Messier Edges Bourque for NHL’s MVP

Edmonton’s Mark Messier stepped out of Wayne Gretzky’s shadow Wednesday night by winning the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player--an award dominated by his former teammate in the 1980s.

Messier beat out Boston defenseman Ray Bourque by two points in the closest balloting ever for the trophy. St. Louis right wing Brett Hull was the other finalist for the award that Gretzky won eight times with Edmonton and last year with the Kings. The voting is conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers Assn. before the playoffs.

Bourque won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, and Hull, whose 72 goals set a league record for right wings, won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship.

Montreal’s Patrick Roy won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender for the second consecutive year. And Soviet Sergei Makarov, who turns 32 later this month, won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year.