Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson has won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie at the league’s award ceremony.
Pettersson set a Canucks rookie record with 66 points (28 goals, 38 assists) in 71 games this season, passing Bure and Ivan Hlinka (1881-91), who each had 60 points.
Pettersson, who scored seven game-winners, became the 31st player in NHL history to end a season leading in goals, assists and points.
Pettersson, picked fifth overall in 2017, beat out St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington and Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin for the award.
Binnington, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont., helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup after making his first career start on Jan. 7, with the team sitting last in the West standings.
Dahlin, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, led all rookie defencemen with 44 points.
Norris goes to Flames’ Giordano
Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano took home the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman.
The Toronto native becomes the first player in Flames history to win the award.
Giordano, 35, is just the fourth player aged 35 or older to win the award. He finished second among all defencemen in scoring with 74 points last season.
Giordano beat out Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the award.
Mark Giordano wins his first ever Norris Trophy for Top Defenceman after setting records and career highs this season <a href=”https://t.co/2WsYXNjy0U”>pic.twitter.com/2WsYXNjy0U</a>
—@hockeynight
Meanwhile, Boston Bruins’ Don Sweeney was named the NHL’s General Manager of the Year, and Florida Panthers centre Alexander Barkov captured the Lady Byng Trophy as the player best combining sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and ability.
Sweeney has built a consistent winner since the longtime Bruins defenceman took over the front office in 2015. Boston reached the Stanley Cup Final this season, losing in seven games to St. Louis.
Barkov drew a few laughs when he apparently heard a few shouts in Finnish as he took the stage to accept his trophy.
“We have more fans from Finland than Florida here,” Barkov said.
The other Lady Byng finalists were St. Louis’ Ryan O’Reilly and Calgary’s Sean Monahan.
Wild forward Jason Zucker won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership and humanitarian contributions to hockey. Zucker, who is from Las Vegas, has done extensive fundraising for children’s causes in Minnesota.
Nikita Kucherov won the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player according to the NHL Players’ Association members.
Kucherov also is favored to win his first Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player later in the NHL Awards show at Mandalay Bay Events Center.