There have been quite a few casualties from the NHL lockout this season. We lost 48% of the schedule, the Winter Classic, the All Star Weekend in Columbus and the post season awards show in Las Vegas. The NHL announced the first batch of post season award winners which included naming Jonathan Toews the best defensive forward in the NHL. This is Toews first ever Selke award and most likely not his last . It is nice to see Tazer getting some recognition for being a complete player. He has been taking a lot of heat for his lack of point production in the post season, but this will serve as a great reminder that there is more to being a great player than just scoring goals. Toews adds his name to the list of Selke winners that include Pavel Datsyuk, Bob Gainey, Ron Francis, Steve Yzerman and Patrice Bergeron. Toews is the third player to win the Selke while wearing the Blackhawks uniform along with Troy Murray and Dirk Graham. Former Hawks Doug Gilmour and John Madden have both won the award while playing with the Maple Leafs and Devils respectively.
Joel Quenneville lost out on the Jack Adams Award to Ottawa’s Paul MacLean. Martin St. Louis beat out Patrick Kane for the Lady Bing Memorial Trophy. Other award winners today included Ray Shero, of the Penguins, for General Manager of the Year. I guess trying to acquire every other captain around the league gets you recognized. The Senators Daniel Alfredsson won the Mark Messier Leadership Award and Wild goaltender Josh Harding won the Bill Masterson Trophy. Henrik Zetterberg took home the NHL Foundation Player Award, given to the player who applies the core values of hockey ,commitment, perseverance and teamwork (don’t forget cross checks to the back of the head), to enrich the lives of people in his community. Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron was named the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
The NHL will announce the winners of the Hart, Norris, Venzina, Calder and the Ted Lindsay awards tomorrow starting at 6pm Chicago time. I will bring those announcements to you as they come through.