Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid ran away in the voting to win his second Hart Trophy as NHL MVP on Tuesday, much like he blew away the competition while leading the league in points.
McDavid became just the second unanimous Hart selection joining Wayne Gretzky in 1982 in receiving all 100 first-place votes from members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
The NHL presented its awards remotely for a second consecutive season because of the coronavirus pandemic. In previous years, the awards ceremony was held in Las Vegas with an audience and players present.
McDavid doubled up on honors by also winning his third Ted Lindsay Award as the leagues most outstanding player, which is voted on by NHL players.
The 24-year-old McDavid, who also won MVP honors in 2017, had already won his third Art Ross Trophy in six seasons for leading the NHL with 105 points (33 goals, 72 assists) in 56 games. The next closest player to McDavid in the points standings was teammate Leon Draisaitl with 84, with Bostons Brad Marchand a distant third with 69.
Torontos Auston Matthews finished second in the voting followed by Colorados Nathan MacKinnon.
Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury beat out Tampa Bays Andrei Vasilevskiy and Colorados Philipp Grubauer to win his first Vezina Trophy as the NHLs goalie of the year. The Golden Knights tandem of Fleury and Robin Lehner already won the William M. Jennings Trophy, for combining to allow an NHL-low 124 goals this season.
The 36-year-old Fleury finished third in the NHL with 26 wins, a 1.98 goals-against, .928 save percentage and six shutouts in 36 games. He also closed the season with a nine-game winning streak, while moving into third place on the NHL career list with 492 wins.
New York Rangers’ Adam Fox won the Jack Norris Trophy as the NHLs top defenseman, beating out Tampa Bays Victor Hedman and Colorados Cale Makar. The 23-year-old Fox led NHL defensemen with 42 assists and second with 47 points.
He also ranked seventh among skaters in ice-time. Fox became the second player to win the Norris in his second season, joining Bobby Orr winning in 1968.
Hedman, who won the honor in 2018, was a finalist for a fifth consecutive year, matching the longest streak since fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom enjoyed a six-year run from 1998 to 2003.
Minnesotas Kirill Kaprizov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in becoming just the fourth rookie since 1993-94 to lead his team in scoring. The 24-year-old from Russia led NHL rookies with 27 goals and 51 points, and became the first Wild player to win the Calder.
Carolina goalie Alex Nedeljkovic and Dallas foward Jason Robertson were the other two Calder finalists.
The Oilers players have now won the Hart in three of the past five years, with Draisaitl winning it last year.
McDavid was informed of winning the both awards by Draisailt.
To have your fellow peers recognize you, it means a lot. Just feel so humbled and grateful to have won this award a few times, McDavid said, before personally thanking Draisaitl for personally helping contribute to his point production.
The NHL previously announced other winners, with Carolinas Rod BrindAmour winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year, and New York Islanders Lou Lamoriello winning the Jim Gregory general manager of the year award.
Floridas Aleksander Barkov won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHLs top defensive forward, and Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct.
Philadelphias Oskar Lindblom, a cancer survivor, was this years recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, presented to a player who exemplifies perseverance and dedication to hockey.
The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award was presented to Bostons Patrice Bergeron. Matthews won the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the NHL with 41 goals.
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