NHL Announces 2026 First & Second All-Star Teams
And with that, the NHL Award season is over. On the heels of announcing the 2025-26 All-Rookie Team, the NHL has also revealed the First & Second All-Star Teams from this past season. Now, the only two awards left to hand out are the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy. The two All-Star Teams are as follows:
First All-Star Team
LW Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars
C Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
RW Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
D Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
D Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Second All-Star Team
LW Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens
C Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
RW David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers
G Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
There are no real surprises among the forwards and defensemen. It’s difficult to argue that anyone should be excluded from this list, as many of the names included were finalists for major awards during the 2025-26 campaign.
There is one big surprise for the goaltenders. Vasilevskiy makes plenty of sense, given that he won the Vezina Trophy this season. However, Thompson finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting behind Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins.
Arguably, Thompson should have been a finalist for the Vezina. He finished the season with a 31-21-6 record in 58 games with a .912 SV%, 2.44 GAA, and 29.3 GSAx according to MoneyPuck. His GSAx wasn’t the best per 60 minutes, but he finished ahead of Vasilevskiy in both metrics, demonstrating how strong he played this year. The difference is in who votes for each; the Vezina is voted on by the league’s General Managers, while the All-Star Teams are chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
NHL Announces 2026 All-Rookie Team
Earlier today, the NHL announced the All-Rookie Team from the 2025-26 season, with no surprises. The team is as follows:
F Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens
F Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim Ducks
F Jimmy Snuggerud, St. Louis Blues
D Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders
D Alexander Nikishin, Carolina Hurricanes
G Jakub Dobes, Montreal Canadiens
The group is highlighted by the three Calder Trophy finalists: Demidov, Sennecke, and Schaefer. In a runaway performance, Schaefer ultimately took home Rookie of the Year honors, but Demidov and Sennecke each had exceptional seasons in their own right.
The final forward spot came down to the wire between Snuggerud and Ryan Leonard of the Washington Capitals. Snuggerud barely surpassed Leonard in scoring, finishing with 21 goals and 51 points in 70 games to Leonard’s 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games. The higher point totals in fewer games likely pushed Snuggerud over the edge.
Unlike the voting at forward, Nikishin made it fairly easy to round out the defense. He finished well short of Schaefer’s totals with 11 goals and 33 points in 81 games, but he plays a much different game. Nikishin’s +18 rating was only three behind Fraser Minten‘s rating with the Boston Bruins for the highest in the league among rookies.
The goaltending vote could have gone either way, and maybe should have. Not to knock Dobes, who had a quality year, but Jesper Wallstedt of the Minnesota Wild was fairly dominant this season. The former first-round pick finished with an 18-9-6 record in 35 games with a .916 SV% and 2.61 GAA.
Not only did Wallstedt’s save percentage finish as the top among rookie netminders, but he also finished second in the league among qualified goaltenders, only slightly behind Scott Wedgewood of the Colorado Avalanche.
Still, Dobe’s entry onto the All-Rookie Team was well deserved. He had a heavier workload than Wallstedt, finishing with a 29-10-4 record in 43 games with a .901 SV% and 2.78 GAA.
Nikita Kucherov Wins 2026 Hart Trophy
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has been named the 2026 Hart Trophy winner, the annual award for the top player in the National Hockey League. The honors were announced this evening on ESPN’s “The Point” prior to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Awarded to the player selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers Association in all NHL cities upon the end of the regular season, Kucherov takes home the MVP for the second time in his career, the first coming in 2019. The soon-to-be 33-year-old beat out other finalists Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid.
Final voting totals were revealed by The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, with Kucherov’s 1,436 points just ahead of McDavid’s 1,426, a razor thin margin. His four more first-place ballots over the Edmonton captain were the difference. MacKinnon came away with 1,297 points, while San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini finished fourth (625 points, five first-place votes) and Montreal’s Nick Suzuki rounded out the top five (102 points), netting one first-place vote.
Kucherov continues to produce at an incredible level, coming away second in the league with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 regular season games. Dishing out an absurd number of helpers, he always evoked fear in goaltenders when looking toward the net instead, shooting at a 19.0% clip, with 44 goals as eighth highest in the NHL. The Russian winger’s 1.71 points-per-game stands out as the league best out of qualified players, and on that rate, had he not missed six contests Kucherov would have been on track to surpass the first ranked McDavid’s 138 points in 82 games. The fourth straight season in which he recorded at least 80 assists, the winger came away second behind McDavid in that statistical category.
