Dan’s Daily: Fleury Wins Vezina, Tkachuk Trade Denials, Contracts Flow

It was absolutely impossible not to have a few feels when 36-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury won his first Vezina Trophy on Tuesday night. The smiling young man endured a few snubs over the years, including his first year with Vegas, and had never before been a finalist. A pair of notable contracts were inked on Tuesday, starting with a team-friendly deal for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and we sized up Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins next contract talks.

The news was flying fast and furious.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: We pooled a panel of senior NHL writers (who also happen to work for the National Hockey Now network), and we did our own math. What will the Pittsburgh Penguins have to pay Evgeni Malkin next summer? And could there be complications to sign Malkin? Yep…

We had a lot of chatter from message boards on that one. Our panelists surprised me.

The NHL Awards: Sidney Crosby missed out on the Ted Lindsay Award and finished fourth in the Hart race. And Kris Letang got a surprising first-place vote in the Norris, too. The Penguins award recap.

Vegas: Also–Fleury! Fleury! Fleury! Marc-Andre Fleury won the Vezina Trophy. Finally. 

San Jose: Sheng Peng was one of the select writers who got to vote on the NHL Awards. That’s an honor and well deserved! Sheng published his ballot and his reasons why. You’ll like some...you’ll not like others. 

Colorado: Cale Makar was shafted in the Norris Trophy voting!

NHL Trade Chatter, NHL News & National Hockey Now network…

Sportsnet: In Elliotte Friedman’s expansive 31 Thoughts, the Calgary Flames issued a strong denial that Mathew Tkachuk wants out of Calgary. 

Leafs Nation: The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Wayne Simmonds to a two-year deal at only $900,000 per season. Why that makes sense for the Leafs. 

Edmonton Sun: It’s a team-friendly deal, but everyone came together to keep Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off the market and in Edmonton. 

NYI: The pain of the NHL Semifinal loss to Tampa Bay is still fresh, but the offseason is short. How will the expansion draft, free agency, and a salary cap crunch effect (read: harm) the New York Islanders?

Also, some good news for Pittsburgh Penguins fans, our boys in New York think Jordan Eberle could be exposed to Seattle in the expansion draft. 

Detroit: How bad are the Detroit Red Wings? Bob Duff assembled the numbers–WOW. They are the worst Red Wings… EVER. 

Boston: The Bruins also got some award love; there were solid finishes for Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand. 

Florida: The Florida Panthers added a new coach who used to play with some grit: Tuomo Ruutu. 

And, I saved this one for the marquee spot because I KNOW Penguins fans will want to read it. Daniel Sprong has made quite an impression on the Washington Capitals.

Washington: For the Capitals, why Daniel Sprong could be a key piece of the puzzle. Enjoy!