And the winner is...

...those who watched the NHL Awards with low expectations.

Don't get me wrong; I love a good awards ceremony, but this was pretty predictable in every way. The only thing that really surprised me was Richard Zednik getting snubbed for the Masterton, and that was a disappointing surprise.

However, eternal optimist that I am (today), there were some things that I absolutely loved about the ceremony:

* Seeing Max Talbot and Evgeni Malkin as unofficial "Keepers of the Cup" never fails to make me smile. I love that a grinder like Talbot is getting his time in the spotlight.

I love that Geno has keep a hand on the Cup like it might run away.

* Patty La sighting! He was one of my first "favorites," so I still light up every time I see him.

* Timmy Thomas was phenomenal with both of his speeches. He got me choked up to hear him thank his wife for following him wherever he had to play. He also got me snickering with his comment to Manny Fernandez when they accepted the Jennings Trophy:

I think that wins the title of "Best Unintentionally Comedic Moment at a Boring Awards Show"

* Jarome Iginla and his pearly whites made an appearance to accept the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

When I heard him talk about their "core" of players and how long they've waited to win the Cup; it actually made me kind of sad. Not that I don't love Craig Rivet, but I wish our captain was part of our "core," grew up with the nucleus of our team. Who am I kidding, I just wish Goose was our captain, and I'm starting to get bitter about it.