NHL Stars Gear Up For Awards Show Live From Las Vegas
Palms Casino Resort - Las Vegas
By Mike Colligan
LAS VEGAS — Players, celebrities, and hockey legends are once again ascending on ‘Sin City’ for Wednesday’s 2010 NHL Awards Show live from the Palms Hotel.
For the second straight year, the awards festivities will take place in Las Vegas and recognize the NHL’s finest performances of the past season. On Tuesday, as players arrived in town, many took the time to reflect on last year and look ahead to the 2010-11 campaign.
Most fans don’t recall Shane Doan guaranteeing his Phoenix Coyotes would make the playoffs before the season amidst the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the team. Looking back he now feels that was part of his job as captain:
“I think there was a little more reassurance, at the beginning, that everything was going to be okay. Other than that, you’re maybe pumping everybody’s tires and kind of saying how things are going to be okay and we’ll be good. Once we got going, it was pretty easy because we kind of united everybody.”
Mike Green of the Washington Capitals was asked what he thought about the offensive notion the Norris Trophy has taken on in recent years:
“That’s just a part of my game – one of those things. [Head Coach] Bruce [Boudreau] emphasizes me getting up the ice and being offensive. That’s what I bring to the table. At least this year, I’ve worked on my defensive game and tried to be better in that area, but I’ve always been a guy to get up the ice and contribute.”
The Penguins’ Jordan Staal was on crutches and revealed he had an additional surgical procedure done to repair a sliced tendon he suffered in the second round of this year’s playoffs:
“I just had a minor procedure just to kind of help it move along quicker and heal faster. I’ve got about three more weeks with this boot.”
20-year-old Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers was still adjusting to the bright lights of Las Vegas:
“To tell you the truth it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’ve only been here an hour and I feel like a rookie in front of these guys. It’s only been an hour and I’m having the time of my life.”
Never one to hold back, Alex Ovechkin was asked whether he’d prefer the Hart Trophy as league MVP or the Ted Lindsay Award for MVP as voted on by his peers:
“I’ll take both!”
As you might expect, Sidney Crosby took the more modest route when asked about his Hart Trophy nomination:
“At the end of the day, that’s three good seasons there and the way it ends up is the way it ends up.”
Sixteen trophies will be awards Wednesday night and more than a few pieces of hardware will be up for grabs:
VEZINA TROPHY (Top Goaltender)
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins
LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY (Sportsmanship and Skill)
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Brad Richards, Dallas Stars
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (Best Rookie)
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres
JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY (Best Defenseman)
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
BILL MASTERTON MEMORIAL TROPHY (Perseverance & Dedication to Hockey)
Kurtis Foster, Tampa Bay Lightning
Jed Ortmeyer, San Jose Sharks
Jose Theodore, Washington Capitals
JACK ADAMS AWARD (Best Head Coach)
Joe Sacco, Colorado Avalanche
Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes
Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators
HART MEMORIAL TROPHY (League MVP)
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
TED LINDSAY AWARD (MVP Voted by the NHLPA)
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
MARK MESSIER LEADERSHIP AWARD (Great Leadership On and Off the Ice)
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD (Top General Manager)
Don Maloney, Phoenix Coyotes
George McPhee, Washington Capitals
David Poile, Nashville Predators
NHL.com will be broadcasting the red carpet entrance at 6:30pm ET before VERSUS picks up the broadcast of the show at 7:30pm ET in the US and CBC for Canada at 8:30pm. Actor and comedian Jay Mohr will host and be joined by Snoop Dogg, Travis Barker, Shinedown, Cirque du Soleil and many more. Hockey legends expected to be in attendance include Guy Lafleur, Eddie Olczyk, Luc Robitaille, and Jeremy Roenick.
[We would like to thank Shawn Lavigne of 'Hockey This Morning' and XM Home Ice for allowing us the opportunity to attend the event and report on behalf of TheHockeyWriters.com]
Posted by Mike Colligan
on Jun 23 2010. Filed under Buffalo Sabres, NHL News/Commentary, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Top Story, Washington Capitals.
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