NEW YORK — Comedian Matt Friend will host the 2024 NHL Awards™, the National Hockey League announced today. The celebration of the League’s best regular season performances will air live from Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Thursday, June 27 on KeynoteUSA and Sportsnet in the U.S. and Canada, respectively, starting at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. Tickets for the show are available here.
Friend and his career as a comedian and impressionist have been on the rise since early 2024. He appeared on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, conducted viral interviews on the Golden Globes red carpet, performed at the House Correspondents Dinner Blanca and headlined the Netflix Is A Joke festival as part of her national tour. Later this summer, Friend will launch his own late-night talk show-inspired podcast at Bill Maher’s Club Random Studios.
“When I was a kid, all my heroes were comedians obsessed with hockey. “I am very excited to join the list of my heroes like Will Arnett and Kenan Thompson as host of the NHL Awards, especially as someone who grew up as a Chicago Blackhawks fan during the dynasty,” said Friend. “I am very grateful to Steve Mayer, Michael Dempsey and Gary Bettman for the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dream of hosting the Golden Globes… for Hockey! Hopefully I can win them over when I release my Gary Bettman impression!”
“We can’t wait to return to Las Vegas to celebrate the NHL’s greatest players and cap off a monumental season for the league,” said NHL Chief Content Officer and Senior Executive Vice President Steve Mayer. “Las Vegas has a unique energy and we are thrilled to have Matt Friend join us as host this year. “Matt is a versatile comedic talent like no other and we know the show will be in great hands.”
The event marks the 11th time the NHL Awards™ will be presented in Las Vegas, and the first time since 2019. You can access the previous winners of each award here. The 2024 NHL Awards™ will honor the top regular season players in a wide range of categories, including Most Valuable Player (Hart Trophy), Outstanding Goaltender (Vezina Trophy), Outstanding Defenseman (Norris Trophy) and Outstanding Rookie (Calder Trophy). The Ted Lindsay Award, given annually to the NHL’s “most outstanding player” as voted by members of the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA), will also be presented.
Fans who wish to join the evening of celebration can purchase an exclusive room package for Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which includes a special room rate and two tickets to the NHL Awards™. For more information on the room offering, visit fontainebleaulasvegas.com/nhl-awards-2024/.
The 2024 NHL Awards™ are the first of two marquee NHL events taking place in Las Vegas this June. The NHL will host the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft™ on Sphere, the next-generation entertainment outlet that is redefining live entertainment, over two days: Friday, June 28 (Round 1, televised on KeynoteUSA, KeynoteUSA+, Sportsnet and TVA Sports , starting at 4 pm PT) and Saturday, June 29 (Rounds 2-7, televised on KeynoteUSA+, NHL Network, Sportsnet and SN1, starting at 8:30 am PT). Tickets for the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft™ are available for purchase here.
NHL Network™, NHL.com and NHL Social™ will provide complete coverage of the 2024 NHL Awards™. Fans can follow the festivities across the NHL’s social media channels using the official #NHLAwards hashtag.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.