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Corey Perry Steals the Hart

June 23, 2011 | By RotoRob | comment on this post
Daniel Sedin is having a bad week for the Vancouver Canucks.
A week after losing the Stanley Cup, Daniel Sedin got burned again.

Just a week after Daniel Sedin and the Vancouver Canucks had the Stanley Cup snatched away, Sedin was the victim in a massive upset Wednesday night at the NHL Awards when he lost the Hart Trophy (presented to league MVP) to Anaheim forward Corey Perry.

Perry’s huge finish – 19 goals over the final 16 games – allowed him to reach 50 goals for the first time in his career while just missing out on his first 100-point season. I guess his league-leading goal total proved more impressive than Sedin’s league-leading point total of 104 for the first-place Canucks.

For Sedin, it was yet another crushing blow, but he earned some nice consolation prizes, namely the Ted Lindsay Award (players’ MVP) and the Art Ross for leading the league in scoring last season.

Perry, also the Maurice “Rocket” Richard winner for leading the league in goals, was near tears during his acceptance speech for the Hart, saying he was quite surprised by the honour.

Despite Sedin’s shocking upset in the Hart voting, the Canucks fared quite well, bagging several other awards, including: Ryan Kesler (Selke Trophy for top defensive forward), Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider (William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed in the regular season) and Mike Gillis (General Manager of the Year).

Obviously, the team would gladly trade all this hardware for the big prize that eluded them against the Boston Bruins last week.

Speaking of the Beantowners, Tim Thomas bagged the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie for the second time in three years, a well-deserved honour after he broke the league record for the highest save percentage last season.

Boston captain Zdeno Chara, however, got edged out in the Norris Trophy for the best defenseman, with both Shea Weber and winner Nicklas Lidstrom finishing just above the behemoth blueliner in voting.

For Lidstrom, this marked his seventh Norris victory, tying Doug Harvey for the second most ever. Only the immortal Bobby Orr, with eight, has won more Norris Trophy awards. Of course, earlier this week, Lidstrom laid speculation to rest that he would retire, inking a one-year extension with the Wings. If Lidstrom can bag another Norris Trophy next season, Don Cherry will be rolling over in his grave. What’s that? Cherry isn’t dead? Well, perhaps a Swedish-born defenseman tying one of Orr’s most prestigious records will be enough to do him in. Failing that, there’s an ice floe with his name on it.

In a mild upset, Carolina centre Jeff Skinner beat out San Jose centre Logan Couture for the Calder Trophy as the top rookie. Skinner did have a phenomenal debut, potting 31 goals and leading all freshmen with 63 points, but Couture was an absolute dynamo, scoring a rookie-best 32 goals – eight of them game-winners — and his impact on the Sharks’ offense was undeniable, providing them with the depth on offense they have long been missing.

The Jack Adams Award for top coach went to Dan Bylsma, a very deserving honour given how well the Penguins played despite the loss of both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for huge chunks of the season.

Martin St. Louis earned the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (most gentlemanly player) – without a doubt the biggest who cares trophy the NHL doles out — for the second straight season.

The Bill Masterston Memorial Trophy, awarded for perseverance to the game, was given to Flyer forward Ian Laperriere, well deserved if you recall what his face looked like after getting hit in the face with a puck in the 2010 playoffs.

Doug Weight of the Isles earned the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which goes to the player that displays leadership on and off the ice and makes a contribution to his community.

Finally, the 13th annual NHL Foundation Player Award, given to the player that best applies commitment, perseverance and teamwork to enrich the lives of people in his community, went to LA forward Dustin Brown. No, I’ve never heard of this award, either.

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