The Boston Bruins seemed to steal the show at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday. The only award that wasn’t a surprise was the William Jennings Trophy that was set to go to the Bruins’ goaltenders. Former Bruins goaltenders Reggie Lemelin and Andy Moog presented the award to Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez. Thomas and Fernandez combined for the fewest goals allowed during the regular season. Thomas appeared in 54 games and Fernandez appeared in 28. They edged out the Minnesota Wild by a difference of four goals. Thomas had one of the memorable lines of the night during the acceptance speech when he asked Fernandez if he wanted him to thank his wife too. It was Fernandez’s second Jennings Trophy of his career. His first was in 2007 with the Wild.
The Bruins were nominated for three individual awards, Jack Adams Trophy, James Norris Trophy and Vezina Trophy.
Head coach Claude Julien was nominated for the Adams Trophy along with Todd McLellan (Sharks) and Andy Murray (Blues). Former Bruins coach Pat Burns, a three-time Adams Trophy winner, was there to present the award to his good friend Julien. Julien led the Bruins to the Eastern Conference top record, 53-19-10 for 116 points, the third-highest total in franchise history. It was a 22-point increase over their 2007-2008 finish. The Bruins hit the 30-win mark in their 41st game of the season (30-7-4) on January 8th, the fastest they have reached 30 wins since 1929-30 (30-4-1). It was Julien’s first Adams Trophy win. Julien edged out McLellan by 89 points and received 35 first-place votes. Burns was the last Bruins coach to win the Adams Trophy in 1998.
Nominated for the Vezina Trophy were Thomas, Steve Mason and Nicklas Backstrom. Mason kicked off the Awards Ceremony when he won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. Thomas won his first Vezina Trophy. He was named on 29 of 30 ballots and collected 127 points. Mason, who finished second in the Vezina Trophy, had 33 points. Thomas led the NHL in goals against average (2.10) and save percentage (.933) while posting a career-high 36 wins. He won a career-best seven straight decisions from Dec. 4-30 and closed the regular season by winning his last six starts. Thomas gave a memorable and humble speech saying, “I've been more worried about getting my name on a roster than getting my name on the Vezina Trophy.”
Last but certainly not least was the Norris Trophy awarded to the defenseman demonstrating “the greatest all-around ability in the position.” Chara, Mike Green and Nicklas Lidstrom were nominated and Chara won the first Norris Trophy of his career. He finished runner-up in 2004 when Scott Niedermayer won, and third place in 2008 behind award winner Lidstrom and Dion Phaneuf. Chara received 68 of 133 first-place votes and 1,034 points to edge out Green, also nominated for the Calder Trophy, who received 58 first-place votes and 982 points. Chara ranked sixth in the NHL in average ice time (26:04), was 12th among all defensemen in scoring with 50 points (19 goals, 31 assists) and posted a +23 rating. Chara thanked his wife, Tatiana, in his acceptance speech saying, “After those bad games, when I come home, you are the one who has listen to me talk about how I could play the puck differently.”
Thomas and Chara finished 7th and 8th, respectively, in Hart Trophy voting. Thomas had 13 fifth-place votes and 100 points, and Chara had two first-place votes and 79 points. Marc Savard also made the list with one fifth-place vote.
Despite not being nominated, there were other Bruins players who earned points on individual awards. Dennis Wideman placed 11th in the Norris Trophy voting earning 24 points. He had two third-place votes. David Krejci was named in Frank Selke Trophy voting, holding 6th place with 109 points. Also in the Selke Trophy voting were P.J. Axelsson, Marc Savard, Blake Wheeler and Stephane Yelle. Axelsson had 17 points, Savard had one first-place vote and 12 points, Wheeler had one second-place vote and 11 points, and Yelle had one-fifth place vote for 1 point. Wheeler was voted 6th place in Calder Trophy voting with 157 points. Matt Hunwick, also in the Calder Trophy voting, had one fourth-place and one fifth-place vote for four points. In Lady Byng voting, Phil Kessel, Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Axelsson, Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder are listed. Kessel had the higher ranking of the six with 49 points. Krejci had 21 points, Bergeron had seven points, Axelsson had six points, Recchi had one third-place vote for five points, and Ryder had one point.
Other Awards: Alex Ovechkin became the first repeat winner of the Hart Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in over a decade. Pavel Datsyuk was a multiple winner for the second consecutive year, capturing the Lady Byng Trophy and the Frank Selke Trophy. Evgeni Malkin won his first career Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's regular-season scoring leader.
First All-Star Team: Thomas, Chara, Green, Ovechkin, Malkin and Jarome Iginla
Second All-Star Team: Mason, Lidstrom, Dan Boyle, Datsyuk, Marian Hossa and Zach Parise
All-Rookie Team: Mason, Drew Doughty, Luke Schenn, Patrik Berglund, Bobby Ryan and Kris Versteeg
