Canadiens, Les Canadiennes, Bell Centre given nods in NHLPA Player Poll

MONTREAL - The Canadiens earned their fair share of votes in the 2018-19 NHLPA Player Poll, the results of which were released on Wednesday.

Over 500 players were surveyed during the NHLPA's annual team meetings held between late September 2018 and early January 2019 to answer 20 hockey-related questions.
Carey Price was selected as the League's top goaltender, earning 29.9% of the vote. He finished ahead of Pekka Rinne (17.3%), Andrei Vasilevskiy (17.1%), Marc-Andre Fleury (6.5%) and Sergei Bobrovsky (4.8%).

This isn't unfamiliar territory for Price, of course. Back in 2015, the seven-time All-Star was presented with the Ted Lindsay Award, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in the regular season as voted by the players.
In 58 appearances so far this year, the 31-year-old Anahim Lake, BC native boasts a 30-22-5 record, along with a 2.54 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and three shutouts.
While the top shot honors were bestowed upon sniper extraordinaire Alexander Ovechkin, captain Shea Weber ranked second in that department, according to his peers.

Ovechkin garnered 50.2% of the vote, while Weber earned 14.6%. The veteran blueliner finished ahead of Patrik Laine (12.6%), Auston Matthews (8.0%) and Steven Stamkos (1.9%).
Weber has 12 goals and 29 points in 49 games after starting the season in late November due to injury.
Les Canadiennes de Montréal were also shown some serious love as Hilary Knight (27.6%) and Marie-Philip Poulin (24.1%) finished first and second, respectively, in the best current female player category.

They bested Amanda Kessel (12.8%), Kendall Coyne Schofield (5.9%) and Emily Pfalzer (5.9%).
When it comes to venues across the League, players believe that the Bell Centre still reigns supreme in terms of ice quality.
The Canadiens' home earned 29.6% of the vote in that department, finishing ahead of Rogers Place (20.4%), Bell MTS Place (11.4%), Xcel Energy Center (8.5%) and T-Mobile Arena (4.8%).
The Bell Centre was also voted as the arena with the second-best atmosphere (21.2%), behind only T-Mobile Arena (42.5%). Bridgestone Arena (14.1%), United Center (10.9%) and Bell MTS Place (3.0%) rounded out the category.

For his part, Youppi! finished third (2.4%) in mascot voting, just slightly behind Toronto's Carlton the Bear (2.7%). Gritty was the clear cut winner, however, with 69.4% of the vote.
Lastly, best nickname honors were bestowed upon Tomas "Tuna" Tatar.
The 28-year-old Slovak earned 5.6% of the vote, topping Artemi "Breadman" Panarin (5.2%), Marko "Snacks" Dano (3.2%), Christian "Stinky" Fischer (3.2%), and Connor "McJesus" McDavid (2.0%).

To view the full NHLPA Player Poll,
click here
.