NHL Awards features Cup Final foes Makar, Hedman up for Norris Trophy

The matchup between Cale Makar and Victor Hedman has been one of the highlights of the Stanley Cup Final.

On Tuesday, they are up for a different award.
Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators are the finalists for the Norris Trophy
given to the top defenseman
in the NHL. It will be one of five awards handed out at the 2022 NHL Awards in Tampa (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS).
The others are the Hart Trophy
given to the NHL most valuable player
, the Ted Lindsay Award
presented annually to the most outstanding player
as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players' Association, the Vezina Trophy,
given to the best goalie
, and the Calder Trophy,
awarded to to the rookie of the year
.
"Saturday Night Live" star Kenan Thompson will host the show.
"Whether it's the regular season or the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL certainly knows how to put on a show, and I'm honored to be a part of it again," Thompson said. "The playoffs have been so exciting. I can't wait to cap off this great season as the host of the 2022 NHL Awards."
"After a two-year hiatus, we are excited to welcome the NHL Awards show back with Kenan as host," NHL chief content officer and executive vice president Steve Mayer said. "Kenan did a tremendous job in 2019 and is the perfect host to lead a fun and festive celebration of the season's best."
Makar had 86 points in 77 regular-season games and his 28 goals led NHL defensemen. Hedman, who won the Norris in 2017-18, had 85 points (20 goals, 65 assists) in 82 games, second on the Lightning to forward Steven Stamkos (106 points; 42 goals, 64 assists). Josi led the NHL with 96 points (23 goals, 73 assists) in 80 games.
Makar has four points (two goals, two assists), and Hedman has three assists in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final, which Colorado leads 2-1 following Tampa Bay's 6-2 win in Game 3 on Monday.
"Well, it's certainly a great honor once again," Hedman said. "For me, the trophy that matters most is the one we play for as a team, obviously, but to get the individual recognition is always great. Playing for this team is such an honor and without my teammates I wouldn't be in this situation. I owe everything to this organization and my teammates."
Forwards Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, and goalie Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, are the Hart finalists. McDavid led the NHL with 123 points (44 goals, 79 assists) in 80 games. Matthews scored an NHL-high 60 goals and led Toronto with 106 points in 73 games.
"It's a big honor, obviously, to be there in the same sentence as some of the guys nominated," Matthews said. "It feels good to be nominated, to be acknowledged for something like that. It's not something I take lightly or take for granted. There are a lot of amazing players that have had really great years, so to be nominated as one of the three means a lot."
Shesterkin was 36-13-4 with a 2.07 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and six shutouts in 53 games (52 starts). He could become the first goalie to win the Hart since Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens in 2014-15.
"Obviously, he's had an outstanding season and it was great to see that he got that honor as one of the three candidates," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "Just keep doing it, keep playing well and working hard. It's an outstanding season. We're all very proud of him and it's well-deserved for him."
Shesterkin, Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames and Juuse Saros of the Predators are the Vezina finalists. Markstrom was 37-15-9 with a 2.22 GAA, .922 save percentage and an NHL-best nine shutouts in 63 games. Saros was 38-25-3 with a 2.64 GAA, .918 save percentage and four shutouts.
Forwards Michael Bunting of the Maple Leafs and Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, are the Calder finalists. Bunting led all rookies with 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) in 79 games, Zegras (61 points; 23 goals, 38 assists in 75 games) was second. Seider led rookie defensemen with 50 points (seven goals, 43 assists) in 82 games.
"It definitely feels good," Bunting said. "It was a lot of fun this season and I had some success. ... It's been quite the journey to get to the NHL for me and I was able to make it and solidify myself and I just kept that same attitude every single day night in and night out here. I think I did a pretty good job."
Josi, Matthews and McDavid are finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award.