The NHL handed out their yearly awards tonight in Las Vegas and when it was all said and done, one Ottawa Senator left with a major award.
Captain Erik Karlsson took home the second Norris Trophy of his career. We’ve seen it all season long and now the league has recognized it too- Erik Karlsson is the best defenceman in the game.
If I had told you back in January that Erik Karlsson would be standing on the stage in Vegas, accepting his second Norris Trophy, you would have said I was crazy. And you would have been right. But after the return of Marc Methot and then the change behind the bench, the King returned to his throne.
In the second half of the season, Karlsson was the best defenceman in the game and it wasn’t especially close. Karlsson finished the season six points clear of the next closest defenceman and his 21 goals only trailed Coyotes defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
As impressive as his points are, you really have to watch EK65 on a nightly basis to appreciate how special a player he is. Karlsson is the only player in the NHL that can completely control a game from the back-end. As Senators fans, we are incredibly lucky that we have the chance to watch this guy on a regular basis. Pretty incredible to see him back at the top of the sport after what looked like a career-ending injury just a couple seasons ago. It’s a pretty safe bet that this won’t be his last Norris Trophy either.
Erik Karlsson was also named to the league’s first all star team.
Meanwhile Mark Stone came up short as Aaron Ekblad took home the Calder Trophy because, well because he was younger. Stone finished second in the voting which was actually incredibly close.
Stone should find Daniel Alfredsson after the show though because maybe he won’t be going home empty-handed afterall.
Impressive SENS, If Stoner don’t win the Calder I should give him mine. #Bigtime
— Daniel Alfredsson (@DAlfredsson11) April 11, 2015
If the Alfie angle doesn’t work out, he can always just take the award away from Ekblad like he took the puck away from his opponents all season long.
The incredible Andrew Hammond was also nominated for the Bill Masterton but that award ended up going to Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk. Hammond did pick up a third place vote for the Vezina Trophy and appeared on seven Hart Trophy ballots.
General Manager Bryan Murray finished 4th in the GM of the Year voting and Head Coach Dave Cameron was 6th in the Coach of the Year category. Mike Hoffman ended up 6th in Calder Trophy voting.
And while it wasn’t award related, the highlight of the entire show also featured our Ottawa Senators. Here in Ottawa, we’ve learned all about the courage of Jonathan Pitre and tonight his incredible story of strength and determination was featured on a league-wide stage. A touching video of Jonathan’s story was followed by a surprise visit from a handful of Ottawa Senators as they provided Jonathan with a trip to next year’s All Star Game in Nashville and made a large donation to Debra Canada.
All in all, an exciting night for the Ottawa Senators.
