NHL End Of The Season Awards Gathers Best Hockey Players And Teams, Lighting’s Nikita Kucherov Wins Big

The NHL awards were hosted in Las Vegas on Wednesday night to celebrate the gathering of all the major hockey players for one night of celebration. An event honoring players and fans alike, a number of personnel took home hardware for their dedicated success on the ice.

Although Jordan Binnington basically carried the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup after winning a starting spot in January, Elias Petterson of the Vancouver Canucks won the Rookie of the Year Award after obtaining 66 points in just 71 games. He was dominant for a majority of the season and locked his spot nearly halfway through the year. The 20-year-old had seven game-winning goals this season. Binnington was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy alongside Ramus Dahlin, the Buffalo Sabres defenseman.

Center Ryan O’Reilly had himself a month after winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy for Most Valuable Player in the Stanley Cup Finals and also won the Selke Trophy for the best center defenseman. O’Reilly led the NHL in face-offs and had a personal achieved season with breaking career records of 77 points and 43 assists. Other finalists were the Boston Bruins‘ Patrice Bergeron and Vegas Golden Knight Mark Stone.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019- TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

The Bruins’ Don Sweeney won GM of the Year after making it to the Stanley Cup Finals but falling short in seven games. Sweeney acquired Charlie Coyle, who played a major impact in the playoffs, and Marcus Johanson. The pair proved to be the right move for the Bruins on deadline day, as they contributed a combined 27 points in the playoffs. The other finalists were the Blues’ Doug Armstrong and the Carolina Hurricanes’ Don Waddell. 

Nikita Kucherov won the MVP this season after losing just seven of the total 171 votes. The Tampa Bay Lightning representative won the Hart Memorial Trophy, along with the Ted Lindsay Award for the best player in the regular season, and the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points at the end of the regular season. The Russian right-winger had 41 goals and 87 assists this season and crushed other nominees Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.