Lightning Award Season Recap: Long-Awaited Hardware Arrives

The Tampa Bay Lightning have garnered some serious hardware this season. While playoff hopes were dashed early, members of the team were still rewarded for their efforts in the regular season. Now that all th regular-season awards have been handed out, let’s recap what the members of the Lightning have received.

Just to make a note, this is strictly for the NHL award season; some players in the system took home some awards as well. However, they have been highlighted in their own stories and won’t be included here.

Nikita Kucherov, Hart Memorial Trophy (Won) & Ted Lindsay Award (Finalist)

While the players felt that Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was the most valuable player this season (Ted Lindsay Award), the writers ever so slightly felt differently as Nikita Kucherov took home his second career Hart Memorial Trophy on Thursday.

It was a close vote, with Kucherov receiving 1,436 points compared to McDavid’s 1,426. He also received 72 first-place votes compared to McDavid’s 68.

This was a year when he may have been the least expected to win the award. Naturally, that’s how it played out. McDavid won the Art Ross (most points), and Nathan MacKinnon, the third-place finisher in this season’s Hart voting, won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (most points).

Kucherov had fallen short when he was an Art Ross winner and the winner of the Ted Lindsay Award. Surely this would mean that not having the scoring title would count him out. Think again.

Jon Cooper, Jack Adams Award (Won)

At long last, the Lightning head coach has won the award for the best coach during the regular season. After over a decade on the search, after the Stanley Cups, he’s got that too.

He beat out Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Muse for the award. Jon Cooper is a three-time finalist in his career: He finished second in voting in 2018-19 and third in 2013-14. He joins John Tortorella (2003-04) as the second head coach in Lightning history to capture the trophy. Both head coaches who have led the Lightning to a Stanley Cup have the hardware now.

This is one of those years when you least expected him to win, but it’s still a season with plenty of merit. He guided the Lightning through some significant injuries and they managed to finish with 50 wins and 106 points, their best finish since they reached their third-straight Stanley Cup Final in 2021-22.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Vezina Trophy (Won)

A season after being the runner-up for the award, Andrei Vasilevskiy took home his second Vezina Trophy. It was considered a tight race for much of the season, with him and New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin going toe-to-toe.

While it was considered tight during the regular season, the voting didn’t reflect the vibes as Vasilevskiy won it decisively, receiving 114 points and 17 first-place votes. Meanwhile, Sorokin had 51 points and eight first-place votes.

Vasilevskiy won the award for the first time since 2019. It was his sixth time being a finalist, after finishing as a runner-up at the end of last season behind the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck. He has received votes in seven of the last eight seasons.

Anthony Cirelli, Frank J. Selke Trophy (Distant Runner-Up)

Being the runner-up for the award is a big deal, but I’m also choosing to be realistic about where he stood regarding the voting. It wasn’t close. Nick Suzuki ran away with the Selke.

The Montreal Canadiens star garnered 1,726 and 151 first-place votes while Cirelli received 467 and 10 first-place votes. He had the most second-place votes by a modest margin; 34 to Brock Nelson’s 28.