Based on those metrics, Kucherov stood out to voters after a 2025-26 where he helped carry the Lighting through what was an injury-riddled campaign along their way to 50 wins. He wasn’t the only Tampa Bay star to take major honors, as Andrei Vasilevskiy won the 2026 Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender. As if that wasn’t enough, head coach Jon Cooper received honors as the 2026 Jack Adams Award winner for best coach. Despite the regular season hardware, the Lightning’s season ended in a Game 7 defeat of the opening round at the hands of the tenacious Montreal Canadiens.
The unceremonious ending aside, Kucherov’s tremendous campaign adds to an already deep trophy shelf, with two Stanley Cups and three Art Ross trophies as top league scorer. Even at age 32, he beat out point totals from his 2018-19 Hart-winning season, going nuclear then in year six of his NHL career with 128 points in 82 games.
An award reserved for the best of the best, Kucherov is in an exclusive company for his position. Only he and Corey Perry (2011) are forwards who won the award in the past 20 years who were not chosen in the top three selections of the NHL draft. A heist by the Lightning at 58th overall in 2011, one has to look back to 2004 as the last time a non-first round forward won the Hart besides Kucherov, that being fellow franchise legend Martin St. Louis.
An unrestricted free agent after 2026-27, Kucherov needs just 13 more points to beat out Steven Stamkos as #1 all time in Tampa Bay franchise history. At the pace he’s going, that should be another accolade in his pocket very soon next fall. From there, he’ll look to lead the Bolts back into a deep playoff run for the first time since 2022, as there’s little doubt they’ll continue to be among the NHL’s best teams next season, boasting the top head coach, best goaltender, along with the most valuable player.
Image Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Evening Notes: Smits, Babcock, Cossa
Latvian defenseman Alberts Smits has been named the winner of the 2026 E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence, NHL Central Scouting’s annual honor for the draft prospect who best exemplifies character, competitiveness, and athleticism. The 18-year-old sits second among international skaters on Central Scouting’s final ranking and is expected to go inside the top 10 at the draft in Buffalo later this month, a slot that would make him the highest-selected Latvia-born player in NHL history, surpassing Zemgus Girgensons, whom Buffalo took 14th in 2012.
Smits has built that case against older competition. The 6-foot-3 left shot put up 13 points in 38 games for Jukurit in Finland’s Liiga before a February loan to München of Germany’s DEL, and he was the youngest player at the 2026 Winter Olympics, averaging nearly 19 minutes a night for Latvia. He also led Latvia in ice time at both the World Juniors and the World Championship. “I’m the only one who’s playing in a men’s league right now,” Smits said when asked what separates him from a deep class of draft-eligible defensemen, pointing to the pro experience he believes gives him an edge. He models his game after Miro Heiskanen and Moritz Seider, as reported by Mike G. Morreale at NHL.com.
Additional Notes
- The Babcock situation in Edmonton has escalated. Building on Darren Dreger’s report, Frank Seravalli reports that the NHLPA has asked the NHL to move forward with a formal investigation into the allegations that Mike Babcock invaded players’ privacy during his time in Columbus, and, per sources, has specifically requested that the league delay Babcock’s hiring by the Oilers until that investigation can be completed.
- Kevin Weekes with ESPN reported that Red Wings goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa could be on the move, with the Utah Mammoth among the interested clubs. Cossa, the 15th pick in the 2021 draft, would give Utah a younger option behind starter Karel Vejmelka, with backup Vitek Vanecek headed to free agency. In 2025-26 with AHL Grand Rapids, Cossa finished 26-8-4 with a 2.33 GAA and a .915 save percentage across 39 games.
Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog Wins Bill Masterton Trophy And Mark Messier Leadership Award
Gabriel Landeskog‘s comeback now has some hardware to show for it, twice over. The NHL announced Tuesday that the Colorado Avalanche captain is the 2025-26 recipient of both the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. The Masterton, awarded annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, goes to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” Landeskog beat out fellow finalists Rasmus Dahlin of the Sabres and Jonathan Toews of the Jets for the honor.
