NEW YORK (CP) - Calgary Flames sniper Jarome Iginla, league scoring leader Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils ace goaltender Martin Brodeur are the finalists for the Hart trophy as the NHL's most valuable player.
The league announced the three finalists for each of its major awards on Wednesday. The winners will be announced June 10 in Toronto.
Brodeur is also in the running for the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender, making it the second consecutive season he has been nominated for both awards.
Last year, the 31-year-old from Montreal won his first Vezina but the Hart Trophy went to Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche.
Iginla tied for the league lead in goals with 41 with Rick Nash of Columbus and Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta.
``It's really been an enjoyable season,'' said Iginla, a huge force in Calgary's first-round playoff upset of the Vancouver Canucks. ``I know you hear this all the time, but it really is like icing on the cake.''
The 26-year-old from Edmonton won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 2002 as the league's top player as voted on by the players, although he was beaten out for the Hart by Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jose Theodore.
Despite a so-so season by his own lofty standards, Brodeur led all goaltenders in games played (75), wins (38) and shutouts (11) during the regular season. He was fourth in goals-against average (2.03).
In 2002-03, he had 42 wins and only 17 losses, nine fewer defeats than this season.
St. Louis, from Laval, Que., had 38 goals and 56 assists while playing all 82 games for the Lightning. The 28-year-old was also plus-35.
St. Louis is also a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy which goes to the player who combines a high standard of play with sportsmanship. Other nominees are his Tampa teammate Brad Richards and Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson.
``I try to play smart and not take a lot of hooking and obstruction penalties,'' said Alfredsson, the rookie of the year in 1996. ``I try to play physical, but stay within (the rules).''
For the Vezina, Brodeur is up against Florida's Roberto Luongo and Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff. Kiprusoff, from Turku, Finland, posted the lowest GAA at 1.69. Luongo, from Montreal, faced a league-high 2,475 shots, yet posted a save percentage of .931.
``I didn't think about the Vezina when I got traded,'' said Kiprusoff, who turned the Flames' season around after he was acquired from San Jose on Nov. 16. ``But it's a great year and it's been fun.''
Boston Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft, Montreal forward Michael Ryder and New York Islanders winger Trent Hunter were the three finalists for the Calder Trophy, which goes to the top rookie.
Ryder, from Bonavista, Nfld., and Hunter, from Red Deer, Alta., finished 1-2 in rookie scoring.
``I try not to think about it too much,'' said Ryder, who helped the Canadiens upset Boston in the first round, even though he was shut out by Raycroft. ``We've still got the playoffs to play.
``It's good that it happened, but I don't want any distractions at this time of year.''
Ryder had 25 goals and 38 assists in 81 games and Hunter posted 25 goals and 26 assists in 77 games.
Raycroft, 23, from Belleville, Ont., posted a 29-18-9 record and his save percentage of .926 was fifth-best in the league.
For the first time in six years, Detroit's Niklas Lidstrom is not in the running for the Norris Trophy, which goes to the top defencemen. The three finalists are Zdeno Chara of the Senators, Chris Pronger of St. Louis and Scott Niedermayer of the Devils.
Lidstrom won the award the last three years and was runner-up the three years before that. Pronger won the Norris in 2000.
Chara had 16 goals and 25 assists in 79 games and posted one of the top plus-minus differentials in the league at plus-33.
``This is something I never dreamed about,'' said Chara. ``I'm just thrilled it's happening.''
Pronger was a workhorse for the Blues, averaging 27 minutes 27 seconds in the 80 games he played and pitching in 14 goals and 40 assists.
Niedermayer logged 26 minutes per game for New Jersey. He had 14 goals and 40 assists and was plus-20 in 81 games.
New Jersey's John Madden, Detroit's Kris Draper and San Jose's Alyn McCauley were chosen the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy which goes to the best defensive forward. Madden won the honour in 2001 and was a runner-up last year behind winner Jere Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars.
Lightning coach John Tortorella, Calgary's Darry Sutter and San Jose's Ron Wilson are the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the league's top coach.
Sutter, who got Calgary into the playoffs for the first time since 1996, said his nomination is a reflection of the team's performance.
``It's not a one-season deal we're doing here - it's to build up a team,'' said Sutter. ``First, it's to gain respect and then build a championship team.''