NHL Award Nominees Will Be Announced Tomorrow

Canadian Press

NEW YORK — Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks are expected to be among the nominees for the Hart Trophy when the NHL announces the award finalists Tuesday.

The league will also announce finalists for the Jack Adams Award (outstanding coach), Calder Memorial Trophy (outstanding rookie), James Norris Memorial Trophy (outstanding all-around defenceman), Frank J. Selke Trophy (outstanding defensive forward), Vezina Trophy (outstanding goaltender) and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct).

Nominees for the NHLPA's Lester B. Pearson Award (most outstanding player as voted by players) will also be announced Tuesday.

The winners will be announced June 14 in Toronto.

Crosby and Luongo could be in the mix for both the Hart (NHL MVP) and Pearson Award. Other viable candidates include Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks.

The 19-year-old Crosby became the youngest player in history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer with 120 points (36-84) in 79 games while also sporting a plus-10 rating.

"In addition to leading this team, there's the added pressure of being the go-to guy off the ice for the league," Pens GM Ray Shero told The Canadian Press last month. "But on the ice it doesn't affect him at all. It's hard not to say enough good things about the kid.

"He's a team-first player. He never takes a shift off. When your best player is your hardest-working player, it's great."

Luongo was second in the NHL with 47 wins as well as fourth in the league with a .921 save percentage and sixth with a 2.29 goals-against average, by the far the biggest reason in Vancouver's surprising season, playing 76 of his team's 82 games.

Brodeur has a strong case as well, topping the NHL with a record 48 wins while posting a 2.18 GAA and .922 save percentage while also registering a career-high 12 shutouts.

Thornton, last year's Hart and Art Ross winner, finished second in scoring with 114 points (22-92) in 82 games while Lecavalier was right behind at 108 points (52-56), leading the NHL in goals.

Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins and Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche are the favourites for the Calder and that's not surprising given they finished 1-2 in NHL rookie scoring. Also worthy of consideration are Jordan Staal of the Penguins, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks blue-liners Matt Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Norris could once again be a battle between the usual suspects, Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks dynamic duo of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger although Dan Boyle of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sergei Zubov of the Dallas Stars and Chris Phillips of the Ottawa Senators also merit consideration.

Lidstrom picked up his fourth Norris in five seasons last year.

The candidates are once again numerous for the Jack Adams. One can make a case for Alain Vigneault in Vancouver, Randy Carlyle in Anaheim, Mike Babcock in Detroit, Michel Therrien in Pittsburgh and reigning winner Lindy Ruff in Buffalo, among others.

Luongo and Brodeur will surely be finalists for the Vezina and should be joined by either Detroit's Dominik Hasek or Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, last year's winner.

The NHL's best defensive forward is a wide-open race this season. Jay Pandolfo of the Devils, Samuel Pahlsson of the Ducks, Henrik Zetterberg of the Wings and Mike Fisher of the Senators all merit consideration.

Carlo Colaiacovo Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo will spend the early part of the NHL off-season working his way back from Sunday's arthroscopic knee surgery.

Colaiacovo, who is expected to begin his rehabilitation in two weeks, had been bothered by a sore leg since a March 13 game against Tampa Bay.

But the 24-year-old Toronto native continued to play and finished the season with a career-best eight goals and 17 points in 48 games. He also ranked fourth among the Leafs' regular six defencemen in plus-minus (plus-5).

Colaiacovo, a first-round pick of the Leafs in 2001 (17th overall), had his share of injuries this season, his first full campaign with the Maple Leafs:

• He was sidelined last October because of post-concussion symptoms, stemming from a concussion suffered on Jan. 23, 2006.
• He suffered a fractured finger later that month when he blocked a shot during a conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies.
• In December 2006, a head injury cost him three games.

