The Lady Byng Award – as if its name wasn’t cause enough for ridicule in a macho sport – is jokingly referred in the NHL as the award nobody wants to win.
It was announced today that Avalanche captain Joe Sakic is one of three finalists to win it. Given to the NHL player who best exemplifies qualities of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct at a high level, Sakic won the trophy in 2000-01, the same season he also won the Hart Trophy.
Sakic’s competition for the trophy is Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk and Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis. Winners for all NHL awards will be announced June 14 in Toronto.
Avalanche center Paul Stastny also was named one of three finalists for the Calder Trophy, for NHL rookie of the year. Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin, the favorite to win the award, and Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal are the other finalists. Stastny finished second in rookie scoring with 78 points.
Stastny currently is playing for Team USA at the International Hockey World Championships in Moscow, and has three assists in two games.
The Lady Byng trophy is named in honor of Marie Evelyn Moreton, hockey-loving wife of Viscount Byng of Vimy, a Canadian war hero who was Governor-General of Canada in 1925.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
