Patrick Kane Wins Hart Award as NHL’s MVP

He took home the Lady Byng Trophy and the Selke Trophy, the first for sportsmanship, the second as best defensive forward.

The Chicago forward received the Hart Trophy from his favorite superhero. This makes Kane the first Blackhawks player to receive the honor since Stan Mikita did in 1968 and the first American-born player to ever win the award.

The other two finalists for the Hart Trophy were Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars. The winger paced the entire NHL with 106 points and placed second in the league with 46 goals. The lively debate forced voters to decide between pure offensive production and analytical superiority.

Kopitar’s teammate, Drew Doughty, won his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. “It’s nearly like every game is a home game”, Kane said.

“I don’t know if I was lucky or fortunate to be in that position, but it’s pretty unbelievable to say that some American records you hold now, whether it’s the MVP, scoring title, point streak”.

Panarin, who played on a line with Kane and center Artem Anisimov, finished with 1,258 voting points and 88 first-place votes.

The Stars won the Central Division title previous year and finished with the most points in the Western Conference.

Kopitar became the Kings’ first Selke Trophy victor one week after he was named team captain. He appeared in all 82 games for the second consecutive season and was third in the league in average ice time (28:01), posting a career-best plus-24 rating. His puck possession skills and backchecking acumen were key factors in the Kings finishing third in the league in team defense.

Hockey’s elite are gathered in Las Vegas tonight to recognize the best individual achievements of the 2015-16 at the NHL awards. He beat out three-time victor Patrice Bergeron of Boston and Anaheim’s Ryan Kesler, the 2011 victor.

The NHL also named its 2015-16 all-rookie team on Wednesday, with Calder Trophy victor Artemi Panarin of Chicago earning a spot.

LAS VEGAS (AP) – After Patrick Kane added three more awards to his overflowing trophy case, he took a moment to appreciate his new place in American hockey history.

McDavid was the No. 1 pick last summer.

That was until Kane won the award in a rout this year.

“You need everybody around you”, said Trotz, who edged out Gerard Gallant of the Florida Panthers and Lindy Ruff of Dallas.

Jim Rutherford of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the General Manager of Year.