The NHL announced today that the 2017 NHL Awards will return to Las Vegas for an eighth straight year on Wednesday, June 21 at the T-Mobile Arena and this year will include Las Vegas like it never has before. The NHL plans to incorporate the NHL Expansion Draft into the festivities as it will announce the 30-player roster that the Las Vegas Golden Knights select in a two-hour broadcast.
The show, which will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN in America and in Canada on Sportsnet, is expected to put quite a bit of emphasis on the new expansion franchise, highlighting majority owner Bill Foley, general manager George McPhee, new head coach Gerard Gallant and even highlight some of the players the Golden Knights will select.
NHL Awards and nominations for the awards will begin being revealed day-by-day, starting tomorrow with the Selke Award. Here are a list of some of the top awards and potential nominees:
Selke Trophy (nominations will be out tomorrow) — It should be a tight race, but the leading candidates for the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game come down to a handful, including Anaheim’s Ryan Kesler, Washington’s Niklas Backstrom, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and possibly even Calgary’s Mikael Backlund.
Calder Trophy (nominations to be released Thursday, April 20) — The trophy that goes to the top rookie is almost guaranteed to go to Toronto’s Auston Matthews, but other possible candidates include Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine, Pittsburgh’s goaltender Matt Murray and Columbus’ Zach Werenski.
Norris Trophy (nominations to be released Friday, April 21) — The top defenseman award will come down to a few including the Senators’ top blueliner Erik Karlsson, Lightning’s Victor Hedman and Sharks’ veteran Brent Burns.
Vezina Trophy (nominations to be released Saturday, April 22) — The top netminder award falls to a few including Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Washington’s Braden Holtby and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk.
Other nominees that will be announced before the June 21 awards include Lady Byng Trophy on Sunday, April 23; Masterton Trophy on April 24; NHL Foundation Player Award on April 25; Jack Adams Award on April 26; Mark Messier Leadership Awards on April 27; Hart Trophy on May 1 and the Ted Lindsay Award on May 2.
No big deal, but for the record, the Knights owner is Bill Foley.
Pretty sure David Foley was one of The Kids in The Hall. He’d actually be far more entertaining at the NHL Awards, I imagine.
Mikael Backlund plays for Calgary, not Anaheim. I would also expect Zach Werenski to be the 3rd finalist for Rookie-of-the-Year, not Matt Murray.