In 73 career NHL regular-season games, Colaiacovo has 10 goals and 26 points.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 27, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail, Gord Kirke, a sports lawyer, James Deacon from the Fan590

Main NHL Story: McCown started off with bringing up the issue that some people are not overly thrilling with the CBC's broadcasting team for the 2007 NHL Playoffs. The discussion was rooted in that people grow up watching hockey and listening to "one voice." For McCown's era it was the Hewitt's. Now, when HNIC broadcasts with someone such as Jim Hughson instead of their go to guys "Bob Cole, Harry Neale, etc" people feel it takes away from the game. However, the show must go on and people will have to get use to a variety of different voices. The roundtable agreed that Hughson would be next in line for Bob Cole's position. The roundtable discussed what made a "good" broadcaster. Deacon also mentioned that fact that CBC doesn't seem to have a team lined up to take over their "common" broadcasters. The roundtable continued to discuss who could possibly fill in for the Bob Cole's and the Harry Neale's. The final question was: Is this Bob Cole's last year? No one would really say either way "on the record," but they did conclude that it wouldn't be them, it would be the 25-35 year old market that should decide the fate of Bob Cole. McCown then asked about TSN's Pierre McGuire. The roundtable agreed that he works hard to understand the game, however is sometimes afraid to deeply critique a team - he's simply too nice of a guy.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 26, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: Duthatschek was live at Joe Louis Arena. The main reason for talking to Duhatschek is that McCown feels this will be the best series of round 2. Duhatschek gave a run down of each team and the injuries facing both teams (mainly the Red Wings). Duhatschek talked about the injury to Detroit's Holstrom and the Sharks' Cheechoo. Hat said that Holstrom is out indefinately and Cheechoo seems to be getting back to 100%. Brunt brought up the fact that Detroit isn't selling out the games. Hat replied that simply the prices at Joe Louis are too expensive and the views aren't that good. Mix that with the weak economy in Detroit and Windsor and you get the situation facing the Red Wings. McCown moved on to the fact that San Jose's powerplay has been lacking in the playoffs (2 for 30). Duhatschek feels that the Sharks aren't too worried about the powerplay and it Ron Wilson says it will fix itself. Brunt moved the discussion to the "age" of the Detroit team - can they withstand a run to the cup? Duhatschek replied that the Detroit's better players are more on the young side (Lidstrom, Zetterburg, Datsyuk) and the only real issue lies with Hasek - who seems to be "fresh" and showing no signs of wear. The one thing that may cause a problem is travel. Detroit having to travel out to the west coast constantly will tire them out - it has tired out Duhatschek.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 25, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Neil Smith, former GM of the Islanders

Main NHL Story: Smith was subbing in for Eric Duhatschek. Smith and McCown started off reacquainted themselves with each other. First issue: Peter Forsberg - has he played his last NHL game? Morganti says that this is true and the problems he had with his ankle showed how much of a "diva" he was. He was such a distraction for both teams he played with this year and because he is injured there is no way anyone will pay the high price his agent commands. McCown took Morganti's point about the distraction to ask - would the Predators have gone further without Forsberg? Both Smith and Morganti agree that he didn't hurt the team, but he didn't really help the team either. Brunt and Smith then went on a tangent to talk about deadline deals made in the NHL. Smith said that the deals that work out are ones that don't affect the core of the team - and Forsberg's deal did impact the core. Brunt and Smith went on to talk about other deals that did and did not work out in the past and this season. McCown then moved on to a comment made by NY Rangers coach Tom Rennie, when he said that he didn't think Buffalo was the "cream of the crop." McCown asked Smith if this type of thing affects the series or the play of the game. Smith or Morganti said the comments made by Rennie usually have no impact on the game - especially given the underdog position of the NY Rangers. McCown's next discussion was on the bet placed by Buffalo's Mayor to New York's Mayor about the outcome of the series and the dismissal by Mayor Bloomberg of the bet. McCown said this was just a chance for Buffalo's mayor to get his name in the paper.
Round 2 Predictions:
Sabres vs. Rangers - Smith said the Rangers really have a chance against this Buffalo team, simply due to some of the acquisitions made at the trade deadline. Their play down the stretch and the return of Brendan Shanahan may give them a fight in the series, but overall the Sabres should easily win this series.
Devils vs. Senators - Morganti holds his faith in Brodeur and that he will be able to push his team through to the Eastern Finals. Neil Smith agrees that the Devils will move forward in this series based on the tender and the playoff experience.
Canucks vs. Ducks - Morganti says there really is no chance for the Canucks to beat this powerful Ducks team. Smith agrees, plus with the injuries and sicknesses the Canucks are facing is just too much for the Canucks to overcome.
Red Wings vs. Sharks - Smith calls the Red Wings on this one. Morganti also picked Detroit to win, based on their toughness. McCown feels the Sharks will win - based on his points system...

