Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks presented its team awards prior to Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

Captain Henrik Sedin took home the Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as the team’s leading scorer through 46 games played. The Three Star Award, which is awarded to the player with the most three star selections, will be determined after Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.

The rest of the winners were determined by fan voting held on Canucks.com.

Winger Jannik Hansen took home the award for Most Exciting Player and ‘unsung hero’. Dan Hamhuis was voted the team’s best defenceman and goaltender Cory Schneider was deemed the  ’most valuable player’.

Ballots for the NHL Awards have been sent out to members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) and winners will be announced at the end of the season at the league’s annual awards gala. The date and venue have yet to be announced.

It was reported back in February that the awards won’t be held in Las Vegas this year because of the shortened season. The awards have been held in ‘Sin City’ since 2009.

Summary of 2012.13 Vancouver Canucks Awards:

• Cyclone Taylor – “Most Valuable Player”: Cory Schneider
• Walter (Babe) Pratt – “Best Defenceman”: Dan Hamhuis
• Most Exciting Player: Jannik Hansen
• Fred J. Hume – “Unsung Hero “: Jannik Hansen
• Three Star Award: “Most Three Stars Selections”: To be determined
• Cyrus H. McLean – “Leading Scorer “: *Henrik Sedin

*Leads the Canucks in scoring through the first 46 games played

(Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports)

Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen has been suspended one game by the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety for his hit to the head of Chicago Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa.

“Hansen is behind Hossa in the neutral zone when the puck is chipped into the air towards them. While it might be true Hansen initially reaches up to play the puck in the air, he changes the position of his arm and delivers a sharp, careless forearm to the back of Hossa’s head,” NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said in the video explanattion of the suspension.

“Although it’s true both players initially had their hands open as the puck approaches, Hossa maintains an open palm throughout. Hansen on the other hand, has closed his hand and has a closed fist. He also does not extend his hand until after Hossa has made contact to the puck.

“We feel that the carelessness, the force with which the blow was delivered elevate this incident a level of supplemental discipline.”

One word describes the reaction to the suspension: outrage. Outrage in Canuckland that Hansen was even suspended and outrage outside of Canuckland that it was only a one-game suspension.

We respectfully disagree with our sister site, Blackhawk Up, that the Duncan Keith hit on Daniel Sedin was a comparable and Hansen should have been suspended for five games. The two hits are similar in that the puck was in the air on both plays, but Keith did not make a play for the puck on the Sedin hit. Hansen did make a play for the puck and in the eyes of the NHL, he made a kneejerk reaction to strike Hossa in the back of the head.

After the game on Tuesday, Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault defended the actions of Hansen (as you would expect any coach to do). On Wednesday, Vigneault was livid that there was even a hearing for the hit.

Vigneault clearly pissed about Hansen having hearing with league: “I don’t even know why we had the call.” #Canucks

— Brad Ziemer (@BradZiemer) February 20, 2013

Obviously Vigneault saw the hit differently than the NHL. He saw it as being pure incidental contact, while the NHL saw Hansen’s hit to Hossa’s head as “reckless” hence the suspension.

Vancouver Canucks Jannik Hansen for some peculiar reason crosschecked referee Dave Jackson in the opening faceoff skirmish on Sunday night against the San Jose Sharks.

There was no penalty on the play even though it was clear as night and day that he crosschecked Jackson. Hansen won’t have to explain his actions since the league won’t be investigating it further, according to CBS Sports’ Eye on Hockey blog:

“I have seen no referee’s report referencing the incident,” NHL Vice President of Communications John Dellapina told CBSSports.com. “And in cases like that, Colin Campbell, Terry Gregson and the Hockey Ops guys leave it up to the discretion of the on-ice officials whether behavior crossed the line.”

As predicted, media and fans around the National Hockey League are jumping all over this incident to paint the Canucks in a negative light.

One commenter on Puck Daddy suggested Hansen did it to frame Clowe and he was successful in doing so citing the unsportsmanlike penalty call on Clowe. Ignored is Alexandre Burrows also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the exchange. Also ignored is in the boxscore, Clowe’s penalty was registered as a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on Burrows.

No attention has been paid to what precipitated the entire altercation either. It was all started by San Jose Sharks centre Logan Couture who put his glove in the face of Burrows. Burrows responded with a “pump” to Couture’s head at which point Clowe came in and Hansen crosschecked the referee.

It is not the first time a Sharks player has done this to a Canuck. Joe Thornton did the same thing to Henrik Sedin last season during a stoppage in play while speaking with referee Gord Dwyer in front of the penalty boxes.