Canadiens’ Price wins NHL MVP award, three others
It takes some doing for a goaltender to record a hat trick. But the Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price managed to pull it off Wednesday at the MGM Grand Garden.
In fact, he did it one better.
Price, 27, celebrated a big night at the NHL Awards Show, winning four trophies — the Hart Trophy, the Vezina Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award and the William M. Jennings Trophy.
“I’m truly humbled by all of this,” said Price, who led the NHL in wins with 44, goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.933). “The guys in front of me played great all year, and I’m grateful to them.”
Price, who received 139 first-place votes from the 157 cast by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, bested Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin and New York Islanders center John Tavares for the Hart, awarded to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player.
The Lindsay is voted on by players for the league’s outstanding player; the Vezina goes to the top goalie; and the Jennings is awarded to the goalie allowing the fewest goals. Price shared the Jennings award with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks.
“No offense to those who voted for me for the Hart, but the Lindsay is very special for me,” he said. “I compete against these guys all year, and for the players to vote me this award means a lot to me personally.”
Las Vegas has become the home for the awards show, this being the sixth straight year that the NHL has honored its best players here.
This year’s ceremony came hours after the league announced it was formally opening up the expansion process, which businessman Bill Foley hopes eventually will lead to Las Vegas getting its first major league professional sports franchise.
Sixteen trophies were handed out, and Price took home 25 percent of the hardware.
“It’s something I’ll never forget,” he said. “It’s been an amazing experience, but there’s one more thing I need to get.”
He was referring to the Stanley Cup, the sport’s ultimate prize, which Montreal has won a record 24 times but none since 1993.
And while established stars such as Price were being honored, the future of the game also was on display, as Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was the winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy, which goes to the NHL’s rookie of the year.
Ekblad scored 12 goals and had 39 points for the Panthers, who failed to make the playoffs and continue to struggle at the turnstiles. The Panthers averaged just 11,265 game, playing to 66 percent capacity in the 17,040-seat BB&T Center.
“I didn’t expect to win this trophy at all,” said Ekblad, whose point totals were a team record for a rookie. “It’s usually won by a forward, so to have my name on this trophy is very special and it personally means a lot.
“I’m going to use it as motivation to keep working hard and get better. We want to make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup. It takes a lot of pieces to build a successful team, and I’m proud to be part of the Panthers.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
