From Ice to the Desert, 2014 NHL Awards Prepare to Face-Off

Photo: NHL

With the NHL season over, the next event to skate into view, the NHL Awards. It comes as no surprise that members of the 2014 Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings will make an appearance, specifically nominees, Captain Dustin Brown (Ted Lindsay Awards) and forward Anze Kopitar (Selke Trophy), along with Lord Stanley himself. In similar fashion to past years, the list of presenters for the show is both lengthy and notable.

 Hosted by television and radio broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos, who joins Hockey Night in Canada this upcoming season, the 2014 NHL Awards will broadcast live from the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN in the U.S. and on CBC in Canada.

 Some faces fans may recognize as they watch the show, current and former NHLers PK Subban, Chris Pronger, Rich Peverley, Danny DeKeyser, Michael Peca and Luc Robitaille will present alongside notable hockey fans David Boreanaz (“Bones”), Cuba Gooding Jr. (“The Butler”), Retta (“Parks and Recreation”), Eric Stonestreet (“Modern Family”) and David Walton (“About a Boy”). In addition to the presenter list,  longtime hockey fans Michael J.
Fox (“Family Ties”), Susan Sarandon (“Tammy”), James Lipton (“Insider the Actor’s Studio”), Kevin Connolly (“Entourage”) and Whoopi Goldberg (“The View”) also will be featured during the broadcast in pre-taped segments.  Phillip Phillips will take the stage for a special musical performance.

 Hockey legends Ted Lindsay and Mark Messier also will take to the stage to announce the winner of their namesake awards – the Ted Lindsay Award, honoring the most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by members of the NHLPA. this years finalists, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks. The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award which recognizes a player who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members, and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes will face-off between Dustin Brown of the LA Kings, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks. 

If the excitement from the presenter list alone is too much to handle, the nominees who have exuded excellence across the sport this season will only add to the viewing experience.

 Award nominees include Ryan Getzlaf and Bob Murray of the Anaheim Ducks; Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins;
Manny Malhotra of the Carolina Hurricanes; Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks; Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O’Reilly, Patrick Roy and Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche; Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings; Brown, Kopitar, Dean Lombardi and Jonathan Quick of the Kings; Marc Bergevin of the Montreal Canadiens; Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators; Jaromir Jagr of the New Jersey Devils; Dominic Moore and Martin St. Louis of the New York Rangers; Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers; Brent Burns and Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks; Ben Bishop, Jon Cooper, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 The broadcast will recognize Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andrew  Ference,  this  year’s recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for  his leadership  on  and  off  the ice and his noteworthy humanitarian contribution  to  his  community; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, winner  of the Art Ross Trophy as the regular-season scoring champion; and Washington  Capitals  right wing Alex Ovechkin, who will receive his fourth career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the League’s goal-scoring leader.

The show will also feature the big reveal that sparked a creativity contest throughout its nominees; the EA Sports NHL15 cover vote winner will be announced by NBC’s Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk. Always the rivalry, the NHL15 cover will feature either Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron, who is also nominated for the Selke Trophy or Montreal Canadiens P.K Subban.

The NHL Awards give fans a final dose of hockey season, before the offseason takes full effect. Looking for photos and in the moment coverage of everything the awards has to offer? Be sure to follow @ThePinkPuck and @Winter_Adams who will be present at the festivities and sharing with The Pink Puck readers.