NHL officially cancels end-of-season tradition, per Elliotte Friedman
According to the insider Elliotte Friedman, the NHL officially decided to cancel their traditional end-of-season Awards ceremony.
Every year, the best players reunite for one last time ahead of the NHL draft for the classic Awards Ceremony. Top players compete hard to win the Stanley Cup, but other awards are given to players who stand out in certain categories. Some of them take pride in those achievements, but for others, only the Stanley Cup matters.
While the awards will still be given to the best players, the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman decided to cancel the award ceremony, per Elliotte Friedman.
In the past years, the ceremony was widely criticized for its predictability, as every year, the league hands out the same trophies, often to the same players. Of course, some awards generate more hype than others, like the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best goalie of the regular season, or the Calder Trophy; to the best rookie, as well as the Hart Memorial Trophy, given to the most valuable player to his team. Of course, the Trophies will still be given to the players, it just won't be in a large ceremony
Such a change was expected, as the NHL already confirmed last summer that the 2024 draft would be the last one where General Managers reunite in the same place. Indeed, the League opted to do like the NFL does, where each team remains in their cities and announces their picks to a camera.
For many fans, this is very disappointing. However, for others, this marks significant changes towards the future. While it doesn't seem too exciting for now, fans will eventually get used to this new formula.
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