Aho, Raanta, Martinook, Burns selected for end-of-year team awards

The Carolina Hurricanes and the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association announced the recipients for four different team awards: MVP, the Josef Vasicek Award, the Carolina Hurricanes’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Steve Chiasson Award.

The team MVP, as voted on by the Carolina chapter of the PHWA, was Sebastian Aho.

Aho led the team in goals — 36 — for the sixth consecutive season and was second on the team in points with 67. He also led the team in special teams scoring with seven power play goals and three shorthanded goals, the latter of which tied him with Eric Staal for the franchise record of 16 career shorthanded goals.

The Finnish forward has carried the team for the majority of the season and especially after the losses of Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov.

The Josef Vasicek Award is given annually to a player who exhibits the best cooperation with the local media and this year’s recipient, as chosen by the PHWA, was Antti Raanta.

Raanta, who led the Hurricanes in most every goaltender stat — a 19-3-3 record with 4 shutouts and a 0.910 save percentage and 2,23 goals against average — has always been a great guy in the locker room.

The Finnish netminder always met the media with a smile and was more than willing to give his time and speak, not to mention his well-thought out and extensive responses that really helps us with our jobs.

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy honors sportsmanship, perseverance and dedication to the game of hockey and every team gets a nomination for the award. This season, the Carolina chapter of the PHWA nominated Jordan Martinook.

Martinook had a career year with Carolina this season, setting a career high in points with 34, in his first full season in three years. Martinook had been dealing with health issues for most of his Carolina tenure and he saw big success this season now that he was consistently healthy.

His dedication to the game to always battle through for his team and give his all, even in a year where he started the season on waivers, is the reason for his nomination.

The final end-of-year award awarded was the Steve Chiasson Award, which is given to the player that best exemplifies determination and dedication while also being an inspiration to his teammates. The award is selected by the players and this year’s recipient was Brent Burns.

Burns, 37, led all Hurricanes defensemen in scoring for each category — goals (18), assists (43) and points (61) — average TOI (23:13), power play assists (19) all while playing in every single game this season.

The veteran defenseman was excellent on both ends of the ice and his cheerful and fun personality was evident to anybody familiar with the locker room. His impact on the team in just a single season has been immense.

• Press release from the Carolina chapter of the PHWA:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Professional Hockey Writers Association, Carolina chapter

April 16, 2023

AHO, RAANTA WIN WRITERS’ AWARDS

Two members of the Carolina Hurricanes were honored in voting by the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association this week. Sebastian Aho was named the team’s Most Valuable Player for the fifth time in six seasons, while Antti Raanta was recognized with the Josef Vasicek Award recognizing cooperation with the local media.

Members of the PHWA vote on the NHL’s first and second All-Star teams, the All-Rookie Team as well as the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Masterton trophies. The Carolina chapter last week selected Jordan Martinook as its nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which honors sportsmanship, perseverance and dedication to the game of hockey.

• Press release from the Carolina Hurricanes:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 16, 2023

BURNS NAMED CHIASSON AWARD WINNER

Carolina PHWA also recognizes Aho, Martinook and Raanta

RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes today announced that defenseman Brent Burns has been selected by his teammates as the winner of the 2022-23 Steve Chiasson Award. The Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) also nominated forward Jordan Martinook for the 2022-23 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, named goaltender Antti Raanta the winner of the Vasicek Award and selected forward Sebastian Aho as the team’s most valuable player.

The Steve Chiasson Award is given annually to the Hurricanes player that best exemplifies determination and dedication while proving to be an inspiration to his teammates through his performance and approach to the game. Burns, 38, registered 61 points (18g, 43a) in 82 games with Carolina this season, marking the most points by any Hurricanes defenseman in a single season and the fourth-most points by any blueliner in a single campaign in franchise history. He became just the second defenseman in the last 25 years to record at least 61 points in his first season with a franchise, as Scott Niedermayer also tallied 63 points (13g, 50a) with Anaheim in 2005-06. Burns’ 18 goals ranked tied with Brady Skjei for the most of any Hurricanes defenseman in 2022-23, and both players tied Dougie Hamilton (2018-19) for the most by any blueliner in a single season in team history (since relocation). He also logged the eighth 82-game season of his NHL career and has now played 761 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 21, 2013, marking the ninth-longest ironman streak in NHL history and the second-longest ironman streak by any defenseman. The Barrie, Ont., native has joined Manny Malhotra (2013-14) and Bryan Bickell (2016-17) as just the third player to win the Chiasson Award in his first season with the Hurricanes. Burns has skated in 1,333 career NHL games with Minnesota, San Jose and Carolina from 2003-23, tallying 838 points (245g, 593a).

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the PHWA to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey. A player from each NHL team is nominated by the local chapter of the PHWA. Martinook, 30, recorded 34 points (13g, 21a) in 82 games with Carolina this season. The 6’1”, 208-pound forward was one of just six Hurricanes skaters to play all 82 games and accomplished the feat for the second time in his NHL career. Martinook set new career highs in assists, points, even-strength points (32) and plus/minus (+7), and he scored his second career hat trick against St. Louis on Dec. 1. The Brandon, Man., native reached the 30-point mark for the first time in his NHL career in 2022-23, becoming one of just five players in franchise history to post their first-ever 30-point season after turning 30. Martinook has earned 165 points (66g, 99a) in 559 career NHL games with Arizona and Carolina from 2014-23.

The Josef Vasicek Award is given annually by the Carolina PHWA for outstanding cooperation with the local media. Formerly known as the Good Guy Award, the award was renamed in 2012 by the Carolina PHWA in honor of Vasicek, a former Hurricanes forward who died in a plane crash in Russia in September 2011. Raanta, 33, posted a 19-3-3 record, 2.23 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and four shutouts in 27 appearances with the Hurricanes in 2022-23. His 2.23 goals-against average marked his lowest in any season with at least 15 games played, and his four shutouts matched his career high set with the Rangers in 2016-17. The 6’0”, 190-pound goaltender earned a point in 17 consecutive decisions from Nov. 17-April 4 (15-0-2), becoming just the seventh different NHL netminder since 1996-97 to accomplish that feat within a single season. Raanta’s .750 points percentage set a new single-season franchise record for goaltenders, topping James Reimer’s .727 points percentage in 2020-21 (15-5-2). The Rauma, Finland, native has registered a 127-73-27 record, 2.43 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and 19 shutouts in 253 career NHL games with Chicago, NY Rangers, Arizona and Carolina from 2013-23.

Aho, 25, tallied 67 points (36g, 31a) in 75 games with Carolina this season, reaching the 60-point mark for the fifth time in his NHL/Hurricanes career. He has opened his career with seven consecutive 20-goal campaigns, joining Ron Francis (1981-88) as just the second player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. The 6’0”, 180-pound forward paced the team in goals, shorthanded goals (3) and shorthanded points (4), tying Eric Staal (2003-16) for the most shorthanded goals in franchise history (16) and setting a new franchise record for shorthanded points (22). Aho also led the team with 41 points (21g, 20a) on the road this season and scored six of his team-high nine game-winning goals away from home, tied for the third-most road winners of any NHL skater. Two of his career-high three hat tricks also came on the road, as he became the fifth player in franchise history to score multiple hat tricks away from home in a single season. Aho has now been named the Hurricanes’ MVP in five of the last six seasons, with two more selections than any other player in team history (Eric Staal: 3). The Rauma, Finland, native has posted 468 points (218g, 250a) in 520 career NHL games since debuting with Carolina in 2016-17.