In keeping with recent tradition, the league surprised Landeskog with the trophy off the ice, and used his other award as the cover story. As detailed by NHL.com’s David Satriano, Landeskog sat down at his home for what he believed was simply an interview about winning the Messier Award. He was then handed an iPad containing video messages from his surgeon, Dr. Matthew Jordan, teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, his wife, Melissa, and his father, Tony. When Landeskog turned around afterward, Melissa and the couple’s three children were waiting alongside a Hockey Hall of Fame representative holding the Masterton Trophy. “I’ve been very sneaky,” Melissa told NHL.com of keeping the secret.
The Messier Award, meanwhile, recognizes “the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.” Unlike the PHWA-voted Masterton, the Messier Award’s winner is selected solely by its Hall of Fame namesake. Landeskog, Colorado’s captain since September 2012, deflected the individual recognition toward his locker room, describing the Avalanche’s approach as “leadership by committee” in comments to NHL.com. His leadership résumé extended beyond Denver this season, he also captained Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, recording four points in five games. He succeeds Alex Ovechkin as the award’s recipient.
The win closes the book on one of the more improbable returns in recent NHL history. Landeskog last played a full, healthy season in 2021-22, when he captained Colorado to the Stanley Cup while managing a deteriorating knee. He didn’t appear in another NHL game for nearly three years, undergoing four major procedures, including a cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023 that no NHL player had ever come back from. He ended that distinction himself in April 2025, rejoining the Avalanche lineup midway through their first-round series against the Stars after a brief AHL conditioning stint.
That return made him a Masterton finalist a year ago, though the award went to Sean Monahan. The difference this time: a full season of evidence. Landeskog posted 14 goals and 35 points in 60 games in 2025-26, and the production accelerated as the year went on. Per Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now, Landeskog managed just four assists through his first 16 games before putting up 31 points over his final 44, a 58-point pace over a full schedule.
The 22 games he missed had nothing to do with the knee. Rawal notes Landeskog broke a rib crashing into the Panthers’ goalpost in January, then later lost additional time after taking a Cale Makar slap shot to the groin. Through it all, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche were a staggering 45-7-8 with their captain in the lineup, compared to 10-9-3 without him.
Landeskog, 33, added 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 13 playoff games before the Avalanche were swept out of the Western Conference Final by the Golden Knights. The hardware wasn’t entirely off his radar; he admitted to NHL.com that the Masterton had crossed his mind at some point, though he had been led to believe the winner wouldn’t be revealed for a few more weeks. Characteristically, he treated the recognition as a shared one, crediting the long list of doctors, teammates, and family members behind his comeback, starting with Melissa and their three children.
Andrei Vasilevskiy Wins 2026 Vezina Trophy
While the playoffs didn’t end the way that Andrei Vasilevskiy would have liked, there was no questioning his strong regular season performance. He was recognized for those efforts on Saturday as the league announced that Vasilevskiy is this year’s Vezina Trophy winner. The award is given to “the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position,” as voted on by NHL General Managers.
It’s the second time that the 31-year-old has won the award but it has been a while since his victory, one that came back in the 2018-19 season. Since then, he had been a top-three finalist three other times (finishing in the top six in two other years) but had been unable to pick up this second win until now.
Vasilevskiy posted a 2.31 GAA along with a .911 SV% and two shutouts in 58 games during the regular season while finishing fourth in Goals Saved Above Expected with a mark of 24.7, per MoneyPuck. He also led the league with 39 victories, leading in that department for the sixth time in his career. A big chunk of those wins came from a very impressive 17-0-1 run that spanned more than two months, beginning in late December and ending shortly after the Olympic break, one that helped vault the Lightning back into contention for the Atlantic Division title.
Vasilevskiy took home 17 of 31 first-place ballots to give him a comfortable margin of victory over Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders and Jeremy Swayman of the Bruins, who were the other finalists for the award. Their combined vote point totals (97) came in below Vasilevskiy’s (114). Capitals netminder Logan Thompson and Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood also received first-place votes while three other netminders had down-ballot consideration as well.
