TAMPA, Fla. — Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews collected the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA’s most outstanding player at the NHL Awards on Tuesday night.
Matthews, 24, scored 60 goals, leading the NHL for the second straight season. He set a Maple Leafs franchise record and the single-season record for most goals by an American-born player. He led the NHL in even-strength goals (44), goals per game (0.82) and shots (348). He was tied for sixth in points with 106 — the highest total of his career.
Matthews earned 119 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers was second in the voting while New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was third.
Matthews was the first Maple Leafs player to win the NHLPA’s most outstanding player award, which is voted on by the players and was first handed out in 1971. McDavid and Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi were the runners-up for the Ted Lindsay. Matthews is the second American-born player to win the award, along with Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane in 2015-16.
“To be honored by players you go up against every night,” he said, “it just means a lot to me.”
The closest vote of the night was for the Norris Trophy, given to the NHL’s best defenseman by the PHWA. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar won his first Norris with 1,631 points in the voting, with 92 first-place votes. Josi was second (1,606) with more first-place votes than Makar (98). The points allocation on the ballot, which ranks the top five choices, is 10-7-5-3-1. Makar was named on 195 ballots, while Josi was named on 194.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was third for the Norris.
“We’ve got some important things to do (Wednesday),” Makar said at the show, quickly turning attention back to the Stanley Cup Final. “But for the boys, this goes out to them.”
Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the League’s top goaltender, which is voted on by the NHL’s general managers. The other finalists were runner-up choice Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators.
“It’s a great honor for me to be here,” Shesterkin said at the ceremony. “It’s good to play for the New York Rangers, it’s an incredible feeling.”
Shesterkin led the NHL with a 2.07 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in 53 games, leading the Rangers to 110 regular-season points, the third-highest total in franchise history. He was a first-time Vezina nominee and joined Henrik Lundqvist and John Vanbiesbrouck as Rangers who won the Vezina since the current criteria for the award was set in 1981-82.
Some expected he could be a unanimous choice, but Carolina’s Fredrik Andersen, Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and the New York Islanders‘ Ilya Sorokin also had first-place votes.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider won the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year, as voted on by the PHWA. He played all 82 games for the Red Wings and averaged 23:02 in ice time per game, tops among rookies. He led all rookie defensemen in points (50), the third-highest for a first-year blueliner in the last 30 years. He led all rookies in assists (43) and power-play points (21).
“It’s a really big honor, I didn’t really prepare for a speech, so I’ll just go with the flow here,” he said. “It’s a great organization with Detroit, it’s very fun to be a Red Wing.”
Seider collected 170 first-place votes. Trevor Zegras, the Anaheim Ducks forward who created several highlight-reel goals this season, was second with 15 first-place votes. Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Michael Bunting, who was notable for being 26 years old, was third in the voting.
Julien BriseBois of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chris Drury of the New York Rangers and Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche are the three finalists for the 2021-22 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. The winner will be announced at the NHL Draft next month in Montreal.
The NHL Awards were held at Armature Works in Tampa on the off day between Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The league previously announced several awards during the playoffs: Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings; Jack Adams Award: Daryl Sutter, Calgary Flames; Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens; Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award: Noel Acton of Baltimore, Md. Frank J. Selke Trophy for best defensive forward: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins; Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for most gentlemanly player: Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets; King Clancy Memorial Trophy for community service: P.K. Subban, New Jersey Devils.