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2025 NHL Awards

Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck Wins 2025 Vezina and Hart Trophies

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The NHL has announced that the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck will take home both the 2025 Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and the 2025 Hart Trophy as league MVP.

Hellebuyck beats out Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Vezina award. This marks his third time winning the trophy. For the Hart, he finishes ahead of forwards Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) and Nikita Kucherov (Lightning). He becomes the first goalie since Carey Price in 2014-15 to win both awards.

Hellebuyck posted career-bests across the board this season, with a 2.00 goals-against-average, .925 save percentage, and 47 wins. He led the NHL in all three statistics among goaltenders with at least 35 games played.

Hellebuyck was at his home when he discovered he had won the Vezina. Surrounded by family and teammate Eric Comrie, the Hart Trophy was then brought out as an extra surprise.

“That moment was like putting a little cherry on top… I actually had no idea what this trophy looked like. Looking back, I’ll probably picture this day as one of the greatest of my career,” he said.

Hellebuyck had a monumental season, highlighted by posting the highest win percentage in NHL history. His 47 wins in 63 games equal out to 0.746 wins-per-game, defeating the previous record 0.727 posted by Braden Holtby in 2015-16. On a grand scale, Hellebuyck’s win total ranks third all-time behind Holtby (48 wins in 66 games, 2015-16) and Martin Brodeur (48 in 78, 2006-07). Hellebuyck also tied Bernie Parent and Roberto Luongo in wins, though he managed the feat in fewer games.

Hellebuyck joins Glenn Hall, Tony Esposito, and George Hainsworth as a three-time winner. Each one of the 12 other goaltenders to win at least three Vezina Trophies went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame – save for four-time winner Michel Larocque, backstop of the 1979 Stanley Cup-clinching Montreal Canadiens. Hellebuyck ran away with the Vezina voting, receiving all but one first place vote. MVP voting was much closer, but Hellebuyck edged out Draisaitl 1,346 to 1,209.

Hellebuyck’s prowess has rarely been questioned. He has posted a save percentage at or north of .920 in four of his last six seasons – only interrupted by a .916 and .910 in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, respectively. Every season, except for 2021-22, was coupled by a win percentage of at least 50 percent. That’s incredible consistency for an NHL starter – a fact that has earned Hellebuyck the third-highest cap hit ($8.5MM) among NHL goaltenders. He carries that price tag on a seven-year, $59.9MM contract signed with Winnipeg in 2023. That deal will carry Hellebuyck through his age-38 season in 2030-31.

Kings’ Anže Kopitar Wins 2024-25 Lady Byng Trophy

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Kings center Anže Kopitar has won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the 2024-25 season, the NHL announced Thursday. According to the league, the award is given “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” As with most other major trophies, it’s voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season.

As the full voting results show, Kopitar was far from a unanimous first-place vote and narrowly edged out Brayden Point, Jack Eichel, and Jaccob Slavin, all of whom had at least 27 first-place nods. It’s Kopitar’s third Lady Byng, putting him in a tie for fifth-most in league history. Frank Boucher (seven), Wayne Gretzky (five), Pavel Datsyuk (four), and Red Kelly (four) are the only ones ahead of him.

Others receiving first-place votes, listed in order of total points awarded, were Nick Suzuki, Cale Makar, Marc-André Fleury, Mitch Marner, Colton Parayko, Jake Sanderson, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Kirill Marchenko.

Kopitar, 38 in August, appeared in 81 games for Los Angeles in 2024-25 in what was his 19th NHL season, all with the Kings. Still an effective top-line piece, he also finished eighth in Selke Trophy voting after posting a 21-46–67 scoring line, a +14 rating, and 67 blocks while winning 57.2% of his faceoffs. As always important for Lady Byng voting, Kopitar took just two penalties all season – a holding call against the Devils in January and a cross-checking penalty against Utah in April.

The all-time great Slovenian pivot previously won the award following the 2015-16 and 2022-23 seasons. He was also a finalist back in 2014-15.

Image courtesy of Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images.

Cale Makar Wins 2025 Norris Trophy

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Avalanche star Cale Makar has been voted the NHL’s top defenseman and will take home the 2025 James Norris Memorial Trophy, the league announced Wednesday.

