The 2012 NHL Awards came and went Wednesday evening without a hitch. Scratch that, Nickelback was unbearable. And no, I don't hate Nickelback because it's the cool thing to do. Chad Kroeger's vocals legitimately sounded like a beaver tail-slapping its own shit against two pieces of wood to bind them together.
But aside from the blood trickling out of my ears from appalling music, the event was pretty stellar. I have to hand it to Canadian actor Will Arnett who starred in a few Brendan Shanahan parody suspension videos poking fun at our League's Head Disciplinarian. They were brilliant.
I must also handout a congratulations to:
- Ottawa Senators defenseman, Erik Karlsson - Norris Trophy winner
- Pittsburgh Penguins forward, Evgeni Malkin - Ted Lindsay award winner
- St. Louis Blues head coach, Ken Hitchcock - Jack Adams award winner
- Colorado Avalanche rookie forward, Gabriel Landeskog - Calder Trophy winner
- Boston Bruins forward, Patrice Bergeron - Selke Trophy winner
- Florida Panthers defenseman, Bryan Campbell - Lady Byng Trophy winner
- New York Rangers goalkeeper, Henrik Lundqvist - Vezina Trophy winner
- and once again, Pittsburgh Penguins forward, Evgeni Malkin - Hart Trophy winner
All incredible players, all well deserved. And congratulations to all the candidates.
Now that I got all the baby kissing outta the way, let's get down to the real brass of the evening --
Our very own Claude Giroux has been voted in by the fans as our EA Sports NHL13's cover winner! 'Roo had been up against Nashville's towering netminder Pekka Rinne, who gave Claude quite the competition. Believe me, that wasn't a dig at Rinne. He's an incredible goalie, and a worthy candidate for the cover. I just never expected the voting to be that close.
I'm guessing it had a lot to do with (still)bitter Penguins fans camping at their desks, voting Pekka's name over and over again like a gal teenager tearing up all her ex-boyfriend's photos.
That's okay. I'll just take all that hate as a compliment.

U Mad, Flyers Haters?
photo from www.easports.com/nhl
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