With the award, Vasilevskiy is now the third active goaltender with multiple Vezina Trophy wins, joining Sergei Bobrovsky and Connor Hellebuyck. He is also now the fifth netminder in NHL history to have multiple Vezina Trophies and multiple Stanley Cup championships. Bobrovsky is still playing while the other three, Martin Brodeur, Dominik Hasek, and Patrick Roy, are all in the Hall of Fame.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images.
Zach Werenski Wins 2025-26 Norris Trophy
The NHL announced this morning that Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets has won the Norris Trophy, which is annually awarded to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all-around ability in his position.
Werenski finished the 2025-26 season scoring 22 goals for 81 points in 75 games this season. He received 113 first-place votes and 48 second-place votes with 16 third-place votes in the PWHA poll for a total of 1,589 points, and was a top-five pick on 194 of 198 ballots. A total of 14 defensemen received votes, with only Colorado’s Cale Makar eclipsing the 1,000-vote mark, second to Werenski and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, rounding out the top three with 13 first-place votes and 657 points.
The 28-year-old led the Blue Jackets in assists, points, points-per-game, and finished third in goals. He became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to lead his team in scoring in consecutive campaigns, scoring 82 points in 2024-25. Those back-to-back seasons helped him become the fifth U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history to record multiple 80-point campaigns and is the third to accomplish the feat in consecutive seasons, joining Phil Housley (1991-92 to 1992-93 in Winnipeg) and Brian Leetch (1990-91 to 1991-92 with the New York Rangers). In winning this season, he joins Rod Langway (2x), Chris Chelios (3x), Leetch (2x), Adam Fox, and Quinn Hughes as the sixth American player to win the Norris Trophy.
According to the Blue Jackets press release, Werenski is the seventh player in franchise history to win a major NHL award: joining Rick Nash – Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (NHL goals leader), 2003-04; Nash – NHL Foundation Player Award (Community Service), 2008-09; Steve Mason – Calder Memorial Trophy (Best Rookie), 2008-09; Sergei Bobrovsky – Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie), 2012-13 and 2016-17; Nick Foligno – King Clancy Award (Leadership & Community Service), 2016-17; Foligno – Mark Messier Leadership Award, 2016-17; John Tortorella – Jack Adams Trophy (Best Coach), 2016-17; Sean Monahan – Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Perseverance, Sportsmanship, Dedication to Hockey), 2024-25.
The Grosse Pointe, Michigan native is set to enter the fifth season of a six-year contract that he signed back in July of 2021 with a total value of $57.5MM (9.583MM AAV). He’s spent his entire career in Columbus, signing a three-year $15MM ($5MM) deal in 2019 and his entry-level contract, which paid him $925K annually from 2016 to 2019. After being taken eighth overall in 2015 by Columbus, Werenski spent his post-draft season with the University of Michigan, scoring 36 points in 36 games.
Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images.
Ivan Demidov, Matthew Schaefer, Beckett Sennecke Named Calder Trophy Finalists
Midway through tonight’s Draft Lottery, the NHL announced its latest finalists for an end-of-season award. This year’s Calder Trophy finalists are Canadiens winger Ivan Demidov, Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and Ducks winger Beckett Sennecke. The Calder Trophy goes to the NHL’s top rookie and is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Demidov is the only one of the three who had NHL experience heading into the season, that coming in the form of two regular season games and five postseason contests last year but that didn’t affect his eligibility. The 19-year-old was the fifth overall pick in 2024 and led all freshmen players in assists (43) and points (62), while playing regularly in a top-six role. He also paced all first-year players in power play points with 20. If he wins the award, he would be the second straight Montreal player to win the award after Lane Hutson did so last season.
That said, Schaefer is widely assumed to be the overwhelming favorite for the award this year. The number one pick last June, he made New York’s roster out of training camp and was put into a top role basically immediately. As a result, he wound up playing well enough to garner serious Olympic consideration for Canada. Meanwhile, he tied for the rookie lead in goals (23) and was third in points (59), setting a league record for goals by a freshman blueliner. He also logged 24:41 of ice time per game, by far the most for any first-year player and 11th overall among all NHL skaters. He would be the first Islander since 2018 to win the award (Mathew Barzal).
