NHL nominees named for league trophies
Canadian Press
4/21/2004
NEW YORK (CP) - New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is in the running to win both the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Vezina Trophy for top goaltender for the second straight year.
Brodeur was named one of three finalists Wednesday for both award. The 31-year-old from Montreal won his first Vezina in 2003, but the Hart Trophy went to Peter Forsberg.
Brodeur led all goaltenders in games played (75), wins (38) and shutouts (11) during the regular season. He was fourth in goals-against average (2.03).
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis and Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla were named the other two finalists for the Hart Trophy.
The winners will be announced June 10 in Toronto.
St. Louis, from Laval, Que., led the league in scoring with 38 goals and 56 assists while playing all 82 games. The 28-year-old from Laval, Que., was also effective at both ends of the ice in posting a plus-minus of plus-35. He was also named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy which goes to the player who combines a high standard of play with sportsmanship.
Iginla tied for the league lead in goals scored with 41 along with Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Iginla also had 32 assists in 81 games. The 26-year-old from Edmonton won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 2002 for the league's top player as voted on by the players.
Brodeur is up against Florida's Roberto Luongo and Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff for the Vezina Trophy. Kiprusoff, from Turku, Finland, posted the lowest GAA at 1.69. Luongo, from Montreal, faced by far the most shots of any goaltender at 2,475, yet posted a save percentage of .931.
Boston Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft, Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Ryder and New York Islanders winger Trent Hunter were the three finalists for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the top rookie. Ryder, from Bonavista, Nfld., and Hunter, from Red Deer, Alta., finished 1-2 in rookie scoring.
Ryder had 25 goals and 38 assists in 81 games and Hunter posted 25 goals and 26 assists in 77 games. Raycroft, a 23-year-old from Belleville, Ont., posted a 29-18-9 record as the Bruins' starter and his save percentage of .926 was fifth-best in the league. St. Louis defenceman Barret Jackman won the Calder last year.
For the first time in six years, Detroit's Niklas Lidstrom is not in the running for the Norris Trophy which goes to the top defencemen. The three finalists named were Zdeno Chara of the Ottawa Senators, Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues and Scott Niedermayer of the New Jersey Devils.
Lidstrom won that award the last three years and was runner-up the three years before that. Pronger won the Norris in 2000.
Chara had 16 goals and 25 assists in 79 games for the Senators and posted one of the top plus-minus ratings in the league at plus-33. Pronger was a workhorse for St. Louis, averaging 27 minutes 27 seconds in the 80 games he played and pitching in 14 goals and 40 assists.
Niedermayer also logged a lot of ice time for New Jersey - almost 26 minutes per game. He had 14 goals and 40 assists and was plus-20 in 81 games.
New Jersey's John Madden, Detroit's Kris Draper and San Jose's Alyn McCauley were chosen the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy which goes to the best defensive forward. Madden won the honour in 2001 and was a runner-up last year behind winner Jere Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars.
Lightning coach John Tortorella, Calgary's Darry Sutter and San Jose's Ron Wilson were chosen the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the league's top coach.
The Lightning finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 46-22-8-6 record. The Flames clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 1996 by finishing sixth in the conference with an 42-30-7-3 record. The Sharks had a remarkable turnaround under Wilson this season, winning the Pacific Division with a 43-21-12-6 record after missing the playoffs last season.
Along with St. Louis, Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brad Richards were chosen finalists for the Lady Byng.
The New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning led the way in award nominees with four each.
