NHL Awards: No Vegas, just two TV specials during Stanley Cup Final

By now, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Hey, I know who the finalists are for the Mark Messier Leadership Award, but where and when can I see who actually wins this heralded trophy in 2013?”

Wonder no more, fare citizens: The NHL announced on Friday that in lieu of an off-season spectacle in Las Vegas to celebrate the best of the best of the truncated season, the NHL Awards will be handed out during the Stanley Cup Final on two made-for-TV specials featuring the League’s game analysts.

Which sounds like there will be a distinct lack of Chaka Khan, Def Leppard, Nickelback and the Real Housewives of Orange County. Which makes us sad.

From the NHL:

The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association, in collaboration with national television partners NBC Sports Group, CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada and NHL Network, and NHL.com, will celebrate and honor the accomplishments of the top players, coaches and executives of the 2012-13 NHL season during two television specials at the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

At 7 p.m. ET as a lead-in to Game 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, NBC and CBC will co-produce and co-host a program announcing the winners of the Calder Memorial Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, James Norris Memorial Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Vezina Trophy.

Originating from the location of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, the hour-long program will be televised on NBC Sports Network in the U.S. and in Canada by CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada and will feature the hosts and hockey analysts from both networks. The program also will be streamed live online at cbcsports.ca.

At 5 p.m. ET the previous evening, the day prior to Game 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, NHL Network in the U.S. and Canada will televise and NHL.com will stream live the announcement of the winners of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, Frank J. Selke Trophy, Jack Adams Award, King Clancy Memorial Trophy, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone, NHL Foundation Player Award and the NHL General Manager of the Year Award.

The program will be hosted by NHL Network personalities and produced from the NHL Network set on location at the Stanley Cup Final.

NHL.com will continue to provide full coverage of the NHL Awards including live updates of each award, an interactive chat with fans during both television specials, video features and reaction from the winners.

So the awards will be announced on-site with the fanfare of the NHL Draft Lottery.

OK, perhaps not even that much fanfare: Will the winners even be present? Doesn't sound like it. Maybe Ryan Suter can Skype in from his ranch in Wisconsin to accept the Norris.

Will there be proxies? Can Ovechkin send a Russian model named Olga to pick up his Hart?

Finally: Is it wrong to think this is just the Hockey Gods dropping trou and defecating on the Columbus Blue Jackets yet again? Bob wins the Vezina, and doesn’t even have a reason to wear a tux?