The season is over, but there's still hardware to be handed out.
Aleksander Barkov and Roberto Luongo will each head to Las Vegas this week, as the best regular-season players in a wide range of categories will be honored at the 2018 NHL Awards on Wednesday, June 20.
After finishing second in voting in 2016, Barkov is once again nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy, which is awarded to "the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."
Barkov, 22, led the Panthers with a career-best 78 points while accumulating only 14 penalty minutes, the fewest among six NHL forwards who averaged at least 21 minutes of ice time per game.
Already a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist, Luongo is nominated for a different kind of award this season, one that in many ways carries a bit more weight than the hardware handed out to the league's top goaltender.
Luongo is one of three finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey" - qualities the veteran netminder has in spades.
At 39, Luongo overcame injuries to both his hand and groin to help backstop the Panthers within one point of a playoff spot this season, finishing with an 18-11-2 record with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. More important than his on-ice contributions, however, was how Luongo, a Parkland resident for nearly a decade, did his part in helping the South Florida community navigate through the tragedy at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The awards will be broadcast on NBCSN and Sportsnet at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
