Alexander the Gr8
Registered User
Letang came back from a stroke and is back on IR with yet another concussion. He should seriously consider retirement before his brain becomes mashed potatoes. He's going to become the next Pronger.
It's refreshing that the voters didn't just go for the typical <player-gets-sick-follows-doctors-orders-and-recovers-and-plays-hockey-again> that typically seems to happen. Letang's case is exceptional and he will probably win it and deserve it, but Hammond and Dubnyk are both good stories.
Hate to pile onto Kessel, and don't want to minimize any type of cancer, but his win was kind of ridiculous and is what's wrong with this award many times. There was never any possibility that he would retire and end up driving a taxi cab back in Wisconsin. He got a serious but treatable disease, he got treatment and he got back to playing hockey. Same with Määttä this year, he had the surgery and returned 2 weeks later.
The 'thirty year old rookie' kind of story, and similar, is what this award should be about.
I thought Määttä would win this instantly after the cancer scare.
Letang came back from a stroke and is back on IR with yet another concussion. He should seriously consider retirement before his brain becomes mashed potatoes. He's going to become the next Pronger.
He did lose a testicle.
Letang came back from a stroke and is back on IR with yet another concussion. He should seriously consider retirement before his brain becomes mashed potatoes. He's going to become the next Pronger.
Really loving all the concern you have for the Pens. Between wanting Tang to retire for his health and wanting the Pens to trade Malkin for better depth I'm wondering if you're really a Pens fan at heart.
It would be ridiculous for him to retire. Not happening.
There can only be one player from each team nominated. The Pens nomination was Letang.
Tootoo and Foligno were nominated by there teams but the sports reporters didn't vote for them or very few did.Glad that Burger Boy had a nod but he and Dubnyk had no adversity to deal with right? One got traded and the other got the nod because of injuries.
Didn't Jordin Tootoo overcome alcoholism over the past while and I'm pretty sure another player lost a close relative to illness, not to mention Nick Foligno's own battle with family loss/illness.
Letang is the only one here I'd vote for, he dealt with severe illness/injury over the past year.
Who else was their to nominate though?
Off the top of my head
Jagr (only player from the 92 draft class and only player in NHL 94 still in the league let that sink in lol)
in terms of hardship and in somewhat homer like fashion Scott Darling battled Alcoholism and depression Blackhawks took a chance on this hometown kid after Nashville didn't see much in him and have never looked back.
Also Parise and Suter possibly with deaths in their families and still putting up good numbers
EDIT: Also Nick Foligno for nearly losing his child after birth
Nick Foligno was nominated by his team, but was not one of the top 3 vote getters. A lot of posters need to realize that there are 30 nominations for this award. One from each team. The 3 "nominations" are the top 3 vote getters. That's it.
I don't know how you can say it is a recovery ward prize being that only one out of the 3 nominees has suffered an injury and has recovered from it.
the sports reporters could of voted for the most deserving players i truly don't think Dubnyk and Hammond should be in the top 3 they should of reviewed all the players nominated better and why they were nominated. Only Letang is deserving to be in the top 3 .