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Defenseman joins rare company in winning NHL award

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin joined some rare company when he was announced on Thursday as the winner of the Lady Byng Trophy.

He’s the second defenseman to win the award for ‘sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct’ at least twice, joining four-time winner Red Kelly. He’s also the second U.S.-born player to win it twice, joining Joe Mullen.

Slavin played nearly 1,700 minutes and recorded 37 points while being assessed only eight penalty minutes. He became the franchise’s all-time leading defenseman in assists (223) and points (272) this season.

He received 81 first-place votes and 1,174 points to edge the Vancouver Canucks’ Elias Pettersson (508) and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews (506).

Slavin won the award in 2020-21 and finished second in voting the following year.

When will NHL awards winners be announced?

There will be an awards show on June 27 in Las Vegas, before the NHL draft. The winners for Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Norris Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Trophy will be announced then.

Other awards will be announced earlier:

May 14: Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. Winner: New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba

May 15: Masterton Trophy for perseverance. Winner: Arizona Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram.

May 18: Selke Trophy for defensive forward. Winner: Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov.

May 22: Jack Adams Award for coach. Winner: Vancouver Canucks’ Rick Tocchet.

May 28: King Clancy Trophy for humanitarian contribution. Winner: New York Islanders forward Anders Lee.

May 30: Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship. Winner: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.

June 10: Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year

June 13: Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award

Who are the finalists for NHL awards?

Finalists listed in alphabetical order unless noted

Hart Trophy (MVP to this team, writers’ vote): Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

Ted Lindsay Award (most outstanding player, players’ vote): Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews.

Vezina Trophy (goalie): Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Vancouver Canucks’ Thatcher Demko and Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck.

Norris Trophy (defenseman): Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar.

Calder Trophy (rookie): Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes.

Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year: Vancouver Canucks’ Patrik Allvin, Dallas Stars’ Jim Nill and Florida Panthers’ Bill Zito.

Selke Trophy (defensive forward, in voting order): Barkov, Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews.

Jack Adams Award (coach, in voting order): Tocchet, Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators’ Andrew Brunette and Winnipeg Jets’ Rick Bowness.

Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship, in voting order): Slavin, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY