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Jim Tomlin has nearly 30 years of experience in journalism, having worked at such publications as the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturdays Down South and Saturday Tradition. He is a contributing writer and editor for BetVirginia.com.
NHL Teams With Most Individual Awards Since 2000
The big award in the NHL is, of course, the Stanley Cup. The Washington Capitals Stanley Cup odds keep looking more realistic as the 2024-25 season gets closer to the playoffs.
But at BetVirginia.com, we wondered which NHL teams have accounted for the most major individual awards since the 1999-2000 season. We tracked the Hart Trophy (MVP), Vezina (Best Goalie), Calder (Rookie of the Year) and Jack Adams (Coach of the Year) winners by team, then combined them into this list.
Top NHL Teams For Awards Since 2000
Rank | Team | Total |
T1 | Boston Bruins | 8 |
T1 | Washington Capitals | 8 |
3 | Colorado Avalanche | 7 |
4 | New Jersey Devils | 6 |
5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 |
T6 | Buffalo Sabres | 4 |
T6 | Chicago Blackhawks | 4 |
T6 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 4 |
T6 | Edmonton Oilers | 4 |
T6 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 |
T6 | St. Louis Blues | 4 |
T6 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 4 |
T6 | Vancouver Canucks | 4 |
Keep BetVirginia.com bookmarked for the top Virginia sports betting promos around. Note that this list only accounts for 24 years; there was no season in 2004-05 because of a lockout.
The Great 8 Has Collected Hardware
The Capitals have won eight major individual honors since the 1999-2000 season, tied with the Boston Bruins for the most in the league. Half of those trophies for the Caps belong to the guy that you’d most expect: Superstar forward Alexander Ovechkin.
The 20-year veteran known as “The Great 8” is a three-time winner of the Hart Trophy, the league’s honor for Most Valuable Player. He’s the only Capitals player to be voted MVP, having done so as a 22-year-old in the 2007-08 season and repeating the feat in 2008-09 and 2012-13.
Now Ovi is chasing an even bigger individual distinction; see our Alexander Ovechkin goal scoring record page to track his progress toward breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL mark. With career goal No. 885 on March 5 against the New York Rangers, Ovechkin drew within nine goals of tying Gretzky’s mark of 894.
Ovechkin also was the Calder Trophy winner in 2005-06 as the Rookie of the Year, beating out Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby plus Dion Phaneuf, Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Miller and Jussi Jokinen in one of the most stacked Calder races ever.
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Other Washington Capitals Award Winners
There have been other major awards snapped up by members of the Caps over the past quarter of a century, well before legal Virginia sportsbooks were operating.
Three Caps have won the Vezina Trophy in voting as the league’s best goaltender, two since 2000: Olaf Kolzig in 1999-2000 and Braden Holtby in 2015-16. The same goes for the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year – three Washington coaches have won it, two since 2000. That was Bruce Boudreau in 2007-08 and Barry Trotz in 2015-16.
Will current coach Spencer Carbery be a candidate for this year’s Adams honor? Washington’s improvement this season compared to 2023-24 (when the Caps made the playoffs but with a record below .500) suggests he should be. Check out our story asking where this year’s club stands with the best Washington Capitals teams ever.
Other Teams In The Running
The only other team to win as many major individual NHL awards in the past quarter century is the Bruins, who mostly have relied on strong goaltending and coaching to collect hardware. Boston has had four Vezina winners since 2000, with Tim Thomas winning the honor twice. And three different Bruins coaches have claimed the Jack Adams Award in the time span we studied.
The Colorado Avalanche claim third place with seven major trophies. The organization’s knack for developing talent is reflected in having three different Hart Trophy winners and three Calder Trophy winners since 2000, the only team to do both.
The New Jersey Devils mostly have Martin Brodeur to thank for their spot in fourth place; the legendary goalie won four Vezinas in a five-year span from 2003-08.
As for this season, FanDuel Virginia Sportsbook gives the Caps +1200 odds to win the Stanley Cup in a few months. In sampling a few operators, we saw odds ranging from +850 to +1200 on the Caps as of March 6. This is as example of why we recommend that, if you can afford to have multiple Virginia sportsbook apps, you should shop around to find the best price for your wager.
USA Today photo by Geoff Burke
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