Jay Mohr, star of something, hosted the NHL Awards in Las Vegas tonight. We watched with bated breath as three beloved players vied for recognition from the league’s notables. Alex Ovechkin was up for the Lindsay (née Pearson) and the Hart, Mike Green for the Norris, and Jose Theodore for the Masterton. Beyond the winners and loser, there’s some mighty important breaking news announced tonight, and we’ll tackle it all past the jump.
Alex Ovechkin won the NHLPA award for MVP, the Ted Lindsay Trophy. Ovie’s speech fluctuated from rowdy hellos and Vegas cheers to a solemn invocation of his brother Sergei, who died in a car accident when Ovie was 10. The music cued Ovechkin to cede the floor to the next presenter, but Ovie persevered, continuing his speech as soon as it died down.
To the surprise of no one, Jose Theodore was awarded the Masterton Trophy. Given to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey”, Jose was a shoo-in. After the harrowing events of last summer, Theodore’s meteoric rise– culminating in those wizardly performances of early ’10– was even more inspiring. As we expected, Theo’s speech brought tears to nearly everyone in earshot. It was only moments later that Tarik El-Bashir reported that Theodore will not be re-signed by the Capitals. We’re saddened to lose such a great player and guy, but we’re thankful that we got to cheer for him at all. Ever since that whole Paris Hilton thing ended, Jose has been nothing but class.
Mike Green did not win the Norris Trophy. There’s no way to tread carefully around this point: it’s a sham. As reported by Mike Vogel, Mike Green joins Sergei Gonchar as the only points-leading defenders to get passed over for the Norris every year. We’re heartened that Mike Green is in Las Vegas, a bottomless font of empathy, where he can surely salve the wound with a bucket of ice-cold Red Bull and vodkas.
Finally, Alex Ovechkin did not win the Hart Trophy, nixing his chance for a threepeat. The award went instead to Art Ross winner, Henrik Sedin. It seems conclusive now that Ovechkin’s ten missed games, most due to suspension, were too many for the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. Our cold comfort on the snubbing is that Ovie handily beat Sidney Crosby in the race for second place.
Other observations on the NHL Awards:
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