The 2015 NHL Awards Show was a step forward for the the sport, with its mild entertainment and reduced awkward moments.
By Patrick Comia
The hockey community is probably going to soak as much of Las Vegas, as they can before going their separate ways for the offseason. The Stanley Cup is there; and I’m sure it will make the rounds up and down “the Strip,” from the MGM Grand, to the Bellagio, all the way to Fremont Street and take in a few hands of blackjack or Texas Hold’em, whichever Lord Stanley prefers.
Last night’s ceremony was a good showing of the hockey world and Hollywood working together. Remember in our last article about it being awkward between the two merging, tonight was not so much.
The host, Rob Riggle, put on a good face last night. If you had never seen him on tv or film, then you probably did not get his humor. However, he did a good show of standing toe-to-toe with the NHL’s finest.
Yes, there were awkward moments for the actor/comedian, especially at the beginning of the show when he poked fun at the trophies on display behind him on stage. He described the Ted Lindsay Award as “chocolate” looking. To describe the Hart Trophy, he used a “a ball on fire.” That was kind of pushing it, if you are a hockey purist.
However, he tried to liven up the crowd with humor. You could say the crowd was too uptight when it came to joking around. Riggle let loose some good jokes, and the laughs weren’t really getting to anyone, almost to the point of crickets chirping, an entertainer’s worst nightmare.
Despite that, he put on a brave face, didn’t let it affect him, and continued charging through. Perhaps, it was his days in the Marine Corps that helped him through this tough crowd. For his efforts, he did the Corps proud.
As for the rest of show, it was decent. Here are my best and worst moments of the night:
Classiest Moment of the Night- Ted Lindsay Award
Colin Hanks came out as the presenter of this award. After a brief moment clip was played on the screen, Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay came out to present with Hanks. He deferred to the hockey great, whom the award is named after, and allowed him to both announce and hand the award to Carey Price. Good move by the show’s producers!
Biggest Waste of Time Moment of the Night- The Social Media Wheel with P.K. Subban
Not sure what was going on here, but this seemed to be a “fill in dead air” part of the show last night. One, the talk was of P.K. Subban getting a bigger role in this year’s show. Little did we know that the role was going to be as Bob Barker in the Prize of Right. Remember, that big wheel that Zdeno Chara’s size and contestants had to spin and be the closest to 1.00 dollar. Ok nevermind? Point is, it seemed like a waste of time. In fact, they just spun the wheel once, or at least televised the wheel being spun once. Just didn’t get it. Best Moment of the Night- Jonathan Pitre There were really no words to describe this moment of the show. A young boy, suffering from a rare and painful skin disease, took center stage for all to see. Jonathan Pitre, an 11-year old, shared his story with the hockey world about his plight. The NHL surprised the young boy by bringing him on stage and surprising him with players from his favorite team, the Ottawa Senators coming to join him on stage. It was moving and emotional enough to make you shed a tear or two. Here is the clip from NHL.com that was impossible to put into words and do it justice: Funniest Moment(s) of the Night- Jiri Hudler/ Rob Riggle interviewing John Tavares The show had a good vibe most of the night. Two moments stand out as the funniest moments of the night. The first was Jiri Hudler and his acceptance of the Lady Byng Trophy. It just started out funny because he came onto the stage with no shoes on. He walked up in his suit and red sox on his feet. Maybe it was an ode to the Calgary Flames and their fans, but it got some laughs. Then, he joked about getting messages on his phone last night from his coach Bob Hartley (winner of the Jack Adams Trophy) about making sure his rookie teammate Johnny Gaudreau was in bed by a certain time. Hudler then joked about Gaudreau texting to tell his coach he was in bed by 11. After his peers accepted their awards with respect and humble, Hudler was the first to break the ice and humanize hockey players tonight. It was a relief and put smiles on the attendees. The second funniest moment was when Rob Riggle interviewed John Tavares, as part of the show’s buildup to the Hart Trophy announcement. Riggle interviewed Tavares in a charcter from Brooklyn, next season’s home for the New York Islanders. He asked if Tavares liked cupcakes, which he said yes. After that the nickname of all nicknames was born: Johnny Cupcakes! That was the best! Awkward Moment of the Night- Bill Guerin and Russell Peters
What do you get when you mix an American hockey player with a Canadian comic? Awkwardness. Well in this case, it was definitely awkward. Bill Guerrin, the former hockey player, presented the Lady Byng Trophy with Russell Peters. Peters may have been this year’s Cuba Gooding JR cause he was just being quirky. From the microphone adjustments to his quip on P.K. Subban about where his Stanley cup Ring was, it made for some spine, cringing moments. The comedy, oddly enough, did not come from Peters, but from the award’s recipient, Jiri Hudler (see above). Low Point of the Night- Daughtry When Chris Daughtry won American Idol a few years ago, he became one of the hottest selling recording artists. However, last night, he was far from it. It just felt off when he started singing. His attempts at trying to get the crowd to stand up, just didn’t feel right. The performance was so bad that I fast forwarded through his musical number after listening to it 10 seconds in. to make things worse, all week, the NHL was advertising the show with Daughtry headlining. However, they sang just one song and it came near the end of the show. Just bad, bad, and BAD!
Honorable Mentions of Night- Samantha Hoops/Rob Riggle and Carey Price
There were two highlights that needed to be included. The first was swimsuit model Samantha Hoops. In her beauty, she introduced John Tavares as a nominee for the Hart Trophy. Carey who?
Rob Riggle and Carey price took to the hotel floor to ask fans who should win the Hart Trophy. Here were the results: