Patrick Kane Named 2016 NHL MVP
After several years in which repeat winners dominated the league honors, every major trophy went to a first-time winner at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Braden Holtby of Washington finished fourth in the Hart voting, but won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie after tying Martin Brodeur's league record with 48 victories.
"I'm not a big guy on awards or records, but the wins record, we got to share as a team," Holtby said. "The commitment it took to make that possible was definitely cool to be a part of."
His coach, Barry Trotz, won the Jack Adams Award for the first time in 17 seasons behind an NHL bench, recognizing the Capitals' league-best regular season.
Los Angeles Kings captain AnzeKopitar won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward and the Lady Byng Trophy for his gentlemanly play. His teammate, Drew Doughty, took home his first Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman.
Kane's linemate in Chicago, ArtemiPanarin, won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie after scoring 77 points in 80 games. The 24-year-old Russian beat out No. 1 draft pick Connor McDavid of Edmonton, whose outstanding debut was shortened by a broken collarbone.
Kane and Panarin credited each other for their statistical success, along with linemateArtemAnisimov.
"It goes without saying how our chemistry developed over the year and how much fun we had playing with each other," Kane said. "Hopefully we can be together for a long, long time and build off that experience."
In perhaps the most intriguing race, Doughty beat out Ottawa's Erik Karlsson and San Jose's Brent Burns for the Norris, which went to Karlsson for the second time last year. The lively debate forced voters to decide between pure offensive production and analytical superiority.
While Doughty didn't match his competitors' offensive production, voters recognized his two-way prowess for the defense-minded Kings. Doughty led all defensemen in Corsi percentage at 58.9, and he scored 51 points with a plus-24 rating while playing enormous minutes on the Kings' depleted blue line.
Karlsson scored a whopping 82 points for the Senators, the most by an NHL defenseman in 20 years. Burns nearly matched Karlsson with 75 points, including 27 goals for the Western Conference champion Sharks.
"The two guys I was up against, having a point a game as a defenseman in the NHL and then putting up 27 goals as a defenseman in the NHL, that's just ridiculous," Doughty said. "I can almost guarantee I'll never do that. ... I kind of love that competition. I don't know about (Karlsson), but I'd be OK if this went on for the rest of our careers."
JaromirJagr, the Florida Panthers' 44-year-old leading scorer, was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. He didn't attend the ceremony while tending to his ailing father.
Pittsburgh's Jim Rutherford was named the NHL's general manager of the year after building the Stanley Cup champions. Nashville's Shea Weber, Vancouver's HenrikSedin and Calgary's Mark Giordano all received awards recognizing leadership and community service.
Photos: Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images (Kane awards), Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images (Kane action), Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images (Kane and Panarin)
