Like in 2020, there won’t be a glitzy Las Vegas awards show. And, like in 2020, that won’t stop the NHL’s best and brightest from getting their hardware.
The NHL started handing out its 2021 awards on June 14, although we knew a few winners beforehand.
Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy with 41 goals during the regular season. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy with an NHL-best 105 points. He scored 21 more points than the No. 2 guy on the list, teammate Leon Draisaitl. Matthews and McDavid are also up for the Hart Trophy. The Golden Knights goalie tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner snagged the 2021 William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals against (124). It marked the first time Fleury won the award; Lehner won it in 2019 with Thomas Greiss for the Islanders.
Awarded to the player who shows “leadership on and off the ice and who has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.” The trophy winner is selected by a committee of senior NHL executives that includes commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
