Thursday, April 28, 2011

Top Three Hart Finalists Announced: Perry, D. Sedin, St. Louis

The NHL Trophy announcement for today is the long awaited Hart Memorial Trophy which is is an annual award given to "the player judged to be the most valuable to his team." Voting was done by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.

The top three finalists this year includes Corey Perry of the Ducks, Daniel Sedin from Vancouver, and Martin St. Louis from Tampa.

Others that were considered to be in the running included Ryan Kesler from Vancouver, Steven Stamkos from Tampa, and Alexander Ovechkin from Washington. Pekka Rinne was though to have a shot as a goalie since he held the Predators together for the entire season. Had Sidney Crosby not been injured in January, he possibly would have been the run-away winner.

The final presentation to the winner will be made at the NHL Awards Show at the Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino and Resort on June 22. 

Make the jump to see the full release from the NHL...

PERRY, SEDIN AND ST. LOUIS NAMED HART TROPHY FINALISTS


NEW YORK (April 28, 2011) -- Right wing Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, left wing Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks and right wing Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning are the three finalists for the 2010-11 Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded " to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team," the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Hart Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced Wednesday, June 22, during the 2011 NHL Awards from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas. The 2011 NHL Awards will be broadcast by VERSUS in the United States and CBC in Canada.

Following are the finalists for the Hart Trophy, in alphabetical order:

Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

Perry won the Maurice Richard Trophy as NHL goal-scoring leader with a late surge of 19 goals in his final 16 games that raised his season total to 50 and helped launch the Ducks from 11th place in the Western Conference to a season-ending fourth. The first-time Hart Trophy finalist shared the League lead in game-winning goals with Washington's Alex Ovechkin (11), tied for fifth place in power-play goals (14), shared fifth in shorthanded tallies (four) and led all players with 21 third-period goals. Twenty-five of his goals tied the score or put the Ducks ahead.

Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks

Sedin is in quest of an unprecedented family 'double' -- becoming half of the first brother tandem to win NHL MVP honors in consecutive years after twin Henrik received the award last season. Daniel already has won silverware that Henrik claimed in 2009-10, the Art Ross Trophy, by tallying a League-leading and career-high 104 points (41 goals, 63 assists) to help the Canucks post the NHL's best regular-season record (54-19-9). Daniel sparked the League's top-ranked power play by tallying an NHL-best 18 goals and 42 points with the extra man. He also tied for second place among NHL forwards in plus-minus (+30).

Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

St. Louis is a Hart Trophy finalist for the first time since he captured the award in 2004. The 35-year-old wing surged late in the season, tallying points in each of his last nine games and in 15 of his final 17 to finish second in League scoring with 99 points (31 goals, 68 assists). He tied a franchise record for assists in a season and posted the second-highest point total in his 12-year NHL career, helping the Lightning make a 23-point improvement over 2009-10, post the second-best record in franchise history (46-25-11) and earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2007.

History

The Hart Memorial Trophy was presented by the National Hockey League in 1960 after the original Hart Trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The original Hart Trophy was donated to the NHL in 1924 by Dr. David A. Hart, father of Cecil Hart, former manager-coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Tickets

Tickets to the 2011 NHL Awards are on sale via Ticketmaster.com at nhl.com/awardstickets and at the Pearl Concert Theater Box Office.

Announcement Schedule

The NHL is announcing the three finalists for each of its awards daily. The remaining announcement schedule:

Friday, April 29        Jack Adams Award (top head coach)
Monday, May 2        NHL Foundation Player Award (contributions to charitable causes)

More Later...

Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass

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