.”

Pettersson dominated the rookie scoring race with 28 goals and 66 points in 71 games. The next best rookie was Brady Tkachuk with 45 points. Due to that, Pettersson was the only forward to be included among the finalists. The other two nominees were Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Blues goalie Jordan Binnington.

Forwards tend to walk away with this award. Seven of the last eight winners have been forwards with the lone exception being Aaron Ekblad in 2015. The last goaltender to win the Calder was Steve Mason in 2009.

Pettersson couldn’t have asked for a better start to the campaign. He had five goals and eight points in his first five contests and 10 goals through 10 contests. Obviously he didn’t maintain that pace, but he didn’t fade away entirely as the campaign continued either. Some of his highlights included a five-point game on Dec. 9 and a hat trick on Jan. 2.

Here are the full results of the vote:

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Ryan Dadoun is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @RyanDadoun.