Viva Las Vegas...NHL Style

Las Vegas...Lights, camera, action! The new home of the NHL Awards did not disappoint. The star-studded event was all action. Even though the awards changed cities, the Ovechkin show continued just like last year in Toronto. Ovechkin was the talk of the town. He is bigger than life right now and as he paraded down the red carpet here at the Palms Hotel with two show girls, rumours were flying that he had just won $500 playing blackjack at one of the casinos before he took to the carpet. His overall image is one of fun and party, but when it comes to the game, it is all business. 

Ovechkin captured the two most prestigious trophies for the second straight season on Thursday, winning the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players’ choice for the most outstanding player and the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. 

He was the show from start to finish and when asked about his winnings, “I have chips in my room in the safe,” said Ovechkin. “Losing is not for me.” 

Though the Washington Capitals have yet to advance to the Stanley Cup finals with the young superstar, they are definitely poised to take on that challenge next year. The Capitals sniper also took home another Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the league with 56 goals. 

“Next year, Stanley Cup will be ours,” were the words from his mouth. These are the words just after accepting the Hart from teammate Sergei Fedorov and Grammy Award-winning singer Michael Buble. Ovechkin was a runaway winner for the Hart, receiving 115 of 133 first-place votes to beat out Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk in an all-Russian group of finalists. 

It was definitely a night for Russian hockey to gloat and for that matter international hockey. Award presenter Glenn Anderson thought he’d ended up in the wrong place – “down the road at the Russian awards.”

You can’t blame him for feeling a bit disoriented.  

Even though there was lots of silverware for Ovechkin, this night one was more trying than others. He missed two games in October so that he could return to Russia to visit his ailing grandfather, Nikolay Kabayev, who died a few weeks later. That weighed heavy on his mind throughout the season and even as he celebrated in Vegas he acknowledged, “This year was especially hard,” said Ovechkin. “This award I give it to him and all my family.” 

The evening was not without its mistakes as a few presenters stumbled over words and missed cues. Jeremy Roenick seemed a little nervous, even though that is out of character for the loud American star. The awards will be here for another two years and if last night was any indicator, they will only get hotter!!! Oops 39 degrees today in Las Vegas, can it get any hotter? 

The night was not only owned by Ovechkin and his Russian comrades as the Boston Bruins placed three players to the podium. Zdeno Chara took the Norris Trophy for top defenceman, Tim Thomas took the Vezina Trophy for top goaltender and Claude Julien claimed the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. The most emotional of them all was Thomas, who battled a long journey to the podium as he played some of his hockey in Finland and was never considered a legimate starting goal tender. “I never really allowed myself to believe that I might win,” said Thomas. “It seemed like such a far away dream when you look at the names on the Vezina Trophy. I’ve been more worried about getting my name on a roster.”

The NHL awards show was certainly star struck out side of hockey as Chaka Khan performed along with Robin Thicke, film producer Jerry Bruckheimer made an appearance on stage at the Pearl Concert Hall along with Kevin O’Donnelly from Entourage and several former NHL greats. Gerry Dee entertained the sold put crowd before the show but three special moments outweighed all the rest. Vladmir Konstantinov walked out on stage with a stroller and presented Ovechkin one of his three trophies with Hall of Famer Igor Larinov. Pat Burns presented the Jack Adams award and the audience gave him a very warm welcome as he battles cancer again. The highlight of the night was Jean Beliveau. Gary Bettman presented Montreal Canadiens’ great Mr. Beliveau with a lifetime achievement award, calling him the “emblem of elegance and class.” As Beliveau took the stage the audience responded with a long standing ovation. 

In closing off a fantastic party in the Palms, it would not be complete without congratulating all of the other winners. The Pittsburgh Penguins were true Stanley Cup Champions (but one question was the absence of Sidney Crosby in the march to the podium. As the youngest captain to hoist the Cup, he didn’t need any more silverware. 

Even though Pavel Datsyuk was a runner-up to Ovechkin for the Hart and Pearson, he managed to win both the Selke (top defensive forward) and Lady Byng (most gentlemanly) trophies for the second straight year. The Detroit Red Wings centre is arguably the best two-way player in the game right now.

Another big winner was Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason, who took home the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

Among the other awards handed out:

-Nashville Predators forward Steve Sullivan took home the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication.

-Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla won the Messier Leadership Award.

-Ethan Moreau of the Edmonton Oilers won the King Clancy for his charitable work.

-And, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo was voted fan favourite.

 Well done Las Vegas, well done NHL and well done Ovechkin, this was an award night to remember.