TORONTO - Lightning center Brad Richards smiled remembering when he and teammate Martin St. Louis tried to come up with reasons not to win the Lady Byng Trophy.
The award for gentlemanly play is not always held in the highest regard by players of a tough and sometimes violent sport. But Richards said after a talk with associate coach Craig Ramsay, they changed their minds.
"He told us one day, "Don't say you don't want to win it. It's a trophy in the NHL. Anything you win is an honor,' " Richards said. "He put us in shape. At the end we both wanted to win it."
Richards, 24, received 25 of 105 first-place votes and was named on 66 ballots to beat out Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson and St. Louis. Richards, a Prince Edward Island native who had just 12 penalty minutes with his 79 points, said it was a nice addition to the Conn Smythe Trophy he received as playoff MVP.
"It's unbelievable," he said. "I can always make room for any NHL trophy. The more you think about it and see the names that are on it, it's pretty special to see. I'm very honored."
LOT OF HARDWARE: Tampa Bay won five trophies this season, including the Art Ross, given to St. Louis as the league's scoring champion. Tampa Bay tied the 1978 Canadiens and the 1985 Oilers for second place behind the 1977 Canadiens, who earned six.
"That's fitting," Richards said. "To win the Cup and being selected for all these trophies shows why we got to where we were as a team."
As for gaining respect around the league, St. Louis said: "Just winning the Cup is enough to get respect. The other stuff is not what you need. Two months of playoff hockey and winning the Cup is enough to get respect."
AWARDS PAY OFF: St. Louis earned $10,000 each for the Ross and Hart trophies and $4,000 for finishing third in the Selke, the award for best defensive forward. He also got $20,000 for the Pearson that was donated evenly to a youth hockey organization in his hometowm of Laval, Quebec, and one in Burlington, Vt., where he lives with wife Heather and son Ryan. Richards won $10,000 for the Lady Byng, and coach John Tortorella $1,000 from the Hockey Broadcasters Association for the Adams.
LIKE ITS CHANCES: Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said if the Lightning keeps its players together, there is no reason the team cannot be good for a long time.
"They stayed together and grew up together," Sakic said. "When you start from scratch, it's a lot more sweeter when you win."
Florida goalie Roberto Luongo sees similarities between the Lightning of a few years ago and the current Panthers, young players with enormous talent waiting to mature.
"It gives us hope for the future," Luongo said. "But we want to get that future going right now as soon as we can."
PRAISE FOR ANDREYCHUK: St. Louis looked surprised when someone suggested there would have to be debate over whether Dave Andreychuk should be in the Hall of Fame.
"They have to consider him," St. Louis said. "His numbers speak for themselves."
Andreychuk's 634 goals are 11th all time. His 270 power-play goals are an NHL high. And now he has the Stanley Cup. "What more does he have to do?" St. Louis asked.
St. Louis said Andreychuk was at his best in the locker room.
"We were more grounded having Dave around in good times and bad," he said. "He helped us see things in perspective. We needed that grounding. You can't get too high, you can't get too low until it's over. I'm honored to play with Dave Andreychuk. The stuff he does with the puck and the stuff he does without it, we needed that."
FACE TIME: Andreychuk and the Stanley Cup will be part of a parade at Disney World at 10 a.m. Saturday. ... Center Vinny Lecavalier, goalie John Grahame and defensemen Dan Boyle and Nolan Pratt appeared Thursday night on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