It’s the second time taking home the Norris for Makar, who became the first defenseman in Avalanche franchise history to win it when he was crowned the league’s best rearguard following the 2021-22 season. He was the clear favorite for the award, becoming the first D-man to hit 30 goals and 90 points in the same season since Paul Coffey in 1988-89 while finishing the year with a 10-point lead in scoring among defenseman ahead of the Blue Jackets’ Zach Werenski, although the two tied with 54 even-strength points.

Among defensemen, Makar also ranked 11th in plus-minus (+28), first in points per game (1.15), second in shots on goal (246), and third in average time on ice (25:43). He also recorded 128 blocks, the second-highest mark of his six-year career. Makar’s possession impacts once again flourished after an unusually subpar defensive showing in 2023-24, controlling 56.6% of shot attempts and a career-high 59.4% of expected goals at even strength.

The 6’0″ righty finished ahead of Werenski and Canucks lefty Quinn Hughes for the award. Makar received 176 first-place votes and 1,861 total points, while Werenski was the runner-up with 13 first-place votes and 1,266 points. The full voting breakdown is as follows, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic:

  1. Makar – 1,861 points (176-13-2-0-0)
  2. Werenski – 1,266 points (13-132-38-7-1)
  3. Hughes – 918 points (2-39-110-21-12)
  4. Josh Morrissey, Jets – 280 (0-5-18-41-32)
  5. Victor Hedman, Lightning – 265 (0-1-11-55-38)
  6. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres – 120 (0-0-4-26-22)
  7. Thomas Harley, Stars – 60 (0-1-1-7-27)
  8. Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes – 60 (0-0-2-13-11)
  9. Lane Hutson, Canadiens – 42 (0-0-1-5-22)
  10. Jake Sanderson, Senators – 33 (0-0-0-9-6)
  11. Evan Bouchard, Oilers – 29 (0-0-2-4-7)
  12. Adam Fox, Rangers – 9 (0-0-1-0-4)
  13. Gustav Forsling, Panthers – 8 (0-0-1-0-3)
  14. Ryan McDonagh, Lightning – 5 (0-0-0-1-2)
  15. Devon Toews, Avalanche – 4 (0-0-0-1-1)
  16. John Carlson, Capitals – 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
  17. Jakob Chychrun, Capitals – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    Brock Faber, Wild – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    Shea Theodore, Golden Knights – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)

Makar’s run of dominance to begin his career is putting him on a fast track to Hall-of-Fame status. He’s now the sixth player to win at least two Norrises in the first six seasons of his NHL career, and he’s been a finalist for the award in every year since his rookie season. He still finished in the top 10 in voting while winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year in 2019-20.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Canadiens’ Lane Hutson Wins 2025 Calder Trophy

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Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson has been voted the 2025 Calder Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year, the league announced Tuesday.

It’s a fitting honor for Hutson, whose historic first season helped fuel Montreal to its first playoff berth in four years. His 60 assists and 66 points broke Hall-of-Famer Chris Chelios’ franchise records of 55 and 64, respectively, by a Canadiens defenseman in his first NHL season.

That offensive dominance by the 5’9″ rearguard, who fell to Montreal with the 62nd overall pick of the 2022 draft due to some overreactionary concerns about his diminutive frame, made him a clear No. 1 ROTY in voters’ eyes. While he wasn’t a unanimous first-place vote, 165 of 191 (86.4%) of ballots had him in the top slot, relays Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. No one else received first-place votes out of the other finalists for the award, Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf (15) and Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (11).

There was a clear demarcation between the top four and the rest of the pack. Outside of the finalists, only Flyers winger Matvei Michkov (eight second-place votes, 26 third-place votes) landed a top-three spot on voters’ ballots. The full voting breakdown, which involves a 10-7-5-3-1 points allocation as standard, is as follows:

