PENGUINS’ MALKIN CAPTURES FIRST HART TROPHY AT 2012 NHL AWARDS

 

 

LAS VEGAS (June 20, 2012) — Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who tallied a career-high 50 goals and a League-leading 109 points, captured his first career Hart Trophy as the National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player at the 2012 NHL Awards, held in the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas.

 

Malkin received 144 first-place votes from the 149 ballots cast and accumulated 1,473 points to post a runaway victory over Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning (598) and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers (556).

 

By producing 12 points more than runner-up Stamkos (60-37–97), Malkin became the first scoring champion to win by a double-digit margin since Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr finished with 127 points — 20 ahead of Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne in 1998-99. Malkin also finished second in the NHL with a career-high 50 goals and led the League with 339 shots on goal.

 

Malkin is the fourth Penguins player in franchise history — and in the past 20 years — to win the Hart Trophy, joining Mario Lemieux (1988, 1993, 1996); Jaromir Jagr (1999) and Sidney Crosby (2007).

 

A breakout season by Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators earned him the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. Karlsson edged Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators 1,069 to 1,057 in the second consecutive cliffhanger Norris vote. In 2011, Weber was nosed out by Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom 736-727 in the closest race for first place in 15 years.

 

Karlsson led all NHL defensemen in scoring with 78 points (19 goals, 59 assists), 25 more than any other League blueliner, for the widest winning margin since Pittsburgh’s Paul Coffey lapped the field by 38 points in 1988-89. The 22-year-old Landsbro, Sweden native, who yesterday agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the Senators, is the youngest Norris winner since Bobby Orr, who captured the first of his eight consecutive titles with the Boston Bruins at the age of 20 in 1968.

After knocking on the door with third-place finishes from 2006 through 2008, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers won his first Vezina Trophy as the League’s top goaltender. Lundqvist helped the Rangers post their best regular-season record since 1993-94 and capture first place in the Eastern Conference. He went 39-18-5 in 62 appearances, setting a career high in wins and becoming the first goaltender in NHL history with 30-plus wins in each of his first seven seasons.

 

Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers collected an historic win, becoming the first defenseman to capture the Lady Byng Trophy (skill, sportsmanship) since Detroit’s Red Kelly in 1954. Campbell anchored the defense corps on a Florida club that posted 94 points — a 22-point increase over 2010-11 — and captured its first division title in franchise history. He led the NHL in total ice time (2,205:31), yet was whistled for just six penalty minutes. He ranked third among League defensemen in scoring with 53 points (four goals, 49 assists) and tied the single-season franchise record for assists by a defenseman.

 

Heading a group of four St. Louis Blues honored at the 2012 NHL Awards was Doug Armstrong, who captured the NHL General Manager of the Year Award. Armstrong oversaw a Blues renaissance reflected by their 49-22-11 record and first Central Division title since 1999-2000. Armstrong signed unheralded free agent goaltender Brian Elliott, who led the NHL with a 1.56 goals-against average and .940 save percentage, and made a change behind the bench, bringing in head coach Ken Hitchcock after a slow start.

 

For turning around the Blues’ fortunes, Hitchcock won his first Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach in voting by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association. Hitchcock made his debut behind the St. Louis bench Nov. 8, with the club at 6-7-0, and posted a 43-15-11 record the rest of the way; the 109-point season was the Blues’ best since capturing the Presidents’ Trophy in 1999-2000. The club broke or tied 13 franchise records, including a 21-game home points streak and 30 home wins overall.

 

The Blues’ goaltending tandem of Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak received the William M. Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the club that allowed the fewest regular-season goals (165). The duo combined for a League-high 15 shutouts, tying a modern NHL record set by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1969-70 and surpassing the club mark of 13 set by Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante in 1968-69.

 

The other statistic-based award of the evening was presented to Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, who received his second career Maurice Richard Trophy as the League’s top goal scorer. Stamkos scored his 60th goal in Tampa Bay’s season finale, becoming the first player to reach the milestone since 2007-08 (Alex Ovechkin, 65). Before Ovechkin, the last time a player hit 60 was 1995-96 (Mario Lemieux, 69; Jaromir Jagr, 62).

 

Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog captured the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s outstanding rookie. Landeskog posted 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 82 games, capturing the rookie scoring title in a tie-breaker over Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (18-34–52) on the basis of more goals. Landeskog ranked second among rookies in goals and third in assists, making him the only rookie among the top three in all three categories.

 

Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron captured his first career Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive forward. Bergeron led the NHL in plus-minus (+36), posting a +18 rating both at home and on the road, helping the Bruins rank second in the Eastern Conference in team defense (2.39 GAA). Appearing in a single-season career-high 81 games, he topped all Bruins forwards in shorthanded time on ice (1:48 per game) and was dominant in the face-off circle, posting a 59.2% winning percentage (973 of 1,641) to rank second in the League behind Chicago’s Jonathan Toews (59.4%).

 

Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Pacioretty returned to action in 2011-12 after missing the team’s last 15 regular-season games and the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2010-11 due to injuries suffered on March 8, 2011 against Boston. He set single-season career highs in goals (33), assists (32), points (65), game-winning goals (five) and shots on goal (286).

 

Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators, Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes and Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators were honored for outstanding leadership and community service. Fisher received the NHL Foundation Player Award, Doan was presented the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone, while Alfredsson accepted the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

 

Voting for these awards was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) cast ballots for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Lady Byng, Calder and Masterton Trophies. The 30 NHL General Managers voted on the Vezina Trophy. The NHL Broadcasters’ Association (NHLBA) submitted votes for the Jack Adams Award. Voting for the NHL General Manager of the Year Award was conducted among the 30 Club General Managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media. Results were tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young with the exception of the Masterton Trophy (PHWA) and the NHL General Manager of the Year Award (NHL).

Information courtesy of NHL publications.