It’s always just a bit of fun to watch the NHL Awards and see guys like Alexander Ovechkin rack up the trophies. Maybe don’t spoil it! (Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)
It’s always kind of hard to go on for the few days in the Stanley Cup Playoffs between games, when hockey minds just try to get on to the next day with whatever news they can find. You know, signings, new coach hires, guys being goofy on Twitter and so on. But today, another story came down the Twitter pipeline and it brought to light the fact that there are still a few more things that were adversely affected by the 2012 NHL lockout.
In addition to the playoffs going deeper into June than they normally would, along with the fact that the 2013 draft has been trimmed to one day, there is the fact that the 2013 NHL Awards had to be reworked slightly. Instead of one glitzy Las Vegas ceremony to be held after the conclusion of the playoffs, when all the nominated players can attend, they’re doing a weird two-part TV special thing. Apparently they had trouble booking a venue on shorter notice.
Some of the awards–the Calder, Hart, Norris, Vezina and Ted Lindsay–will be announced at 7 p.m. this coming Saturday and others will be made public online at 5 p.m. on Friday, which anyone who’s ever paid attention to news knows is a fine time to announce really bad news since it’s assumed no one is listening.
So it’s weird, but not only is it a little clunky, it’s apparently not leak-proof.
Spoiler alert! It’s been reported by Nick Kypreos of Canada’s SportsNet that PK Subban of the Montreal Canadiens will win the Norris Trophy. He said he had it confirmed out of two different cities (but by whom?), which thereby removes a bit of the fun, suspense and surprise from waiting for that TV special on Saturday night.
Sure, the NHL Awards are a little corny and occasionally feature celebrities who look totally clueless when it comes to, say, pronouncing the name Martin St. Louis. (Aren’t all awards ceremonies corny and prone to faux pas, though?) But I don’t recall a leak like this happening in recent years. The award winners’ names have always been a secret–to the general public–until they’re announced on stage at a lavish casino resort. That’s just as it should be, really.
Can you imagine the mayhem that would ensue if, say, the names of Oscar winners leaked beforehand? Of course, Oscar results are kept under lock and key, as they remind us every year, but the same apparently can’t be said for NHL Awards winners.
There is, of course, the possibility that Kypreos is wrong. What if that televised special reveals that Kris Letang or Ryan Suter actually won? But in all likelihood, he’s right, so here’s hoping that everyone adopts a loose lips sink ships philosophy through the rest of the week so as not to completely spoil the fun of learning who won all the other awards.
I’m not saying this just because it affects the Boston Bruins–Patrice Bergeron is nominated for the Selke and Adam McQuaid is up for the Masterton, both set for revelation on Friday afternoon, while the Saturday special will air right before game two of the Stanley Cup Final–but because, again, the awards are just a bit of fun. Why not just keep the winners secret, if you apparently know them, and let us have our bit of fun?
Don’t worry, though. The awards will go back to normal next year.
