Henrik Sedin highlights first-time winners at NHL Awards extravaganza

By Ryan Greene

Thursday, June 24, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

In a town that loves nothing more than a good underdog, it was fitting that Vancouver's Henrik Sedin upset Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby at Wednesday night's NHL Awards ceremony at the Pearl Theater at the Palms as the league's MVP.

The gala was capped off by the presentation of the Hart Trophy, and emerging from the trio of finalists was not the league's golden child — Crosby — or the two-time defending MVP — Ovechkin — but the 29-year-old Sedin, who became the first player in Canucks history to claim the honor.

"I don't know what to say," a visibly stunned Sedin said upon entering the interview room. "You see the names that have won it, and just to be there with Sid and Alex, I was extremely happy. To win the trophy, it's tough to put words on it for sure.

"Those players are second to none. I thought the Hart was going to be really, really tough. I thought it would be out of the question, maybe the (Ted Lindsay Award). But I'll take this."

Oddly enough, with the same three men serving as finalists for the Lindsay Award, which is given to the league's most outstanding player as selected by the NHL Players Association, Ovechkin nabbed the hardware for the third straight summer.

But it was hard to argue with Sedin's credentials in winning the Hart.

Earlier in the night, he was presented with the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's regular season scoring leader. He recorded 29 goals and 83 assists while leading the Canucks into the Western Conference semifinals, where they were ousted by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Sedin and Ovechkin, on the final voters' tally sheet, were separated by only 60 points, with Sedin collecting 46 of the 133 first-place votes and Ovechkin taking 40 of them.

"When they said my name," Sedin added, "I didn't really think they said my name."

It was a night for first-time winners to celebrate, as Sedin had plenty of company in that department.

Two of the high-profile newbies were Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith and Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

Keith was presented with the Norris Trophy, which goes to the league's top defenseman. He was the first Blackhawk to win the award since Chris Chelios in 1996.

He got a little long-winded with his acceptance speech, not leaving the stage until the in-house music leading to a commercial break forced him away.

Keeping things a bit simpler in victory was Miller, who joined some elite company in Sabres history by winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top netminder.

Tom Barrasso was the first Buffalo goalie to win the award, doing so in 1984, while Dominik Hasek followed that by winning it six times as a Sabre, with the last victory coming in 2001. Both Barrasso and Hasek went on to win the Stanley Cup with other organizations afterward.

Miller, who has been the Sabres' full-time No. 1 goalie for five years now, became a much more recognizable figure this year after helping lead Team USA to a silver medal in the Vancouver Olympics in February. He then helped the franchise end a two-year playoff drought.

He also beat out some tough competition, edging Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov and New Jersey's four-time Vezina winner Martin Brodeur.

"Now I've just got to chase the one other trophy they've got," he said. "I guess we're doing it in similar order."

One running punchline from the evening was the Phoenix Coyotes organization as a whole.

The Coyotes, who endured a tumultuous summer before the 2009-10 season that included going under NHL ownership and rumors of relocation, came from nowhere to finish fourth in the Western Conference in the regular season.

Comedian Jay Mohr, who hosted the event, took a shot at the franchise in his opening monologue, while Phoenix coach Dave Tippett did the same while accepting the Jack Adams Award as the league's top bench boss.

After Tippett got his award and Phoenix's Don Maloney was recognized as the league's top general manager, the club's final winner was Shane Doan, who won the King Clancy Trophy. That honor goes to the player who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice and who has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.

Doan's NHL career began in 1995 after he was selected in the first round of the draft by the Winnipeg Jets. He played his rookie season with the Jets before the franchise moved to Phoenix. He's suited up for the Coyotes since, deciding not to ditch the club even at its lowest of lows, which includes last summer following another losing season.

It was fitting that the loyal Doan was honored in the desert, where the awards show will return to next summer for a third consecutive year.

"It's fine. They can make just as many jokes and pick us to finish last again next year and we'll take another run at it," Doan said. "It seemed at the beginning (of the year) that it was a bit more difficult, with a lot of questions going on. As we won, it sort of built on top of itself and I think kind of galvanized the whole group and brought us all together.

"It's great. I mentioned it myself that it's been a while since we've had any reason to be too involved in the NHL Awards."

WEDNESDAY'S WINNERS

Art Ross Trophy (League's leading scorer): Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks.

Bill Masterton Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship & dedication to hockey): Jose Theodore, Washington Capitals.

Calder Trophy (Outstanding rookie): Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres.

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Forward who excels in defensive play): Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings.

Hart Trophy (Most valuable player to his team): Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks.

Jack Adams Award (Outstanding coach):Dave Tippett, Phoenix Coyotes.

James Norris Trophy (Outstanding all-around defenseman): Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks.

King Clancy Trophy (Leadership qualities on and off the ice): Shane Doan, Phoenix Coyotes.

Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct): Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Ted Lindsay Award (Most outstanding player selected by the NHLPA): Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals.

Maurice Richard Trophy (Regular season goal scoring leader): Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Vezina Trophy (Outstanding goaltender): Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres.

William M. Jennings Trophy (Goaltender on club with fewest goals against): Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils.

Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP): Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks.

NHL General Manager of the Year Award: Don Maloney, Phoenix Coyotes.

Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins.

NHL Foundation Player Award: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres.

Presidents' Trophy (Club with most points in regular season): Washington Capitals.

Prince of Wales Trophy (Eastern Conference Playoff Champion): Philadelphia Flyers.

Clarence Campbell Bowl (Western Conference Playoff Champion): Chicago Blackhawks.