2009-10 NHL Awards' Winners Announced

While many focus on who is going where this off-season, many players are focused on who won what tonight. Players were rewarded for on ice performance, coaching and sportsmanship.

With eleven awards making headlines this evening, congratulations must be had for not only the winner. With heated competition throughout the whole year it made for close votes and great speeches.

NHL Foundation Award

Winner: Ryan Miller

The NHL Foundation Player Award is awarded to the player who applies the core values of (ice) hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community.

11 players have won the NHL Foundation Player Award since its inception. Kelly Chase was awarded the inaugural NHL Foundation Player Award in 1998. No player has ever won the award twice, nor has any team been represented twice.

The award is closely related to the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, as both are awarded to a player who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

Only three of the eleven NHL Foundation Player Award winners—Darren McCarty, Marty Turco, and Joe Sakic—have failed to win the King Clancy Memorial Trophy at least once in his career. German Olaf Kolzig is the only non-Canadian winner, and Ron Francis is the only winner to have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Bridgestone Messier Leadership Award

Winner: Sidney Crosby

The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award is given to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team on and off the ice during the regular season.

Suggestions for nominees are solicited from fans, clubs and NHL personnel, but the selection of the winner is made by Mark Messier himself.

Ted Lindsay Award

Winner: Alexander Ovechkin

The Ted Lindsay Award is presented to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players' Association.

The award was first handed out at the conclusion of the 1971–72 NHL season. It honors Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay, an All-Star forward known for his skill, tenacity and leadership, as well as his role in establishing the original Players' Association. The players' accolade will continue to be presented annually to the "Most Outstanding Player" in the NHL, as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA.

Wayne Gretzky won the award five times during his career. Members of the Pittsburgh Penguins have won the award the most number of times, with seven winners, followed by the Edmonton Oilers with six winners.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Winner: Jose Theodore

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is an annual award under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is given to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season.

A grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.

The trophy was presented by the NHL Writers' Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars, who exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, after an injury sustained during a hockey game.

It was first awarded following the 1967–68 regular season. As of the end of the 2006–07 NHL season, players for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins have won the trophy four times each, while the Los Angeles Kings have won three times.

Jack Adams Award

Winner: Dave Tippett

The Jack Adams Award is an annual award presented by the National Hockey League Broadcasters' Association to the NHL coach judged to have contributed the most to his team's success. The winner is selected in a poll among members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association at the end of the regular season.

The award was presented by the NHL Broadcasters' Association in 1974 to commemorate the late Jack Adams, former coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. His lifetime dedication to hockey has served as an inspiration to all who aspire to further the game.

Jacques Demers is the only coach who has won the award in consecutive seasons. Four coaches in history have won the award with two different teams. Jacques Lemaire, Pat Quinn and Scotty Bowman have won the award twice, while Pat Burns is the only coach to win the award three times.

Frank J. Selke Trophy

Winner: Pavel Datsyuk

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is an annual award given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.

The trophy was first awarded at the end of the 1977–78 NHL season. It was named after Frank J. Selke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. The Selke Trophy was the fifth and last of the major NHL awards to be introduced that have been named after General Managers and owners of the Original Six teams, the other awards being the Art Ross Trophy, James Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and Jack Adams Award.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Winner: Martin St. Louis

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10-7-5-3-1 points system.

Lady Byng, wife of Canada's Governor-General at the time, presented the Lady Byng trophy in 1925. She decided the trophy's first winner would be Frank Nighbor of the Ottawa Senators. Late in the season, Lady Byng invited Nighbor to Rideau Hall, showed him the trophy, and asked him if the NHL would accept it as an award for its most gentlemanly player. When Nighbor said he thought it would, Lady Byng, much to Nighbor's surprise, awarded him the trophy.

After Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers won the award seven times in eight seasons, he was given the trophy to keep and Lady Byng donated another trophy in 1936.

After Lady Byng's death in 1949, the National Hockey League presented a new trophy, changing the name to Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

Calder Memorial Trophy

Winner: Tyler Myers

The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10-7-5-3-1 points system.

From 1936-37 until his death in 1943, Frank Calder, NHL President, bought a trophy each year to be given permanently to the outstanding rookie. After Calder's death, the NHL presented the Calder Memorial Trophy in his memory and the trophy is to be kept in perpetuity.

To be eligible for the award, a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. The player must not be older than 26 years before September 15 of the season in which he is eligible.

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Winner: Duncan Keith

The James Norris Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.

The James Norris Memorial Trophy was presented in 1953 by the four children of the late James Norris in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings.

The trophy is named in honor of James E. Norris, owner of the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings from 1932 to 1952. The trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 1953–54 NHL season.

Vezina Trophy

Winner: Ryan Miller

The Vezina Trophy is an annual award given to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at this position as voted by the general managers of all NHL clubs.

Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich, former owners of the Montreal Canadiens, presented the trophy to the National Hockey League in 1926-27 in memory of Georges Vezina, outstanding goalkeeper of the Canadiens, who collapsed during an NHL game on Novemeber 28, 1925, and died of tuberculosis a few months later.

Until the 1981-82 season, the goalkeeper(s) of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season were awarded the Vezina Trophy.

Billy Smith of the New York Islanders was the first winner of the Vezina under the current system.

Hart Memorial Trophy

Winner: Henrik Sedin

The Hart Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association in all NHL cities at the end of the regular season.

The Hart Memorial Trophy was presented by the National Hockey League in 1960 after the original Hart Trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The original Hart Trophy was donated to the NHL in 1923 by Dr. David A. Hart, father of Cecil Hart, former manager-coach of the Montreal Canadiens.