The NHL Awards are always an, um, entertaining bit of cinema. That’s been ever-amplified by their move to Las Vegas for the 2009 show, and as they return to the Palms Hotel on Wednesday night for the second of a three-year agreement with the Las Vegas something or other tourism group, we should expect nothing less than funny.
2010 NHL Awards: The Hart Trophy Race And Six Other Things To Watch In Las Vegas
So, with that, here are seven things to watch for at tonight’s 2010 NHL Awards.
1. IS THERE AN EAST COAST BIAS?
The Hart Trophy race is between the league’s two biggest stars – Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The NHL hype machine is, of course, all over those two guys. On Wednesday morning before the show, right at the top of the page, there’s a link that says “MVP race highlights NHL Awards.” Just to the right of that link? One that says “Sid,” another that says “Ovi.”
Ah, but the apparent front runner at this point seems to be Henrik Sedin, the third nominee. Sedin led the league with 112 points in the regular season and without him, where would the Canucks have been? It’s tough to say. All three players can make a case, of course, but among the hockey writers who vote for the Hart Trophy, it seems like Sedin is the frontrunner.
If Sedin doesn’t win, expect Vancouver fans to be up in arms about the obvious East Coast bias involved in the proceedings.
2. THE ENTERTAINMENT
A year ago, Chaka Khan was less than, uh, good, and pretty out of place during her performance at the show. She won’t be back this year, for good reason, but the NHL is touting a list of celebrity performers again this year.
From the NHL’s press release on the show:
The star-studded show will feature Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulos, Florida rockers Shinedown, Grammy Award-nominated rapper Snoop Dogg, the world famous Cirque du Soleil and the NHL’s biggest stars.
Iconic drummer, musician and music producer Travis Barker has joined the lineup of performers at the 2010 NHL Awards that includes Shinedown, Snoop Dogg and The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. Snoop Dogg and Barker will open the broadcast with a pre-taped performance of “I Wanna Rock,” followed by a live performance by Barker featuring special guests later in the show. All musical performances will be presented by Verizon.
An impressive list of special guest and presenters will include actors Jamie Kennedy (“Finding Bliss”), John Slattery (“Mad Men,” “The Adjustment Bureau”), Kevin Zegers (“Transamerica”) and Leven Rambin (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scoundrels”); actor / director D.B. Sweeney (“The Cutting Edge,” “Two Tickets to Paradise”); legendary Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer; CBC host Ron MacLean; and Reese Waters, host of “The Daily Line” on VERSUS will join Wahlberg, a Boston native and long-time hockey fan and Stroumboulopoulos. Former NHLers Luc Robitaille, Jeremy Roenick, Guy Lafleur and Eddie Olczyk also will present awards.
Snoop Dogg is actually a noted Atlanta Thrashers fan, if not a modest human being. I’m most interested in seeing is Roenick cries when presenting his award.
3. UNANIMOUS DECISION?
Dave Tippett is going to win the Jack Adams Award as best coach. He deserves it, too, when you consider the magic created in Phoenix this season. The only question that remains: Does he wins every single vote? The NHL might not unveil these numbers, but will someone come out and say that they voted against Tippett?
4. THE HOST
Jay Mohr said in that same NHL press release that he “loves hockey,” despite saying in his past that “hockey sucks.” How will he walk the balance of this love-hate relationship? Will he open his feelings up to humor, like a good comedian? Or will he ignore the obvious hypocrisy here? Golden opportunity here, Jay.
5. THE NORRIS
Duncan Keith is the front-runner to win the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, but he’ll have to fight off a resurgent Drew Doughty and the fury of the Capitals fan base should Mike Green not win. In fact, if Ovechkin or Green loses an award, it’ll be a ton of fun to sit back and watch the Twitters explode.
6. THE RED CARPET MAYHEM
It’s not broadcast on Versus or CBC (in fact, CBC doesn’t even have the awards on live tonight – it’s a tape delay), but if you head to NHL.com at 6:30 p.m. (ET), you can watch the red carpet from outside the show as the players and celebrities arrive. Ovechkin is sure to have a few hilarious lines during his interview, and Gary Bettman even created a laugh or two last year... so, there’s that.
7. PAVEL DATSYUK
This dude wins about 19 awards a year, and when he inevitably picks up the Lady Byng Trophy or the Selke Trophy again this year, will he be able to top some of his hilarious lines from last year’s speeches?
7:30 p.m., live on Versus in the States. 8:30 p.m. (tape delay) on CBC in Canada.
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