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Ducks forward Corey Perry takes home Hart Trophy as NHL’s most valuable player

NHL Awards Show

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 22: Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks speaks after winning the Hart Memorial Trophy during the 2011 NHL Awards at The Pearl concert theater at the Palms Casino Resort June 22, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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When fans and media broke down the race for the Hart Trophy between Anaheim’s Corey Perry, Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis, and Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin the consensus seemed to be that it was a true toss-up as to who would come away on top. In the end, the PWHA had their say in the vote and it would be Corey Perry coming away as the NHL’s top player.

Perry’s 50 goal season and ability to lead the Ducks to the fourth seed in the Western Conference after such a rough start to their year and navigating an injury to linemate Ryan Getzlaf helped impress the voters to the point of earning 1,043 points and beating out second place finisher Daniel Sedin who had 960 points. Perry received 67 first place votes while Sedin took home 51 as the voters seemed to be torn between those two for the top spot. St. Louis finished with just one first place vote while finishing a distant third with 332 points.

For Perry, his breakout this season was a stunning one. The power forward’s ability to score and agitate was well known as it is, but scoring that many goals and helping carry his team into the playoffs was stunning and caught the league by surprise. His play helped inspire the team and while they ultimately bowed out early in the playoffs, getting the Ducks there in the first place was incredible. Perry, known more for his gruff on-ice demeanor, was soft spoken and surprised in accepting the award.

Perry finished the night with two trophies as he also accepted his hardware for the Rocket Richard Trophy as well and he’s the first Anaheim Ducks player to win the league MVP.

For what it’s worth, the NHLPA disagreed with the PWHA on who they thought the league MVP was as Sedin won the Ted Lindsay Award as the MVP as voted on by the players. In an odd twist, Sedin’s twin brother Henrik won the Hart Trophy last season, but the Lindsay Award went to Alexander Ovechkin.

Perry reacts to winning the Hart Trophy
While he probably thought that he had a shot at winning the Hart Trophy, Perry was still a bit taken aback when he actually heard his name being called.

“You don’t know what to expect coming in and then all of a sudden you hear your name and you’re like ‘whoa.’” Perry said. “It surprised me and like I said, I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates.”

It was clear that Perry was emotional once he realized that he was named the MVP of the 2010-11 season. In fact, he seemed like he got a little bit teary-eyed once the reality set in. He wasn’t ashamed, either.

“Obviously I’m an emotional person and it’s like going back when we won the Stanley Cup. I cried after that. You know, it’s just personal.”