TORONTO , 14 June 2003 — A bleak period for Swedish hockey may have finally come to an end with an unprecedented night of success at the NHL’s annual awards ceremony on Thursday. Peter Forsberg became the first Swede to capture the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, edging countryman and friend Markus Naslund.
Niklas Lidstrom also had a night to remember, becoming the first player in almost 30 years to win three straight Norris Trophies as the best defenseman. “It’s a little unexpected but I’m really happy though,” said Forsberg who also became the first Swede to win the NHL scoring title with 106 points.
Forsberg’s Hart Trophy was a fitting bookend to the Pearson Award won earlier in the day by Naslund. The Pearson Award honors the league’s best player as voted on by the players themselves. Naslund was likewise the first Swede to win that award.
“It’s a very humbling experience, I’m very proud,” said Naslund who finished two points behind Forsberg. “I thought Peter was going to win.” The only blemish on Sweden’s big night was when Henrik Zetterberg failed to capture the Calder Trophy as the top rookie.
Lidstrom became the third player to win three straight Norris Trophies and the first since Orr won eight straight times from 1968 through 1975. He also finished second in voting for the Lady Byng Award as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player behind Toronto Maple Leaf Alexander Mogilny.
If Forsberg, Naslund and Lidstrom reflect Swedish players’ place among the NHL’s elite, Zetterberg represents the country’s future as he finished second in voting for rookie of the year behind St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman.
The banner night of individual recognition should be a welcome tonic to Swedish hockey fans that have long despaired about the state of the game in their country. There has been consternation over the decay of the Swedish junior program, disappointment at the World Championship level and of course bitter feelings that remain after the shocking loss to lowly Belarus at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002.
“I don’t know how much they understand about this, how big this is. I hope they do,” Naslund said. “But I think it’s remarkable that a small country like ours has got four guys up for awards here.”
Other notable award winners included New Jersey Netminder Martin Brodeur who won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender. Fresh from his third Stanley Cup success, it was Brodeur’s first Vezina award after being a finalist on three previous occasions. Brodeur tallied more than twice as many votes as runner-up Marty Turco of Dallas and he was also nominated for the Hart Trophy. Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild was named coach of the year even though he joked with reporters during the playoffs that he did not want it given that many previous winners soon found themselves out of a job.
Jere Lehtinen, a native of Espoo, Finland, won his third Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward.
