Ultimate Hockey Warrior

The full list of NHL 2009 Award finalists has been released and I have included them all below. This list was put together by Rich Hammond from the Los Angeles Daily News. You can visit Hammond’s King’s site and see who he personally voted for to win the NHL Awards. My picks for the NHL Award winners are listed below the NHL 2009 Award Finalists.

Hart Trophy (most valuable)
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
My Vote: 1) Ovechkin

Calder Trophy (outstanding rookie):
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks
Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks
My Vote: 1) I agree with Hammond, Drew Doughty

Norris Trophy (outstanding defenseman):
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins
Mike Green, Washington Capitals
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings
My Vote: 1) Chara

Lady Byng Trophy (skill, sportsmanship):
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning
My Vote: 1) Datsyuk

Vezina Trophy (outstanding goaltender)
Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild
Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins
My Vote: 1) Thomas

Frank J. Selke Trophy (top defensive forward):
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
My Vote: 1) Datsyuk

• Leave a comment... (0)

The Winter Classic for 2010 has now been set. The 2010 Winter Classic will be played in Boston at Fenway Park with the Bruins matching up against a team to be decided upon later. The 2010 Winter Classic in Boston will be played on New Years Day and is expected to sell out as soon as tickets go on sale, regardless of the opponent. The last Winter Classic was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago and the year before that the game was played in Buffalo. Stay tuned for the Boston Bruins opponent in the 2010 Hockey Winter Classic.

• Leave a comment... (0)

One Day Only Free Shipping On All Jerseys on 10.4 at Shop.NHL.com! NHL.com is having a one day blowout sale on hockey jerseys with free shipping starting tomorrow, October 4th.  There are no restrictions to this jersey sale offered by NHL.com, they just want you to enjoy the beginning to the new hockey season.  Take a look at some of the new 3rd jerseys by Reebok now available in NHL.com’s store.  Remember, the jersey sale is for one day, Saturday October 4th, 2008.

• Leave a comment... (0)

The 2009 NHL Winter Classic will be held in Chicago at Wrigley Field according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Detroit Red Wings will play the Chicago Blackhawks on New Years Day 2009, although the official announcement isn’t expected for at least a couple of weeks.

The first NHL outdoor game was in 2003 when the Montreal played the Oilers in Edmonton, in a game dubbed the “Heritage Classic”. The second outdoor NHL Game was last year in Buffalo, with the Penguins playing the Sabers. The game in Buffalo drew more than 71,000 fans to the stadium, an NHL record. Carrying on with a new tradition, the Blackhawks and the city of Chicago will receive the 2009 NHL outdoor game with high expectations.

• Leave a comment... (0)

The Red Wings signed Marian Hossa to a one year deal worth more than $7 million and the Penguins locked up Evgeni Malkin for 5 years ending speculation that he might go play in Russia.  The Penguins also resigned Brooks Orpik to a multi-year deal, Sean Avery was signed to a 4 year deal in Dallas and Kristian Huselius was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets.  There are still some big name players waiting in the wings, but the two players that people are wondering about are Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin.  Will they retire, or return to play another year and with who?

• Leave a comment... (0)

The Kings and Senators have started the buyout process on their underachieving goalies with the Kings waiving Cloutier and the Senators waiving Ray Emery.  If no teams claim either goalie then the teams will buyout the remainder of each goalie’s contract. 

• Leave a comment... (0)

It looks as though Barry Melrose will be returning to the bench of an NHL team for next season.  Melrose is said to be the next coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning, replacing current head coach, John Tortarella.  Melrose last coached the LA Kings over 10 years ago, since then he has been a TV personality and NHL commentator.  The motivator should find a decent team  to inherit, including stars Lecavalier and St. Louis, and more than likely, the phenom Steve Stamkos. 

This post will be updated as more information is known.

• Leave a comment... (0)

The NHL has announced the 2008 finalists for the Hart trophy (NHL’s Most Valuable Player) and the three players are, Alexander Ovechkin, Jarome Iginla and Evgeni Malkin.  Iginla has been nominated twice for the award and both times finished as the runner-up.  This year it again seems as if Iginla will miss out on winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP, with two stronger candidates in Malkin and Ovechkin.  BOth Malkin and Ovechkin scored more points than Iginla this season, and both Malkin and Ovechkin arguably had less talent to work around than Jarome Iginla.  The winner for the 2008 Hart trophy will be announced during the 2008 NHL Award Show on June 12, 2008.

• Leave a comment... (0)