NHL to begin naming award finalists on July 14
The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs aren't set to resume until next month, but the NHL has some pretty exciting things happening next week.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi, the NHL will begin announcing award finalists on Tuesday, July 14, beginning with the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given to the league's "most outstanding player in the regular season."
The 2020 NHL Awards ceremony has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it's more than likely the awards will be presented virtually or at one of the hub cities following the completion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Last year's award winners are as follows:
- Ted Lindsay Award: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Jack Adams Award: Barry Trotz (New York Islanders)
- Calder Trophy: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks)
- Lady Byng Trophy: Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers)
- Masterton Trophy: Robin Lehner (formerly New York Islanders)
- Willie O'Ree Award: Rico Phillips (Founder of Flint Inner City Youth Program)
- Vezina Trophy: Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning)
- Norris Trophy: Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
- Selke Trophy: Ryan O'Reilly (St. Louis Blues)
- Hart Trophy: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
Many of these players (and coaches) will be up for the same awards again this season after a stellar 2019-20 campaign.
The announcement of the finalists certainly will stir the pot ahead of the playoffs, and it will absolutely make things interesting ... despite the award selection not being based on postseason performance.
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