Could Price win Hart and Vezina?
An admittedly offbeat fact, should Canadiens goaltender Carey Price be announced as winner of either the Hart or Vezina Trophy at the NHL awards gala on Wednesday ln Las Vegas: Price would become the 13th different Canadiens player to win either award, a dozen Habs since the mid-1920s having won each of them.
Teammate P.K. Subban, meanwhile, is bidding to become just the third Canadien in history to win multiple Norris Memorial Trophies as the league’s best defenceman, after Doug Harvey’s six and joining Larry Robinson’s two.
Price’s name might by now be in a sealed envelope, and it’s not outrageous to say that he’s the favourite to win both.
Price’s stellar goaltending campaign was one for the books, and indeed some of it went into the record ledgers.
Price led the league with 44 wins (a franchise record), a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. He also tied for second in shutouts, with nine. Singlehandedly, he stole a dozen or more points during the regular season, leading the Canadiens to the secondbest record in the NHL. The Canadiens then went two rounds and 12 games into the playoffs.
The Hart, awarded to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team, is selected by a ballot of journalists on the NHL beat, leaguewide.
Price is a finalist this season with two snipers: Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin and John Tavares of the New York Islanders.
Since 1981-82, the Georges Vezina Trophy has been awarded to the goaltender judged by a general managers’ vote to be the best netminder in the league, a subjective call not based purely on statistical performance.
Price is up against Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators and Devan Dubnyk of the Minnesota Wild.
The 27-year-old Price is also up for the Ted Lindsay Award, which goes to the league’s MVP as judged by his peers, a ballot taken among members of the NHL Players’ Association.
Price is a Lindsay finalist with Ovechkin and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, vying to become the only Canadien to win the award since Guy Lafleur took it home three straight seasons from 1975-76 through 1977-78, when it was named the Lester B. Pearson Award.
Even in the implausible event that Price is shut out on Wednesday, he won’t head back to his summer home in Kelowna, B.C., emptyhanded.
Price and Chicago Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford, who just won the Stanley Cup for the second time, Will share the William M. Jennings Trophy for having played at least 25 games for the teams that this season tied for fewest goals allowed (189).
Six different Canadiens defencemen, meanwhile, have won the Norris a total of 12 times since it was introduced in 1953-54. Subban is hoping to receive the prestigious prize on Wednesday for the second time in three seasons.