Crosby, Brodeur, Luongo up for NHL MVP
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was honoured forhis sensationalsophomore season by being nominated Tuesday for the NHL's most valuable player award.
Joining Crosby as a first-time finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophyis Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.New Jersey netminder Martin Brodeur is the third nominee.
Crosby could join WayneGretzky on the short list of 19-year-olds to capture the Hart. Gretzkyearned the honour in 1980, when he was slightly younger than Crosby is now.
Crosby's league-leading 120 points have already earned him the Art Ross Trophy for the most points.
The NHL will hold its annual awards ceremony on June 14 at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto (CBC, 8:30 p.m. ET).
Luongo and Brodeur also were tabbed for consideration for the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender, which will have four nominees due to a third-place tie in voting.
Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff and New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist each received the same number of votes.
Crosby was one of four players from the Pittsburgh Penguins to be nominated on Tuesday.
Rookie teammates Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal are up for the Calder Trophy as top rookie along with Colorado's Paul Stastny, who set a rookie record with a 20-game point streak.
Malkin led all first-year players with 85 points, while Staal had an NHL-best seven short-handed goals.
Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien, meanwhile, was nominated for the Jack Adams Award after he helped thePenguins engineer a 47-point improvement from a dismal 2005-06 season. The turnaround in points was the fourth largest in league history.
Therrien is a finalist for the Adams award for coachof the yearalong with the Vancouver Canucks' Alain Vigneault and Lindy Ruff of the Buffalo Sabres, whose team won the Presidents' Trophy for the team with the most points,with 113.
Ruff could join Jacques Demers as the only men to win the award in consecutive years.
Anaheim's vaunted blueliners Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer will each vie for a second James Norris Trophy as top defenceman. The Ducks duois joined by Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom, who won his fourth Norris last year.
St. Louis, Datsyuk, Sakic nominated for Lady Byng
Rod Brind'Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes will also have a chance to earn awards in two consecutive years.
He was nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward along with Anaheim's Sammy Pahlsson and Jay Pandolfo of the New Jersey Devils.
Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning was nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly play. Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, last year's winner, and Joe Sakic, who took the award in 2001, were also named as finalists.
The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association votes for five of the trophies, with the NHL General Managers voting for the Vezina and members of the the NHL Broadcasters’ Association selecting the Adams finalists.
It was announced on Tuesday thatNHLplayers hadvoted for Crosby, Luongo and Vincent Lecavalier as their nominees for outstanding player, the Lester B. Pearson Award.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, for which each team submits a nominee, will also be awarded for perseverance and dedication to hockey.
In addition to the Art Ross, the William Jennings and Rocket Richard trophies will be officially awarded some time during the Stanley Cup final.
Lecavalier earned the Richard trophy for most goals,with 52 shots hitting the net, while Minnesota Wild goaltenders Nicklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez had the league's lowest combined goals against average to take the Jennings, awarded to the top two goalies for the team with the lowest average.