The Boston Bruins organization was represented well at the end of the season NHL Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday night.
Patrice Bergeron won his second straight Selke Trophy, garnering 187 of the 196 first place votes. The award, won by Bergeron for a record sixth time, is given to the best defensive forward. He also won it consecutively in 2013-14 and 2014-15. He also won it in 2011-12 and 2016-17. Bergeron, who has been a finalist for the award in each of the past 12 seasons, ranked second in the NHL in face-off percentage (61.1 percent; minimum 500 attempts) behind Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (63.1 percent). He was first in faceoffs won (1,043), second in faceoffs taken (1,706), and fifth in defensive faceoff percentage (61.8 percent). The Bruins captain was third among their forwards in average ice time per game (17:24), third in short-handed ice time per game (1:46), second in blocked shots (54), and fourth in takeaways (38). His plus-35 rating in 78 games led Bruins forwards and ranked eighth in the NHL among all skaters. His 58 points (27 goals, 31 assists) were third on the team. Bergeron also led Boston in shots attempted percentage (minimum 50 games), with the Bruins taking 59.7 percent of all shot attempts at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice.
Linus Ullmark would take home the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best goaltender. Ullmark is the fifth goalie in Bruins history to win the Vezina Trophy and the first since 2014, when Tuukka Rask won the award. Pete Peeters became the first Boston goaltender to win it in 1983, while Tim Thomas earned the honor in both 2009 and 2011. Ullmark tied the Bruins’ single-season wins record (40), while also posting a league-leading 1.89 goals-against-average and .938 save percentage in 49 games (48 starts). The Boston netminder also had a pair of shutouts throughout the year, as he helped lead the Bruins to an NHL record 135 points alongside fellow goaltender Jeremy Swayman. The 29-year old yielded two or fewer goals in 36 of his 49 games throughout the 2022-23 season. In his 49th game of the season, Ullmark became the fastest goaltender in NHL history to reach the 40-win mark. It also tied him for the franchise wins record in a single season with Pete Peeters, who accomplished the feat in 63 games during the 1982-83 campaign. He produced a league-best .966 save percentage when facing unblocked shots during the regular season. He also led the NHL with a 0.883 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes and a 0.88 goals-against-average better than expected. On top of that, he made some wild history as he became just the 13th goaltender in NHL history to score a regular-season goal. He scored an empty netter in the Bruins’ 3-1 win over Vancouver on February 25. Ullmark and his teammate Swayman also share the Jennings Trophy given to a netminder or netminders that play a minimum of 25 games for a team that had the lowest amount of goals scored against them.
Jim Montgomery would cap off the night as far as hardware for Boston by winning the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year, beating out two compelling candidates in Dave Hakstol from Seattle and Lindy Ruff from New Jersey. Montgomery, who was hired June 30, 2022 to replace Bruce Cassidy, guided the Bruins to the most wins (65) and points (135) in a single season in NHL history. Boston, which won the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the regular season (65-12-5), had an .823 points percentage, a plus-128 goal differential, ranked first in goals against per game (2.12) and penalty-killing percentage (87.3), and was second in goals per game (3.66), and 12th on the power play (22.2 percent). Boston had an NHL-record 14-game home winning streak from the start of the season and five winning streaks of at least seven games. The Bruins also became the fourth team in the modern era (since 1943-44) to lead a division all year. The 53-year-old is the fifth Bruins coach to win the award and first since Cassidy in 2019-20.
Here is the full list of the awards:
Hart Trophy (MVP of the league)- Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Selke Trophy (Best defensive forward)- Patrice Bergeron, Boston
Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year- Matty Beniers, Seattle
Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship)- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles
Vezina Trophy (Goaltender of the Year)- Linus Ullmark, Boston
Jennings Trophy (Goaltenders playing a minimum of 25 games for a team with the lowest number of goals scored against them)- Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, Boston
Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year)- Jim Montgomery, Boston
Maurice Richard Trophy (Leading goal scorer)- Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Ted Lindsay Award (MVP-regular season)- Connor McDavid, Edmonton
Bill Masterson Trophy (Perseverance, sportsmanship, dedication)- Kris Letang, Pittsburgh
King Clancy Trophy (Dedication on and off the ice)- Mikael Backlund, Calgary
Mark Messier Leadership Award- Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
Norris Trophy (Best defenseman)- Erik Karlsson, San Jose
Jim Gregory Award (General Manager of the Year, announced June 28 at NHL Draft)- Finalists are Don Sweeney (Boston), Jim Nill (Dallas), and Bill Zito (Florida)
E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence (Exemplifies commitment through character, competitiveness, and athleticism)- Connor Bedard, Regina Pats (Western Hockey League, likely #1 draft pick of Chicago Blackhawks)
Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award (Individual through the sport of hockey that has positively impacted their community, culture, or society in the United States)- Jason McCrimmon, Detroit Ice Dreams Youth Hockey Association
FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM
Forwards: Jason Robertson (DAL), Connor McDavid (EDM), David Pastrnak (BOS)
Defense: Erik Karlsson (SJS), Adam Fox (NYR)
Goaltender: Linus Ullmark (BOS)
SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM
Forwards: Artemi Panarin (NYR), Leon Draisaitl (EDM), Matthew Tkachuk (FLA)
Defense: Hampus Lindholm (BOS), Cale Makar (COL)
Goaltender: Ilya Sorokin (NYI)
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Forwards: Matty Beniers (SEA), Matias Maccelli (ARI), Wyatt Johnson (DAL)
Defense: Owen Power (BUF), Jake Sanderson (OTT)
Goaltender: Stuart Skinner (EDM)
Story by Chris Lessner/content for this story was gathered with the help of the NHL website
