Ovechkin repeats as league MVP

Justin M. Bowen

A throng of media members interview Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin inside the Palms Thursday. Ovechkin won the Hart Memorial Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award and the Maurice Richard Trophy.

By Steve Silver

Thursday, June 18, 2009 | 8:53 p.m.

Foreseeable Future Franchise

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In light of the award ceremony and players' meetings, NHL elite weigh in on whether a professional hockey could survive and thrive in Las Vegas.

Russians dominate NHL Awards

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NHL Awards at the Palms

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And the Winner is...

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One day before the NHL Awards, finalist and presenters talk about the award show moving to Las Vegas.

Hockey in Motion

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NHL 2K10 cover model Alexander Ovechkin and Selke Trophy finalist Ryan Kesler helped warm-up Las Vegas to this week's award ceremony with a motion-capture session Tuesday in front of Caesars Palace.

Sports writers are usually the first to lambaste a showboat, especially in a sport like hockey, which is at times governed by a mythic sense of sportsmanship and etiquette.

But none of that mattered to the hockey writers who voted perhaps the most flamboyant player in the NHL -- Washington Capitals star forward Alexander Ovechkin -- as the league MVP. He collected the honor Thursday night at the NHL Awards show.

Ovechkin made his third trip of the night to the Pearl Concert Theater stage to claim the coveted Hart Trophy for the second consecutive year, which he won in a landslide over Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin.

And in true Ovechkin fashion, he acted as if the trophy burned his hands as homage to his on-ice, "burning stick" celebration during the regular season.

"It's pretty important when people give you this award," Ovechkin said. "I don't want to stop. I want to be the best next year and I want to be in the same situation as Pittsburgh."

Ovechkin, who tallied 54 goals and 56 assists in the regular season, is now the first repeat winner of the Hart Trophy since Dominik Hasek did so with the Buffalo Sabres in 1997 and 1998.

Although Ovechkin did not score the most points in the regular season (Malkin did with 113), he did not win the Stanley Cup (Malkin did with the Penguins) and he did not earn playoff MVP honors (Malkin did with 36 points in 24 games), the Professional Hockey Writers' Association overwhelmingly chose Ovechkin for the Hart Trophy.

The writers voted prior to the start of the playoffs.

"I was surprised," Ovechkin said about edging Malkin. "But I'm glad and I'm very happy."

Perhaps Ovechkin's league-leading 54 goals on a league-leading 528 shots swayed the hockey writers as Ovechkin garnered 115 of the total 133 first place votes, while Malkin received just 12.

Ovechkin accumulated a total of 1,261 points in the voting as Malkin finished second with 787 and Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk completed the Russian sweep in third place with 404 points.

"I'm not surprised, everybody like him," said Datsyuk, who won the Frank Selke Award and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. "(Ovechkin) is fun to watch. He scores lots of goals. He's really good for hockey. I'm happy for him."

Ovechkin also took home the Maurice Richard Trophy for leading the league in scoring during the regular season as well as the Lester B. Pearson Award, which is handed out to the most outstanding player as selected by the NHL Players' Association.

Ovechkin said he sends all of his trophies to his parents to keep safe in Russia.

"Personal stats is good and personal awards is good, but I just want to win the Stanley Cup," Ovechkin said.

For Malkin, winning that Stanley Cup trumped Thursday's awards and softened the blow of losing to Ovechkin for MVP honors again.

"It's OK, I still have the big trophy," Malkin said in reference to the Penguins' championship run this season.

Malkin did not leave Las Vegas empty-handed, though. Aside from the Conn Smythe Trophy Malkin picked up after Game 7 in Detroit as the playoff MVP, he also earned the Art Ross Trophy Thursday for leading the NHL in regular season points with 35 goals and 78 assists.

Although Ovechkin stole the show Thursday, it was really the trio of Ovechkin, Malkin and Datsyuk that highlights a significant trend in the NHL of Russian excellence.

"You can't wake up and be superstar," Ovechkin said. "You have to work. You can see how Malkin works and how Datsyuk works. They are great players and they work hard."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com . Steve is a regular guest on the Heatwave Sports show on Fox Sports Radio 920 AM, which airs every Saturday and Sunday from 10 p.m. to midnight.