Leafs Re-Sign Boyd Devereaux

TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed forward Boyd Devereaux to a two-year, US$1.15-million contract, the club announced Thursday.

Devereaux, 29, will earn $550 in the 2007-08 season and $600 in 08-09.

The Seaforth, Ont., native has played 542 NHL games with Edmonton, Detroit, Phoenix and Toronto collecting 150 points (54 goals, 96 assists) with 179 penalty minutes.

Originally Edmonton's first choice, sixth overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Devereaux initially signed with the Maple Leafs on October 7, 2006 and was assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League where he played in 30 games.

He was recalled by the Leafs on December 28, 2006, where he finished the season, collecting 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) with 12 penalty minutes in 33 games.

Devereaux was a member of the 2002 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings setting career-highs in games played (79) and goals (nine).

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 24, 2007

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Stephen Walkom, Director of Officiating for the NHL

Main NHL Story: Having Walkom call in to the program, meant that the discussion would focus mainly on the officiating in the NHL. McCown opened up with talking about how rough this years playoffs are. McCown discussed how the "goonery" seems to have moved through the regular season and into the playoffs. Brunt talked to Walkom about the preparation the referees must do during the pre-playoffs meetings. Walkom says his meetings have the goal of trying to keep things consistent, with specific areas (around crease, checks to the head, etc) being emphasized a bit more. McCown moved on to the topic that the media have been talking about the change in the officiating near the end of the season. The officiating seemed to get more lenient. Walkom replied that nothing has changed, nor did he implement a change. Walkom reiterated that his refs have been consistent all season and the GMs are happy with the way the game is being called. Brunt asked if there ever is a time where a change in the way the game is being called must be done "on the fly." Walkom said his refs mainly look for new tendencies with the players and try to adapt to that. The example he gave was that players got used to putting their sticks between the opponents skates, however later in the season the players began putting their sticks between the skates and twisting it. Walkom said the refs just try to stay ahead of the curve. Brunt moved on to goaltender interference and asked if there is any point where the tender is fair game - Walkom said that the call is really up to the refs judgment about whether the player had intent to hit the goalie. McCown asked Walkom about diving and whether there are statistics about the diving now versus diving before the lockout. Walkom said that he feels diving is definitely down and because more attention is being paid to it, the players are less inclined to dive. Brunt talked about the Flames/Red Wings battle of Game 5. He asked whether there was anything the refs did to try to prevent this type of incident from happening. Walkom agreed that the refs knew something like this was going to happen eventually, and he feels the two refs that night handled the situation well. The problem with the refs is they can't call something that hasn't happened and unfortunately they have to have it happen before they can make the call. McCown moved the topic to the refs themselves and the selections made for each of the playoff rounds. McCown mainly wanted to know if Kerry Fraser could be brought back to ref in round 2. Walkom said the guys there right now are doing a great job and barring any injuries, there is no chance he will come in for this playoffs. McCown pushed the "grading" process further. He asked what the most important thing was that he look for in the refs. Walkom talked about the officials that earn the right to get a great rating. Reactions, responses and skating are some the key things that are looked for. McCown talked about negative rating as well, how a ref doing a poor job is easier to cross of the list, than looking for a good ref to advance to the next playoff round. Walkom mentioned that he does not use this system and that sometimes refs do recover and do earn the chance to get a great rating and move on. Walkom said the refs really are a great bunch of guys who support each other throughout the playoffs, even if they don't get the chance to move. McCown also talked about ref pairings and Walkom said that he does try to match up refs that work well together and possibly keep the pair together as they move through the playoffs. Overall, Walkom said the refs are just like a hockey team and some guys have bad nights, some have good night, some work well together and some don't.