The 2011 NHL Awards were their usual mix of awesome and awkward. But the awards themselves offered a bit more unpredictability than in previous years — and some razor-thin margins in the voting.
Coming up, the vote totals for all the major awards — including a Norris Trophy race between Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators that came down to a mere nine votes.
And here … we … go.
Your aforementioned razor-thin margin. Shea Weber lost the Norris based on nine points, with Nicklas Lidstrom overcoming that minus-2 rating to win his seventh Norris Trophy. Two votes for Kris Letang, probably from writers who stopped watching Penguins games around January. And yes, we live in a world where Matt Carle has more support for the Norris than Dan Boyle.
An absolute blowout for Kesler. Datsyuk's games played probably factored into his runner-up status to Jonathan Toews. A first-place vote for Claude Giroux ... OK then. Pascal Dupuis gets two second-place votes. Obviously those two people didn't see his lack of protection for the glass behind goaltenders.
Very close race between Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks, which is how it should have been. The NHL broadcasters put Bylsma over in the end thanks to 29 first-place votes; Jacques Lemaire of the New Jersey Devils ended up far out of the money for the Adams.
Hockey Bieber outlasts Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks for the rookie of the year, earning 30 more first-place votes. Interesting to see John Carlson of the Washington Capitals earn more first-place votes than PK Subban and Cam Fowler. Wonder what that Brad Marchand vote would have been after the playoffs.
Mike Gillis gets his due for constructing a Presidents' Trophy winner. Steve Yzerman of the Tampa Bay Lightning gets some support, but not enough, in year one.
What, no Sather?
Marty St. Louis wins the Byng, with Lidstrom getting the "Hey, you've never won this before" vote and Eriksson getting the "Huh, eight penalty minutes?" vote.
Someone really, really finds Steven Stamkos to be a gentleman.
Thomas thanked both nominees when he won the Vezina, but really should have pumped Luongo's tires a tad more seeing how he finished behind Pekka Rinne.
Sorry Corey Crawford ... better luck next season.
And here's how Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks won the Hart over Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks. And how Tim Thomas somehow finished fifth.
Hart votes for Marc-Andre Fleury and Roberto Luongo. OK then.