It was quite a season for Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews that was capped off by winning the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award at the “NHL Awards” show on Tuesday.
Matthews also took home the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for most goals in a season. He was the NHL’s first 60-goal scorer since 2011-12 when Steven Stamkos completed the feat. The 24 year-old finished this season with 60 goals and 46 assists for 106 points in 73 games.
The Hart Trophy is voted on by members of the PHWA, who gave Matthews 119 out of 195 first-place votes. In total, he received 1,630 votes with last year’s winner Connor McDavid getting 29 first-place votes (1,111 total) and Igor Shesterkin placing third with 24 first-place votes (738 total).
Auston Matthews first Maple Leafs players to win Hart in 67 years
When Matthews was announced as the winner of the Hart Trophy, he became the first Toronto Maple Leafs player since Ted Kennedy to win it since 1955. That season, Kennedy potted 52 points in 70 games to win the award.
“It’s nice. I can’t lie,” Matthews said via NHL.com. “It feels really good. It’s special to have my family here with me. A lot of great players in that room, a lot of really deserving guys. Definitely pretty special.”
In addition to being named the Hart Trophy winner as league MVP and Ted Lindsay Award winner as most outstanding players by his peers (NHLPA), he made the NHL’s first team all stars.
Along with Matthews (C), Igor Shesterkin (G), Roman Josi (D), Cale Makar (D), Mitch Marner (RW), and Johnny Gaudreau (LW) were also announced.
NHL Awards Recap
New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin took home his first Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie by a landslide. The award is voted on by all 32 NHL general managers and he received 29 first-place votes. Shesterkin finished with 154 total points (29-3-0), 101 more points than second-place finisher Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames. Nashville Predators Juuse Saros finished third.
Shesterkin had a monster season with a 36-13-4 record. He also led the league in both GAA (2.07) and SV% (.935). A remarkable accomplishment in a season where scoring was up. Per Hockey-Reference, in 2021-22 the 3.14 goals per game average matched the output of the 1995-96 campaign. The NHL has only cracked over 3 goals per game three other times in that 26 year span.
“It’s good to play on the New York Rangers, incredible feelings,” Shesterkin said. “I would like to thank Rangers fans. It was my dream to play in the NHL and to play in front of you at MSG was incredible.”
Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman. He beat out Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi and Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman. In actuality, Josi received more first-place by a 98-92 margin, but overall Makar squeezed out the win with 1631 total votes to Josi’s 1606.
This past season, Makar led all defenseman with 28 goals, finishing with 86 points in 77 games. Of course, the 23 year-old is playing in the Stanley Cup Final which is rightfully preoccupying his mind.
“I’m still pretty young, so having this playoff experience at an early age is very exciting for me,” Makar said. “You just try to kind of take it all in. At the end of the day, it’s step by step. Being able to experience what we have right now as a team, it’s only going to make us stronger in the future regardless of what happens. But we’re focused on obviously winning right now.”
Finally, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider took home the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He recorded 50 points in 82 games.
The sixth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft won by a large margin earning 170 first place votes out of 195. In total, he picked up 1853 votes while Anaheim Ducks’ Trevor Zegras finished second with 1191 votes, and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Michael Bunting received 877 for third.
“It’s crazy. Sometimes you’ve got to flinch to realize that. Pinch yourself,” Seider said. “I’ll definitely have some time to reflect, and I will probably do that when I’m home with my parents, just sit outside and have some great talks. For now, everything is going really fast.”
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