Victor Hedman wins Norris Trophy; Mathew Barzal named best rookie

Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning won his first James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman, as the league handed out postseason awards at its annual gala show from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.

Hedman shared first place among NHL defensemen with a career-high 17 goals, tied for the second-most in one season by a Lightning blueliner. He also ranked fifth among NHL defensemen with 63 points.

Hedman beat fellow finalists Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators.

New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie, beating  Vancouver's Brock Boeser and Arizona's Clayton Keller.

The 21-year-old Barzal became an immediate star while scoring 85 points in 82 games for the Islanders in his first full NHL season. The 16th overall pick in the 2015 draft scored 20 points more than any other rookie, racking up 22 goals and 63 assists while centering the Islanders' second line and providing a formidable one-two punch behind star John Tavares.

Among his many superlatives, Barzal became the first rookie in NHL history to post at least three five-point games since Montreal's Joe Malone did so in 1917-18 -- the NHL's inaugural season.

Barzal is the Isles' fifth winner of the Calder Trophy, joining a trio of Hall of Famers -- Denis Potvin (1974), Bryan Trottier (1976), Mike Bossy (1978) -- and Bryan Berard (1997).

Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant was an obvious choice over  Colorado's Jared Bednar and  Boston's Bruce Cassidy for the Jack Adams Trophy after he masterminded the most spectacular expansion season in recent sports history. The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 and handily won the Pacific Division before winning 13 postseason games and reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their first campaign.

The 54-year-old Gallant was named the Golden Knights' first coach in April 2017, and the veteran NHL coach provided steady leadership while turning Vegas' expansion roster into a cohesive, motivated team. Gallant's players praised his steady, intelligent approach to the postseason, which ended in a five-game loss to the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.

Kings center Anze Kopitar beat Boston's  Patrice Bergeron and Philadelphia's Sean Couturier for the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward.

Kopitar, who won the award in 2016, led all NHL forwards in average time on ice, at 22:05 per game. Kopitar often saw duty on the Kings' penalty-kill unit, which finished tops in the league in penalty-killing percentage (85.0).

Knights forward William Karlsson took home the Lady Byng Trophy as the player best combining sportsmanship and ability.

After Columbus made a deal with Vegas to take Karlsson off its hands in the expansion draft, the talented Swede had a breakthrough season for the expansion Golden Knights, racking up 43 goals and 35 assists with only 12 penalty minutes. Karlsson had never scored more than 25 points in any of his three previous NHL seasons with Anaheim and the Blue Jackets.

"Who would have thought?'' Karlsson said with a smile after picking up his award.

Edmonton's Connor McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the league's best player as voted by the NHLPA, for the second straight year.

Retiring Canucks twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin won the King Clancy Trophy for leadership qualities off and on the ice.

New Jersey's Brian Boyle was given the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey.

The other finalists were Florida's Roberto Luongo and Carolina's Jordan Staal.

The 33-year-old Boyle was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia during training camp, but he made it back into the Devils' lineup in November and eventually represented New Jersey at the All-Star Game after teammate Taylor Hall couldn't go because of injury.

Boyle put together an outstanding season even while his 2-year-old son, Declan, had significant health problems.

A few trophies awarded in Las Vegas carried no suspense because they were earned based on statistical achievements in the regular season.

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin won his seventh Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer, and Los Angeles'  Jonathan Quick won the Jennings Trophy for the second time as the goalie for the team allowing the NHL's fewest goals.

McDavid is not a Hart Trophy finalist after winning the award last season as the NHL's most valuable player, but he already won his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy as the league's scoring champion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.