  1. Hutson – 1,832 (165-26-0-0-0)
  2. Wolf – 1,169 (15-96-59-17-1)
  3. Celebrini – 1,104 (11-61-106-12-1)
  4. Michkov – 645 (0-8-26-151-6)
  5. F Cutter Gauthier (Ducks) – 92 (0-0-0-6-74)
  6. F Will Smith (Sharks) – 62 (0-0-0-2-56)
  7. F Logan Stankoven (Hurricanes) – 22 (0-0-0-2-16)
  8. F Zachary Bolduc (Blues) – 20 (0-0-0-1-17)
  9. F Jackson Blake (Hurricanes) – 9 (0-0-0-0-9)
  10. F Marco Kasper (Red Wings) – 7 (0-0-0-0-7)
  11. F Mackie Samoskevich (Panthers) – 2 (0-0-0-0-2)
  12. D Drew Helleson (Ducks) – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
    D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets) – 1 (0-0-0-0-1)

Hutson hitting the 60-assist plateau also tied him with Larry Murphy for the all-time record for most assists by a rookie rearguard and helped tie him for sixth in the league in scoring among all defenders this year with Lightning star Victor Hedman. He was the most efficient point-producer of the top nine highest-scoring defenders, averaging the lowest time on ice of the group at 22:44 per game.

While he’ll need to be paired with a strong, defensively grounded partner at even strength to achieve his maximum effectiveness at his peak, something Montreal seems to have found by icing Kaiden Guhle on his off side, he’s set up well to serve as the Habs’ No. 1 defenseman for years to come as they exit their rebuild with their new core. He’s also the first Canadien to win the Calder since Hall-of-Fame goalie Ken Dryden in 1972.

Image courtesy of Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images.

Spencer Carbery Wins 2025 Jack Adams Award

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In recent days, the NHL has been revealing some of its end-of-season award winners heading into next week’s NHL Awards show.  Today, the league announced that Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery has won the 2025 Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success,” as selected by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

Carbery recently wrapped up his second season behind the bench in Washington and it was a very successful one.  After the Capitals put up 91 points in 2023-24, they were 20 points better this year, good for tops in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference while finishing second overall to Winnipeg.  They improved significantly offensively with a jump of 68 goals compared to the year before while being one of the top squads in goal differential and penalty killing.  While voting was done before the playoffs, Washington made it to the second round before being ousted by Carolina.

With that improvement, Carbery was the runaway winner for the award, finishing with 81 first-place votes out of 103 and appeared on all but one ballot, good for 464 voting points.  He becomes the fourth Washington coach to win the Jack Adams, joining Bryan Murray (1984), Bruce Boudreau (2008), and Barry Trotz (2016).  Carbery also becomes the first head coach to win Coach of the Year at all of the ECHL, AHL, and NHL levels.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel finished second in the voting, garnering a total of 16 first-place selections while being on 81 ballots overall, earning him 249 voting points.  Canadiens bench boss Martin St. Louis was the other finalist but came a distant third with just two first-place selections and 66 voting points while being picked on 34 ballots.  Jim Montgomery (Blues) and Dean Evason (Blue Jackets) rounded out the top five.

The NHL Awards show will run prior to Game 4 of the Oilers/Panthers series at 5 PM CT on Thursday with the full list of all award winners being revealed at that time.

Sean Monahan Wins 2025 Masterton Trophy

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The NHL has announced the winners of a few awards and trophies this week, including the Selke and Ted Lindsay. Today, the league announced that Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan is this year’s recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”

Monahan, 30, signed a five-year contract with Columbus in free agency last season. One of the reasons for doing so was having a chance to reunite with his close friend and longtime Flames linemate, Johnny Gaudreau. Yet Monahan’s and the entire NHL season were overshadowed when Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a drunk driver while cycling near their New Jersey home in late August, weeks before training camp began.

The Blue Jackets responded by staying in the playoff race until the final days of the regular season, a far better finish than anyone expected. That success was fueled in large part by Monahan, who recorded a career-high 0.70 assists per game and 1.06 points per game while also earning Selke votes for the second time in his 12-year career. He logged 57 points in 54 games, on pace to lead Columbus in scoring if not for missing nearly 30 games in the second half of the season with a wrist injury.

This year’s other finalists were Wild goaltender Marc-André Fleury, whose 2024-25 season was the last of a Hall-of-Fame career spanning 21 seasons, and Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, who returned to the ice in the postseason after a nearly three-year absence due to a knee injury.

While the 2025 NHL Awards ceremony will be held before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, the league has been surprising the winners of other honors in the days leading up to it.

Jack Eichel, Anže Kopitar, Brayden Point Named Lady Byng Trophy Finalists

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Now that award season is approaching, the NHL has announced the three finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy: Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights, Anže Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, and Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As one of the more underappreciated honors, the Lady Byng Trophy is awarded to the player voted best to combine sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct, and ability as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Kopitar is the only one of the trio to have won the award previously.

In arguably the best season of his career from an individual perspective, Eichel led the Pacific Division champion Golden Knights in scoring with 28 goals and 94 points in 77 games. Not only did Eichel have a career year himself, but he also set a new standard for Vegas players by besting William Karlsson’s 78-point 2017-18 season, which stood as the franchise’s single-season record until now. This was largely due to his availability, missing only five games all season and only accruing eight PIMs.

As mentioned earlier, Kopitar is the only member of the trio who has previously won the Lady Byng Trophy, receiving the award in the 2015-16 and 2022-23 seasons. He outperformed his Pacific Division rival, Eichel, by only taking two minor penalties compared to Eichel’s four. Surpassing Dustin Brown as the longest-serving captain in Kings history this season, Kopitar helped Los Angeles reach the postseason for the fourth consecutive year.

Point became a finalist for the second time in three years, and for good reason. Point bested a point-per-game average for a third consecutive season and centered one of the most efficient top lines in the game. Beating Kopitar and Eichel, Point only had one minor penalty this year (and finished with seven PIMs).

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Marc-Andre Fleury, Gabriel Landeskog, Sean Monahan Named Masterton Trophy Finalists

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The NHL has announced the three finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The award is presented each year to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.” This year’s finalists are Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan.

The race for the sportsmanship title may be closer than ever this season. Leading the back is the 40-year-old Fleury, who played the last game of his illustrious career on Tuesday night. Fleury is one of just three goaltenders to ever be drafted first overall, and he’s the only one of the trio to play through a full career in the NHL. He amassed 1,051 appearances and ended his career on a strong note this season, posting a satisfactory 14-9-1 record and .899 save percentage while serving as Minnesota’s backup. Fleury went through a true farewell tour this season, facing standing ovations and long hand-shake lines in many of his final stops around the league. A Masterton win would acknowledge the 21 years of formidable hockey and warm personality that Fleury offered the league.

While Fleury stands for achievement, Landeskog will represent true perseverance on this year’s ballot. The Avalanche captain made his long-awaited return to the ice this postseason, finally marking the end of his recovery from a skate-cut injury suffered in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Multiple surgeries and extended absences marked his 2021-22 campaign, though he stayed together long enough to net 22 points in 20 playoff games en route to Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup win.

But Landeskog fell completely out of the lineup after he lifted the Cup, and has spent the last three years fighting to return to game shape. His journey to recovery was outlined in the ’A Clean Sheet’ documentary, hosted on HBO Max, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. After three years of dedication, Landeskog has looked back to form in his return to the ice. He has four points in four playoff games and helped will a Game 7 when Colorado faced elimination on Thursday night.

For Monahan, Masterton recognition will mean something else entirely. The 30-year-old centerman signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer, intent on joining close friend Johnny Gaudreau on the team’s top line. But tragedy struck when Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by an alleged drunk driver in the weeks leading up to the season.

It was Earth-shattering news for much of the Columbus organization and fanbase, especially Monahan, who now lives two doors down from the Gaudreau family in Columbus. He channeled any emotions into incredible hockey to start the year, netting 41 points in 41 games to start the season. But Monahan sustained a right-wrist injury on Jan. 7 that forced him to miss nearly 10 weeks of action. He stayed hot when he returned, finishing the year with 16 points in 13 games, but the surge fell just a little short, and Columbus ultimately missed the postseason by just one win. Even then, Monahan’s season was a deep show of the resilience, community, and compassion that exists in the hockey world – all attributes that seem aptly summarized by the Bill Masterton Trophy.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports.

Scott Arniel, Spencer Carbery, Martin St. Louis Named Jack Adams Finalists

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The Jets’ Scott Arniel, the Capitals’ Spencer Carbery, and the Canadiens’ Martin St. Louis are this year’s Jack Adams Award finalists as the NHL’s top head coach, the league announced.

All are first-time finalists. Unlike most other awards (like the Selke, whose finalists were announced today), the Adams is voted on by broadcast media members, not print/digital.

