SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that forward Daniel Carr of the Chicago Wolves has been voted the winner of the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player for the 2018-19 season.
The award is voted on by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 31 cities.
Despite missing six games in November while on NHL recall and the final 18 regular-season contests due to injury, Carr notched 30 goals and 41 assists to tie for third in the AHL with 71 points over just 52 games played in 2018-19. He placed fourth in the league in plus/minus with a plus-35 rating, and his 1.37 points-per-game average was the highest since 2011-12 (Keith Aucoin) for any AHL player appearing at least half of his team’s games. Carr had a four-goal game on Nov. 7 at Milwaukee, and his 12-game scoring streak from Feb. 1 to Mar. 1 was tied for the longest in the league all season. Carr represented the Wolves at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, earned CCM/AHL Player of the Month honors for February, and was voted a First Team AHL All-Star for the first time in his career.
A 27-year-old native of Sherwood Park, Alta., Carr has totaled 81 goals and 80 assists for 161 points in 191 career AHL games with Chicago, Laval, St. John’s and Hamilton over his five-year pro career. He has also notched 15 goals and 20 assists in 100 career NHL games, including one goal in six appearances with Vegas this season. Carr joined the Golden Knights organization as a free agent on July 1, 2018, after four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens.
The AHL’s most valuable player award honors the late Les Cunningham, a member of the AHL Hall of Fame who was a five-time league All-Star and three-time Calder Cup champion with the Cleveland Barons. Previous winners of the award include Carl Liscombe (1948, ’49), Johnny Bower (1956, ’57, ’58), Fred Glover (1960, ’62, ’64), Mike Nykoluk (1967), Gilles Villemure (1969, ’70), Doug Gibson (1975, ’77), Pelle Lindbergh (1981), Paul Gardner (1985, ’86), Tim Tookey (1987), Jody Gage (1988), John Anderson (1992), Don Biggs (1993), Derek Armstrong (2001), Jason Spezza (2005), Keith Aucoin (2010), Cory Conacher (2012), Tyler Johnson (2013), Travis Morin (2014), Chris Bourque (2016), Kenny Agostino (2017) and Phil Varone (2018).
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
