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More Accolades for the Great #8

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin has been nominated for two ESPY Awards – Best Play and Best NHL Player – with the winners determined by fan voting that is open now at ESPYS.tv. Voting continues in 37 categories through 11:59 p.m. ET on July 11.

These are the fourth and fifth ESPY nominations of Ovechkin’s career, as the two-time NHL MVP hopes to win for the first time at The 2009 ESPYs when the show is televised Sunday, July 19, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN HD. A one-hour nomination special will be broadcast tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Ovechkin is the only hockey player and one of a select group of athletes nominated for two ESPYs. Also nominated twice are the likes of Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Usain Bolt and Tim Tebow. He could become the first hockey player ever to win the ESPY for Best Play – his remarkable goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Rangers is nominated.

The ESPYs gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances. The ESPYs honor ESPN’s commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a partnership launched with the late Jim Valvano at the inaugural ESPYs in 1993.

Huge Trade at NHL Draft

The big news at the NHL Draft so far, other than forward John Tavares going as expected as the #1 pick to the New York Islanders, is that the Philadelphia Flyers have acquired superstar defenseman Chris Pronger from the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks, who also gave up forward Ryan Dingle, received forward Joffrey Lupul, the Flyers 2008 1st round draft pick in defenseman Luca Sbisa, and two first round picks (2010 and 2011) plus a conditional 3rd round pick. Due to the salary cap, the Ducks had to move Pronger or goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere when defenseman Scott Niedermayer announced today that he was going to play next season.

The Flyers, who will have to clear some salary to fit Pronger under next year’s announced salary cap figure of $56.8M, get one of the best defenseman in the NHL and now have a top 3 defense of Pronger, Braydon Coburn, and Kimmo Timonen. This trio is as strong as any in the NHL, at this time.

Caps Pick Center

As we’ve been telling you, the Caps need centers, and after picking Anton Gustaffson of Sweden in the first round last year they have gone back to that same country and taken with the 24th selection, center Marcus Johansson, who played for Farjestad last season (Gustaffson’s father, Bengt-Ake, played for that team as well). Johansson is 5′ 11″ and 189 lbs. Here are his stats.