Bits And Pieces

– Sidney Crosby has been named one of the finalists for the Ted Lindsay award, awarded to the league’s most outstanding player and voted on by members of NHLPA.

Crosby is up against Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightening, and his old friend Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.

Crosby was having a stellar season up until he took a puck to the jaw and missed the last month of the season. Despite that, he still finished tied for third in points. Good luck to Sid!

– Some big changes for game 5 tonight. Tomas Vokoun will be starting today, instead of Marc-Andre Fleury, who hasn’t been playing his best recently. This will be Vokoun’s first playoff game since 2007.

Letang’s A Finalist!

Congrats Tanger!

The NHL announced this morning that Penguins defenceman Kris Letang is one of the three finalists for the Norris Trophy, the award for the “defensive player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”

Letang is up against PK Subban of the Montreal Canadiens and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild. All worthy candidates, to be honest.

Despite playing only 35 games of the 48 game season, Letang tied with Subban for most points among defencemen, with 38 points (5G, 33A), a career best for him.

He had a plus-16 rating, which was the highest of his career, and averaged 25:38 minutes of ice time.

The last Penguins defenceman to win the Norris was Randy Carlyle in 1981.

Congratulations, Kris!

The Hart In Our Hearts

I AM WIN

Huge congratulations go out to Evgeni Malkin (pronounced Ehv-geh-nee). At tonight’s NHL Awards, Geno won both the Ted Lindsay Award and Hart Trophy, naming him the league’s MVP for the 2011/2012 season.

He can add those to his Art Ross trophy, as the leader in points during the regular season.

Malkin beat out New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos for both awards.

When he took the stage to accept his first award, a visibly nervous Malkin thanked Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux and GM Ray Shero from a speech he had already prepared. Later on, backstage, Geno said that he was grateful for the support of his parents, and for his mom’s home cooking.

But the most heartwarming moment came when Geno took the stage again to accept his Hart trophy at the end of the night. With no speech in hand, he dedicated the award to former Penguin,  and current  Ottawa Senator, Sergei Gonchar.

“I remember when I come, two years, six year before, it’s different language, I not speak lot, you know, different life and different game, and not easy, and one guy who always support me, whole six year, and still best friend, and I want give this trophy to him, his name, Sergei Gonchar. He is my best friend now, always together, one day, and I’m glad one day, I meet him.”

You could pretty much hear everyone’s hearts grow three sizes during that speech.

Malkin and his linemate, James Neal, were also named to the first NHL All Star team. Geno was named top forward, while Neal was named top right winger.

It was absolutely wonderful to see Geno, who hasn’t always been comfortable with talking to the media, take the stage and speak with little hesitation. A definite “proud mom” kind of moment.

Of course, it was also wonderful to see such an amazing season rewarded. Geno now joins Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr as the only Penguins to named NHL MVPs. Good company to be in, no?

Evgeni Malkin Nominated For Hart

MVP! MVP!

The Hart Memorial trophy nominees were announced today, and in a move that surprises absolutely no one, Evgeni Malkin was named a finalist.

He’s up against New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos for the honour.

The award is given “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”

The man they call Geno spent the summer of 2011 training like a mad man and rehabbing his knee, after requiring surgery on a torn ACL and MCL muscle that ended his 2010-2011 season.

The training paid off. Even though he wasn’t 100% at the start of the season, he still ended up scoring 50 goals (his first 50 goal season of his career) and 109 points, taking the Art Ross scoring title along the way.

Geno also had the ability to make the players around him better. James Neal, Malkin’s linemate for the majority of the season, ended up scoring 40 goals this season, a first for him. Malkin assisted on 28 of those goals.

Geno managed to all this without Sidney Crosby in the lineup for the majority of the season.

He made it onto the All Star team this year, being drafted second over all by team Chara, and also put together a charity endeavor to raise money for the families of the Lokomotiv team, who tragically died in a plane crash last September.

Congrats Geno! We’re all rooting for you!

The NHL Awards will air on June 20, 2012

My Coach is (Officially) Better Then Your Coach

Coach of the Year

The NHL had their annual awards in wholesome Las Vegas two weeks ago. And while no Penguin players were actually nominated, one very important part of the organization was not only nominated, but won.

Head Coach Dan Bylsma won the Jack Adams  Coach of the Year award, over nominees Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks. While they were all worthy nominees, the trophy really did go to the most deserving coach. I might be biased but I have opinions and facts to back it up.