Gallant, Karlsson lead Knights’ NHL awards haul
LAS VEGAS — New Jersey's Taylor Hall and the hometown Vegas Golden Knights went home with major honors from the NHL Awards.
Hall won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player Wednesday night in the hockey world's annual postseason awards show.
Gerard Gallant of the Golden Knights won the Jack Adams Trophy as the top coach and forward William Karlsson won the Lady Byng Trophy as the player best combining sportsmanship and ability.
Gallant was an obvious choice over Colorado's Jared Bednar and Boston's Bruce Cassidy after he masterminded the most spectacular expansion season in recent sports history. The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 and handily won the Pacific Division before winning 13 postseason games and reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Gallant, 54, previously coached the Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers, but his teams had never won a playoff round before Vegas' remarkable run.
After the Blue Jackets made a deal with Vegas to take Karlsson off their hands in the expansion draft, he had a breakthrough season for the Golden Knights, racking up 43 goals and 35 assists with only 12 penalty minutes. Karlsson had never scored more than 25 points in any of his three previous NHL seasons with Anaheim and the Blue Jackets.
"Who would have thought?" Karlsson said with a smile after picking up his award.
The Golden Knights' George McPhee was named general manager of the year and defenseman Deryk Engelland won the Messier Leadership Award.
Engelland was honored for his leadership and contributions to society. The veteran defenseman already was a Las Vegas resident when the Golden Knights acquired him, and he emerged as a public face of the team during its inspirational performances in the wake of the mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip shortly before the team's first game.
"It's been a remarkable season," Engelland said. "(We had) a great group of guys. They did a tremendous job putting the group together. For myself, I know there's a lot of other guys in our locker room The Golden Knights’ Gerard Gallant poses with the Jack Adams Award.
that could be here right now in my place. It's just an honor, and once we look back on the season, it's pretty special."
Hall beat out fellow first-time Hart finalists Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado and Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles. Hall got 72 first-place votes and 1,264 total points in the media voting to edge MacKinnon, who got 60 first-place votes and 1,194 points.
Hall became the first New Jersey player to win the NHL's biggest individual honor after
he finished sixth in the league with 93 points.
Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie. Rinne was a Vezina finalist for the fourth time. He finally got it after a standout regular season for the Presidents' Trophy winners in Nashville, where he has been a stalwart in goal since 2008.
Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. Kopitar led all Hart (MVP): Taylor Hall, New Jersey Vezina (goaltender): Pekka Rinne, Nashville Ted Lindsay (NHLPA best player): Connor McDavid, Edmonton Norris (defenseman): Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Calder (rookie): Mathew Barzal, N.Y. Islanders Jack Adams (coach): Gerard Gallant, Vegas Art Ross (scoring leader): McDavid Maurice Richard (goalscoring): Alex Ovechkin,
NHL forwards in ice time during another standout season for the Kings, who were the NHL's top statistical defensive team. The Slovenian star played extensively on the penalty kill and took 1,816 faceoffs.
The Blue Jackets will open the season Thursday, Oct. 4, at the Detroit Red Wings. The opener will be the 94th for the Red Wings and 18th for the Blue Jackets.
The Jackets’ home opener will be the following night, against the Carolina Washington William M. Jennings (fewest GA): Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Selke (defensive forward): Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles King Clancy (leadership/ humanitarian): Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Lady Byng (gentlemanly): William Karlsson, Vegas Masterson (dedication to hockey): Brian Boyle, New Jersey Mark Messier (leadership): Deryk Engelland, Vegas General manager: George McPhee, Vegas
Hurricanes.
The Blue Jackets will also play at Florida on Oct. 11 in the Panthers' home opener. All NHL home openers were announced Wednesday. The remainder of the 2018-19 schedule will be released Thursday.
The Washington Capitals will raise their first Stanley Cup banner and open their title defense on Oct. 3 against the Boston Bruins.
The Capitals will then open the Pittsburgh Penguins' season on Oct. 4 on the road and serve as the road team in one other home opener, at New Jersey on Oct. 11.