As for Sennecke, his third-overall selection in 2024 raised some eyebrows originally but it’s fair to say that Anaheim is pleased with their pick so far. He tied Schaefer for the rookie lead in goals while finishing second in assists (37) and points (60). He also recorded 197 shots on net to lead all rookies while logging more than 17 minutes a night of playing time. If he were to win, he would be the first Anaheim player to take home the award.
There is no word yet on when the NHL will reveal the winners. Last year, they announced some awards through pre-recorded segments while holding an abbreviated awards show in June. It’s unclear if they will do so again this year or do something different.
NHL Announces 2026 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees
Earlier this week, the NHL revealed the 32 nominees for the Masterton Trophy. Today, they unveiled another set of award nominees with the 32 finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
Unlike the Masterton finalists which were voted on by each chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, each team picked one player to serve as their nominee. Also unlike most awards, there won’t be a media or player vote to determine the winner. Instead, the winner will be picked by a committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman as well as former winners of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award.
The team nominees are as follows:
Anaheim Ducks: G Lukas Dostal
Boston Bruins: D Jordan Harris
Buffalo Sabres: F Alex Tuch
Calgary Flames: F Jonathan Huberdeau
Carolina Hurricanes: D Jaccob Slavin
Chicago Blackhawks: D Alex Vlasic
Colorado Avalanche: D Sam Malinski
Columbus Blue Jackets: F Boone Jenner
Dallas Stars: G Jake Oettinger
Detroit Red Wings: F Dylan Larkin
Edmonton Oilers: F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Florida Panthers: F Sam Bennett
Los Angeles Kings: F Kevin Fiala
Minnesota Wild: F Marcus Foligno
Montreal Canadiens: F Nick Suzuki
Nashville Predators: F Ryan O’Reilly
New Jersey Devils: F Jack Hughes
New York Islanders: F Kyle Palmieri
New York Rangers: D Adam Fox
Ottawa Senators: G Linus Ullmark
Philadelphia Flyers: F Garnet Hathaway
Pittsburgh Penguins: F Bryan Rust
San Jose Sharks: F Alexander Wennberg
Seattle Kraken: G Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues: D Colton Parayko
Tampa Bay Lightning: D Ryan McDonagh
Toronto Maple Leafs: F John Tavares
Utah Mammoth: F Alexander Kerfoot
Vancouver Canucks: F Brock Boeser
Vegas Golden Knights: F Jack Eichel
Washington Capitals: F Alex Ovechkin
Winnipeg Jets: F Gabriel Vilardi
The award was first handed out in 1988. The winner will receive a $25K donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. The winner will also be eligible to elect that his team receives a grant from the NHL for up to $20K to help organize a special activation related to his humanitarian cause.
NHL Announces 2026 Masterton Trophy Nominees
Each year, the Masterton Trophy is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.” Voting isn’t done at large; one player from all 32 teams is nominated by their local media chapter. That eventually gets narrowed to three finalists and a winner closer to the awards ceremony, but today, each club announced who they’re putting up for this year’s honor:
Avalanche: F Gabriel Landeskog
Blackhawks: G Spencer Knight
Blue Jackets: F Boone Jenner
Blues: G Jordan Binnington
Bruins: D Charlie McAvoy
Canadiens: D Mike Matheson
Canucks: G Kevin Lankinen
Capitals: F Alex Ovechkin
Devils: D Brenden Dillon
Ducks: G Ville Husso
Flames: G Devin Cooley
Flyers: F Garrett Wilson
Golden Knights: G Akira Schmid
Hurricanes: F Taylor Hall
Islanders: F Kyle Palmieri
Jets: F Jonathan Toews
Kings: F Anže Kopitar
Kraken: F Jordan Eberle
Lightning: D Darren Raddysh
Mammoth: F Clayton Keller
Maple Leafs: D Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Oilers: G Connor Ingram
Panthers: F Brad Marchand
Penguins: F Anthony Mantha
Predators: F Ozzy Wiesblatt
Rangers: D Matthew Robertson
Red Wings: F Dominik Shine
Sabres: D Rasmus Dahlin
Senators: G Linus Ullmark
Sharks: G Laurent Brossoit
Stars: F Jamie Benn
Wild: G Jesper Wallstedt