There are three finalists for the Hart Trophy.
Two of them are Penguins.
In the considered opinion of owner/center/finalist Mario Lemieux, he and right winger Jaromir Jagr have a better chance of being elected king of Bolivia than beating out Colorado center Joe Sakic for first place in the Hart voting.
"I certainly expect Sakic to win," Lemieux said yesterday.
Whether he's correct -- and virtually everyone in the hockey universe seems to share Lemieux's perspective -- will become known during the NHL's annual awards ceremony at 8 p.m. today at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. ESPN2 will televise the ceremony.
Sakic established himself as the front-runner for the Hart, which goes to the NHL player adjudged to be most valuable to his team during the regular season, by being perhaps the league's best defensive forward while finishing second in the scoring race.
His point production was surpassed only by that of Jagr, who won his fourth consecutive scoring championship this season.
"Joe had a great year, obviously," Lemieux said. "And Jaromir did the same."
Lemieux had a pretty fair one, too -- he put up 35 goals and 41 assists in 43 games -- but believes not coming out of retirement until Dec. 27 cost him any real claim to the Hart.
"I don't think any player should win the MVP playing 45 games or so." Lemieux said. "That's not right."
Nonetheless, he plans to be in Toronto tonight. And while he's there, he hopes to meet up with Colorado defenseman Raymond Bourque, a longtime friend who might have capped a stellar 22-year career by winning the Stanley Cup title Saturday.
"That was very exciting," Lemieux said. "I watched the whole game, and the festivities afterward. I almost shed a few tears. That was great to see him at center ice right away with the Cup. ... He's the guy who deserves it the most, of all the guys I've been waiting to [see] win a Cup."
Bourque is a finalist for the Norris Trophy, which goes to the NHL's top defenseman. He is competing for that honor with Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom, the favorite, and Scott Stevens of New Jersey.
The other awards are: Vezina (top goalie); Calder (best rookie); Selke (top defensive forward); Lady Byng (sportsmanship); Jack Adams (top coach).
Voting for the awards is conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes for the Hart, Norris, Calder, Selke and Lady Byng trophies. The NHL Broadcasters Association votes for the Adams, and the league's general managers vote for the Vezina.
Earlier in the day, the NHL Players Association will present the Pearson Award to the MVP as selected by the players. Lemieux, Jagr and Sakic are the finalists.
The Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey, and the King Clancy Trophy, for contribution to the community, also will be presented.
NHL Awards: Lemieux says Sakic the player for Hart 
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