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Foppa on toppa Forsberg caps brilliant comeback year with Hart TrophyPosted: Thursday June 12, 2003 9:18 PMUpdated: Thursday June 12, 2003 11:32 PM
TORONTO (AP) -- Peter Forsberg's stellar return to the NHL following an injury that forced him to miss an entire regular season culminated with him being chosen as the league's most valuable player on Thursday night. Forsberg won the scoring title with 106 points and became the first Swedish player to capture the Hart Trophy. It was presented during the league's annual awards ceremonies. "I've been very fortunate to play for a good team for a long time," said the two-time Stanley Cup winner from the Colorado Avalanche. Forsberg, 29, had a remarkable comeback last season after missing the previous campaign recuperating from injuries and contemplating his future. He earned a $100,000 bonus for the award. The other finalists were New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur and Vancouver forward Markus Naslund.
Three days after leading the Devils to the Stanley Cup and being passed over as playoff MVP, Brodeur won his first Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie. The Vezina is chosen by the league's general managers. All other player awards handed out Thursday night were voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. "People always asked, 'You haven't won the Vezina?' Now I've finally got it," he said. "But I never felt overlooked." Brodeur was not given the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs despite posting an NHL-record seven shutouts in the postseason -- including three in the seven-game finals against Anaheim. Mighty Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere became just the fifth player from a non-Stanley Cup-winning team to capture the Conn Smythe. Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom became the first player since Bobby Orr to be chosen as the NHL's top defenseman for three straight years. Orr won eight consecutive Norris Trophies from 1968-75. Lidstrom led players in average ice time -- 29 minutes, 20 seconds -- and was third with a plus-40. He was third in scoring among defensemen with 62 points. It was the sixth straight year he was a finalist for the Norris. He was second for three years in a row before winning in 2001. "I don't think it's really sunk in that I've won three in a row," Lidstrom said. Al MacInnis of the St. Louis Blues and Derian Hatcher of the Dallas Stars were the other finalists. "I thought MacInnis was going to win," Lidstrom said. "He had a strong season with [Chris] Pronger out." In other awards announced Thursday, St. Louis defenseman Barrett Jackman won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year; Toronto forward Alexander Mogilny earned the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the most gentlemanly player; Steve Yzerman, of Detroit, received the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey; Minnesota's Jacques Lemaire won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year; and Jere Lehtinen of Dallas Stars won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward. Brodeur has been a big part of the Devils' success the last nine years. New Jersey won its third Cup in that span by beating Anaheim 3-0 on Monday night. He had 41 regular-season victories and nine shutouts -- both league highs. "Winning never gets old," he said. He finished second to Dominik Hasek in Vezina voting in 1997 and 1998 and was third in 2001 when Hasek won it again. Brodeur earned a $400,000 bonus for winning the Vezina, voted on by NHL general managers. "Hasek was so dominant that it was normal that he won it all those years," Brodeur said. Jackman became the first defenseman in six years to win the Calder. He was honored for his ability to step in and fill the void created by the absence Pronger, who missed most of the season because of injury. Jackman edged forwards Henrik Zetterberg of Detroit and Rick Nash of Columbus. He's only the second defenseman in 14 years to win. Bryan Berard, then with the New York Islanders, took it in 1997. Mogilny spent only 12 minutes out of 73 games in penalty boxes last season. He led the Maple Leafs and was 15th in the league in scoring with 79 points -- including 33 goals. The other finalists were Dallas center Mike Modano, who took 30 minutes in penalties, and Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, who served 38 penalty minutes. It was the fifth straight year Lidstrom was a finalist and didn't win. Yzerman was rewarded with the Masterton Trophy for his hard work in recovering from offseason knee surgery. He returned in late February from the injury that threatened to end his 20-year NHL career. Months of rehabilitation enabled him to resume his career following an osteotomy, a realignment procedure of the knee. Detroit went 14-1-0-1 with the 38-year-old Yzerman in the lineup. He intends to play again next season. "I'm not 100 percent but I'm feeling good," Yzerman said. "I don't want to come out and say it will be my last. I'll see how it goes." The trophy commemorates Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars who died Jan. 15, 1968, as a result of being injured during a game. Lemaire also took home the Adams Award in 1994 with New Jersey. He became a two-time winner by leading the Wild to a 42-29-10-1 record and a playoff berth in the team's third season. It was the second-best showing by a third-year club since 1967. Ottawa's Jacques Martin and Tampa Bay's John Tortorella were the other finalists in voting by members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association. Brendan Shanahan of the Detroit Red Wings won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for humanitarianism. Concerned about the number of unnecessary deaths cause by house
fires and in honor of his father, formerly a Toronto firefighter,
Shanahan started a program with the Detroit fire department to
assist low-income families purchase and install smoke detectors.
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