Zdeno Chara, Nicklas Lidstrom and Shane Doan Nominated for Mark Messier Leadership Award –NHL Update
The Mark Messier Leadership Award which has become a tradition now in the National Hockey League ever since it started in the 2006-2007 season and has three finalists nominated for its award ceremony this year, Zdeno Chara of Boston Bruins, Nicklas Lidstrom
from Detroit Red Wings and Shane Doan of Phoenix Coyotes.
Mark Messier, a legendary NHL player and winner of six Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers (5) and New York Rangers (1), announced the finalists himself at the TD Garden in Boston on Monday.
"We want to celebrate these successes", Messier said. "Too often the negative gets the headlines. There's so much more to being a professional off the ice and these guys are testament to that”.
All three players who have been nominated are the captains of their respective teams and have shown exceptional performance and leadership skills throughout the 2010-2011 season.
Chara along with the other two nominees were put forth for the award just hours before game three of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Finals began against Vancouver Canucks.
Boston Bruins’ performance during the game has most probably put Chara in a more deserving position because of the extraordinary show they put on in their first home game of the series.
"I feel like I get to know these players intimately", said Messier, "because of the information I gather about these guys. Unfortunately we have to come up with one winner”.
Messier pointed out all the brilliant and unique aspects these three players had. Some attributes were mutual while other really made them stand out from the rest.
Chara was praised on his abilities to rebuild Boston as a team and has so far led them to an outstanding playoff run which has become their first in 21 years.
Doan was honoured even though Coyotes did not make it deep into the postseason, but his leadership skills led a team, that had constant tensions for the last two years about relocation, to the playoffs consecutively and helped them focus on the game at hand.
Lindstrom was commended to be a hero for leading his team to where it is now, considering the age factor. Even though it did not affect his playing abilities, it is always impressive to see a player perform so well in the later stages of his career.
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