TORONTO — You can call Alex Ovechkin NHL MVP. What the Washington Capitals young star really wants is to be known as Stanley Cup champion.
Ovechkin capped off a special season Thursday night by capturing the NHL’s two most prestigious individual awards. He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the players’ choice for the most outstanding player.
“I think I’m the happiest 22-year-old guy on the planet,” Ovechkin said. “I want to win everything, so next year maybe the Stanley Cup.”
The trophy haul already included the Maurice Richard Trophy with a league-best 65 goals and the Art Ross Trophy with 112 points.
Ovechkin, the first player to score 60 goals since Mario Lemieux in 1996, earned 128-of-134 first-place Hart votes from the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. He joined Sergei Fedorov (1994) as the only Russian-born players to win the Hart and Pearson.
Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, hired after Washington’s woeful start, earned the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top bench boss. The only damper in the nation’s capital came when Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom was edged by Chicago’s Patrick Kane for rookie of the year.
Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins were the other finalists for both the Hart and Pearson.
Nicklas Lidstrom, the captain of the Red Wings, captured his sixth Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, moving him two behind Bobby Orr’s eight and one behind Doug Harvey.
“I never take this for granted,” Lidstrom said, “but it really feels special coming here after winning the Cup.”
NHL 2007-08 awards
Hart Memorial Trophy, MVP: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
Vezina Trophy, goaltender: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey
James Norris Memorial Trophy, defenseman: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit
Calder Memorial Trophy, rookie: Patrick Kane, Chicago
Frank J. Selke Trophy, defensive forward: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, most gentlemanly: Datsyuk, Detroit
Jack Adams Award, coach: Bruce Boudreau, Washington
King Clancy Trophy, humanitarian contribution to hockey: Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, perserverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey: Jason Blake, Toronto
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gordie Howe