In his first season behind the Winnipeg bench after taking over for the retiring Rick Bowness, Arniel guided the Jets to their first Presidents’ Trophy and best regular season in franchise history. Promoted after serving as an assistant under Bowness since 2022-23, the former Jets 1.0 forward logged a 56-22-4 record.

This is Arniel’s second stop as an NHL head coach. He was previously at the helm of the Blue Jackets for a year and a half, posting a 45-60-18 (.439) record in 123 games before being fired at the halfway point of the 2011-12 season. He would be the first bench boss in Jets 2.0 franchise history to win Coach of the Year honors.

Over in Washington, Carbery oversaw one of the league’s biggest point increases from 2023-24 to 2024-25 in his second year behind the Capitals’ bench. He’s now posted a 91-53-20 (.616) record across his two seasons in the role, including an Eastern Conference-leading 51-22-9 record this year for Washington’s first division title in five years. While it’s not considered for this award’s purposes, he also just guided the Caps to their first playoff series win since 2018 with a five-game dispatching of the Canadiens in the first round.

Carbery helped improve Washington’s offense from a 28th-ranked 2.63 goals per game last year to 3.49 in 2024-25, second-best in the NHL. If he wins, the 43-year-old would be the first to take home Coach of the Year honors at every stop of the NHL’s professional development pyramid. While in lower levels of the Caps organization, he won COTY honors with ECHL South Carolina in 2013-14 and with AHL Hershey in 2020-21.

As for St. Louis, the Hall-of-Fame winger could add coaching-related honors to a trophy case that includes a Stanley Cup, two Art Ross Trophies, MVP honors, and three Lady Byng Trophies. Coming off his third full season behind the Montreal bench, the 49-year-old helped guide a young Habs squad out of the dark stages of their rebuild. The team recorded their first 40-win season in six years and ended a three-year postseason drought that was tied for the longest (1999-2001, 1920-1922) in franchise history. A Habs bench boss hasn’t been named COTY since Pat Burns in 1989.

Aleksander Barkov, Anthony Cirelli, Sam Reinhart Named Selke Trophy Finalists

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Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Lightning center Anthony Cirelli, and Panthers winger Sam Reinhart have been named Selke Trophy finalists for the 2024-25 season, the NHL announced.

According to the league, the award is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” It’s voted on at the end of the regular season by media members, like most other major NHL honors, and has been in circulation since the 1977-78 campaign, with former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron holding the record with six wins.

Despite the verbiage, the Selke is almost never given out to a pure shutdown forward, at least not anymore. More of a “best two-way forward” than “best defensive forward” honor in reality, Barkov headlines the list as he looks to take home the hardware in back-to-back years and for the third time in his career.

Now a four-time finalist, Barkov’s boxcar stats actually point toward a down year for the Stanley Cup champion Finn. His 1.06 points per game and plus-one rating were both post-COVID lows for the 29-year-old, but he still added 54 blocks, 87 hits, and a 56.5% win rate in the faceoff dot. A look at his possession numbers makes it easy to see why he’s continuously regarded as the game’s best two-way center, though. His 60.8% Corsi share at even strength this year was a career-high and led the team.

Stepping into the finalist’s circle for the first time is Barkov’s cross-state counterpart in Cirelli. The 27-year-old finished fourth in Selke voting in 2019-20 and fifth in 2021-22 but never cracked the top three. That changes this year on the heels of a season full of career-highs for Cirelli, who scored 27 goals, 32 assists, 59 points, and logged a +30 rating in 80 appearances. His 18:41 of ice time per game was also a career-high. While he doesn’t receive Barkov’s 5-on-5 deployment, Cirelli is Tampa’s top penalty-killing forward and finished seventh among forwards in plus-minus this season.

Reinhart is the unlikeliest candidate to win, although it’s not really in his control. A winger hasn’t won the award in over 20 years – the Stars’ Jere Lehtinen was the last to do it in 2003. The 29-year-old finished just outside of being a finalist last year during his career-defining 57-goal campaign, and his nomination means the Panthers are the first team with two Selke finalists in a season since the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in 2007-08. He finished 2024-25 with a 39-42–81 scoring line, a plus-six rating, 103 hits, and a 59.2 CF% in 79 games.

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