Canadiens’ Carey Price: Big Winner At NHL Awards
By Lissa Albert
Montreal Canadiens’s Carey Price: Big Winner At NHL Awards
The 2015 NHL Awards are over and done, and Montreal Canadiens‘ elite goaltender came out the huge winner of the night. Carey Price was nominated for three awards, and had already won the William Jennings (shared with Chicago’s Corey Crawford) at the end of the season.
The Jennings is awarded to the goaltender who, in at least 25 games in the regular season, allows the fewest goals. While this was an award that had already been announced, Price was presented with the trophy in Vegas.
But the night belonged to Carey Price through and through. Here’s how it played out.
Nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player in regular season – voted upon by players – he won his first of the night, edging fellow nominees Alex Ovechkin and Jamie Benn. This is a big honor, as it was his peers who voted for him. And as written in another post, most of the NHL players interviewed about this award said that Carey Price was their choice.
Still, it was quite a pleasant surprise to hear Carey Price read out as the winner, and it was presented to him by Mr. Lindsay himself.
Ted Lindsay is a hockey legend. A nine-time All-Star, he scored 800 points in his career (playing 1944-1960 when he retired, and 1964-65 when he was given a chance to return and did, to the Red Wings). He is responsible – along with Doug Harvey – for starting the NHL Players Association.
And he was there to present Carey Price with this prestigious award. It was very clear to see the admiration and respect on Price’s face as he accepted the trophy from the man himself.
Price’s acceptance speech was emotion-filled, as he thanked his teammates, his parents and his wife Angela, stating that he was more nervous giving that speech than ever playing a hockey game. He paid extreme tribute to everyone he credited with his success, from the fans in Montreal, the Canadiens organization, and his teammates.
For the record, Price is only the third goalie to win the Lindsay Award, after Mike Liut (1980-81) and Dominik Hasek (1996-97, 1997-98), and the first time in 17 years.
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