Stars Align on Broadway for 2023 NHL Awards

The biggest names in hockey, country music and more descended on Bridgestone Arena Monday night for the 2023 NHL Awards.

The home of the Nashville Predators played host to the annual celebration recognizing the best regular-season performances from around the League. Packed with celebrity guests from every facet of entertainment, the night featured the presentation of 13 awards in a variety of categories. The party started early with block party activities on the Bridgestone Arena plaza, celebrities and players walking the red carpet and live music on the Broadway stage.

In addition to the NHL superstars nominated for the league's highest honors, host Dierks Bentley and his hockey-playing son, Knox, were joined by big-name presenters including Hockey Hall of Famers Willie O'Ree and Mark Messier, country music artists Jessie James Decker, LOCASH, Dustin Lynch, Trevor Rosen (Old Dominion), Darius Rucker, Jelly Roll and Trisha Yearwood, Olympic medalist Sarah Nurse, Predators General Manager David Poile, local comedian Nate Bargatze, WWE Superstar Sheamus; and broadcasters David Amber, Caroline Cameron and Anson Carter.

Brett Kissel, MacKenzie Porter and Alana Springsteen shared the stage with John Bohlinger and his house band JB and the Lady Byngs, and TNT analysts Paul Bissonnette and Liam McHugh and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman provided live commentary from the stage throughout the show.

One of the biggest stars of this year's event was Preds General Manager/Director of Hockey Operations David Poile, who will retire from the position on June 30 as the longest-tenured and winningest GM in NHL history. The League honored Poile with remarks from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and a special video tribute celebrating his storied career.

Poile thanked the Preds faithful for helping to "turn Nashville into SMASHVILLE" in the 25 years since he arrived as the franchise's first and only GM. Tasked with presenting Calgary's Mikael Backlund with the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL's top honor for community service, Poile took the opportunity to recognize some heroes in the Nashville community. Jeff Mathes and Michael Collazo, the Metro Nashville police officers who helped stop the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville in March, joined Poile on stage along with Ben Gatlin, a teacher at the school.

"For myself, the students and staff of The Covenant School, the families that are here with us tonight, the entire community," said Gatlin. "We wish to thank you, David, and Nashville Predators for your compassion and leadership."

Poile's successor, incoming GM Barry Trotz, took the stage later in the evening to present the Jack Adams Award honoring the League's best coach to Boston's Jim Montgomery.

Legendary Preds goalie Pekka Rinne, whom Trotz announced earlier in the day would be joining the organization as a European Development Coach and Scout, also returned to his hockey home on Monday night to present the Vezina Trophy to the League's best goaltender - a trophy he himself won in 2017-18. As he took the stage to present the award to Boston's Linus Ullmark, Rinne was greeted by a standing ovation and chants of "Pekka! Pekka! Pekka!" from the home crowd.

With dozens of celebrities from every facet of entertainment under one roof for the 2023 NHL Awards, the real star of the show was SMASHVILLE itself. As Trotz said, "we get to showcase this wonderful city and franchise to the rest of the world."

For a complete list of the winners and voting results at the 2023 NHL Awards,

click here

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