A Day in the NHL: NHL Awards Preview

With the NHL’s Award Ceremony set to go tonight, honouring the best of the best, a bit of a preview/reminder was in order in terms of who’s up for the awards and what you should be watching for this evening.

You can watch: On CBC, Versus and the NHL Network this evening, beginning at 7:00pm Eastern.

Who you will see: Comedian Jay Mohr will host the awards ceremonies this evening. You’ll be able to hear Country star Dierks Bentley, and Hip Hop group Far East Movement at the awards.

The Awards and their Nominees:

Hart Memorial Trophy

Corey Perry, F, Anaheim Ducks

50 G, 48 A, 98 PTS

Notes: Won Rocket Richard trophy. Tied for league lead in game-winning goals (11). Finished fifth in power play goals (14) and third in points.

Daniel Sedin, F, Vancouver Canucks

41 G, 63 A, 104 PTS

Notes: Was one of five players with 40 goals this season, one of three players with 60+ assists, won Art Ross after leading the league with 104 points. Became first twin-brother combination to win back-to-back scoring titles with brother Henrik.

Martin St. Louis, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

31 G, 68 A, 99 PTS

Notes: Finished second in points and was one of three players with more than 95 points. Finished second in assists with 68, one of two players with more than 65 assists.

Vezina Trophy

Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver Canucks

38-15-7, 2.11 GAA, 0.928 sv%

Notes: Tied for the league lead in wins, third in save percentage and second in goals-against average. Lost second-fewest regulation games of top-ten goalies in wins.

Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville

33-22-9, 2.12 GAA, 0.930 sv%

Notes: Finished ninth in shutouts (6), second in save percentage and third in goals-against average. Was fifth in shootout wins (6).

Tim Thomas, G, Boston Bruins

35-11-9, 2.00 GAA, 0.938 sv%

Notes: Finished ninth in the league in wins. Faced the tenth most shots (1811) despite being the only goalie of the top ten in shots to appear in fewer than 60 games. Established a new single-season record for save percentage. Finished second in shutouts (9) and lost fewest regulation games of top-ten in wins.

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Zdeno Chara, D, Boston Bruins

14 G, 30 A, 44 PTS

Notes: Led league in plus/minus (+33). Finished eighth in goals and tied for second in power play goals (8) amongst defensemen.

Nicklas Lidstrom, D, Detroit Red Wings

16 G, 46 A, 62 PTS

Notes: Finished second amongst defensemen in points and tied for third in power play goals (7) and third in assists.

Shea Weber, D, Nashville Predators

16 G, 32 A, 48 PTS

Notes: Finished tenth in points amongst defensemen. Finished fifth in goal-scoring amongst defensemen and was one of five defensemen to score more than five goals.

Calder Memorial Trophy

Logan Couture, F, San Jose Sharks

32 G, 24 A, 56 PTS

Notes: Led rookies in power play goals (10) and game-winning goals (8). Finished second in plus/minus amongst rookie forwards (+18) and points.

Michael Grabner, F, New York Islanders

34 G, 18 A, 52 PTS

Notes: Finished second in the league in shorthanded goals (6). Led rookies in goals and was one of three rookies with at least 50 points.

Jeff Skinner, F, Carolina Hurricanes

31 G, 32 A, 63 PTS

Notes: Became the youngest player to ever attend an All-Star game. Led all rookies in scoring and finished second in assists. Was the only rookie to score 60 points.

Keep up with www.cardiaccane.com during the awards as Kristina Kelly will be following Jeff Skinner’s quest for the Calder.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Loui Eriksson, F, Dallas Stars

27 G, 46 A, 73 PTS

Notes: Only player amongst top-30 scorers with fewer than 10 penalty minutes (8). Never recorded penalties in consecutive games or multiple penalties in the same game. Last penalty recorded was March 13.

Nicklas Lidstrom, D, Detroit Red Wings

16 G, 46 A, 62 PTS

Notes: Recorded the fifth-fewest penalty minutes amongst top-30 scoring defensemen (20). Last regular season penalty was March 17.

Martin St. Louis, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

31 G, 68 A, 99 PTS

Notes: Recorded second-fewest penalty minutes amongst top-30 scorers (12). Last regular season penalty was on April 3. Didn’t record a penalty from November 3 to March 22.

Frank J. Selke Award

Pavel Datsyuk, F, Detroit Red Wings

23 G, 36 A, 59 PTS

Notes: The only player in the league to play in fewer than 60 games and record 70+ takeaways (71). Has now scored a shorthanded goal in three of the last four seasons (1 this past year).

Ryan Kesler, F, Vancouver Canucks

41 G, 32 A, 73 PTS

Notes: One of ten players to have a faceoff percentage above 55% both on the road and at home. Won the eighth-most short-handed faceoffs in the league (135).

Jonathan Toews, F, Chicago Blackhawks

32 G, 44 A, 76 PTS

Notes: Took the second-most faceoffs in the league and finished with the fourth-highest faceoff percentage (56.7%) of the top-30 in faceoffs taken.

Jack Adams Award

Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh Penguins

49-25-8, 106 points, fourth in Eastern Conference

Notes: Bylsma led the Penguins to the playoffs after losing Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby to injury, and have just one healthy 50-point scorer (Kris Letang). Pittsburgh had the second-most wins in the league and the best penalty kill (86.1%).

Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators

44-27-11, 99 points, fifth in Western Conference

Notes: Trotz took the Predators to the playoffs once again with just two 50-point scorers (Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn). Nashville had the third-lowest goals-allowed-per-game average (2.32) and fifth-best penalty kill (84.9%).

Alain Vigneault, Vancouver Canucks

54-19-9, 117 points, first in Western Conference, first in NHL

Notes: Vancouver had the third-best penalty kill (85.6%), best power play (24.3%), highest goals-per-game average (3.15) and lowest goals-allowed-per-game average (2.20).

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Ray Emery, G, Anaheim Ducks

7-2-0, 2.28 GAA, 0.926 sv%

Notes: Emery missed the beginning of the season after undergoing hip surgery. He underwent a bone-graft procedure, as the ball-joint in his hip had deteriorated thanks to avascular necrosis. It’s a disease that kills cells and bone tissue in joints.

Daymond Langkow, F, Calgary Flames

0 G, 1 A, 1 PT

Notes: Langkow came back to play this season after spending a year sidelines because of a fractured C-3 vertebrae.

Ian Laperriere, F, Philadelphia Flyers

0 GP

Notes: Ian Laperriere suffered what is believed to be a career-ending concussion last year during the playoffs, but spent the entire year with the Flyers’ organization this year.

Keep up with Monica McAlister over at www.octopusthrower.com tonight as she’ll be live-blogging the awards!

Follow Bryan on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.