John Tavares left the NHL Awards empty-handed again. But the Islanders captain's status around the NHL continues to grow.
Nashville captain Shea Weber took home the Mark Messier Leadership Award, with Tavares and Washington captain Alex Ovechkin as runners-up. The league didn't post any voting results, so I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that Tavares was a close second.
He also looked damn good.
It was the first Messier Award nomination for Tavares, a two-time finalist for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. While it seems weird to name a leadership award after a guy best known for stalking Connor McDavid on the telephone, the list of winners is a prestigious one that includes names like Chris Chelios, Zdeno Chara, Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby.