Kane wins NHL’s most valuable player award

Kane was presented with the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player at the NHL Awards ceremony Wednesday, and also won the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player as voted by the players.

He’s now the first American-born player to win the Hart Trophy.

Panarin seemed to be the runaway favorite for most of the season for putting up absolutely ridiculous numbers, finishing the regular season not only as the leading rookie scorer, but also as the 10th leading scorer in the league among all players with 77 points (30 goals and 47 assists).

It is the third consecutive selection to the post-season all-star team for Benn and the second time in his career he received first-team honors.

“I definitely feel very fortunate”, Kane said.

In less than a decade, Kane has gone from that 18-year-old kid with a flashy smile, flashier offensive skills and a world of potential to a semi-grizzled veteran set to rake in $13.8 million in 2016-17 coming off his finest season. Going into the NHL Awards show, many thought Kane would win with the race being close.

Pittsburgh’s Jim Rutherford was named the NHL’s general manager of the year, beating out Washington’s Brian MacLellan and Dallas’ Jim Nill.

Beyond the scoring, Benn brings a dynamic physical and competitive edge to the Stars that the league is finally realizing, as evidenced by the Hart Trophy finalist nod this season.

Kopitar’s teammate, Drew Doughty, won his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman. “But I think all of us that have won individually tonight will trade it in for the biggest team award in winning the Stanley Cup”. The 24-year-old Russian beat out No. 1 draft pick Connor McDavid of Edmonton, whose debut was shortened by a broken collarbone.

Karlsson, who won the Norris last year, scored a whopping 82 points for the Senators, the most by an National Hockey League defenseman in 20 years. Kane, a Buffalo, New York, native, is the first U.S.-born player to win either award.

Florida Panthers right winger Jaromir Jagr was the victor of the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. Nashville’s Shea Weber, Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin and Calgary’s Mark Giordano all received awards recognizing leadership and community service. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission. This includes the preparation of derivative works of, or the incorporation of such content into other works.