Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

Right wings Martin St. Louis of Tampa Bay and Jarome Iginla of Calgary joined goalie Martin Brodeur of New Jersey as finalists for the Hart Trophy, the NHL’s most-valuable-player award.

It was the second nomination for Brodeur, who led the league in wins, and Iginla, who tied for the league lead in goals. St. Louis was named for the first time.

St. Louis, 28, led the league in points, with 38 goals and 56 assists for the Eastern Conference-best Lightning.

Iginla, 26, had 41 goals and was the Flames’ top scorer the last four seasons.

Brodeur was 38-26-11, with a 2.03 goals-against average and 11 shutouts.

Brodeur, 31, also is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender. St. Louis is a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded to the league’s most gentlemanly player.

Winners will be announced June 10 in Toronto.

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New York Islander co-owner Sanjay Kumar was forced to resign as chairman and chief executive of Computer Associates International Inc., which is tangled in an accounting investigation that has already produced four guilty pleas.

Kumar took over as chief executive in 2000 and chairman in 2002, the protege and hand-picked successor of Charles Wang, who founded the company in 1976.

Wang and Kumar bought the Islanders in 2000 for an estimated $190 million, and they also own the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League.

Kumar stepped down from his executive positions and the board of directors of CA. He will remain with the company in a new position of chief software architect.

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From the front office to the front row at San Jose, everybody loved Tony Granato when he wound down his playing career as a Shark.

Colorado fans don’t love him as a coach just yet -- but that could change if he leads the Avalanche past the Sharks in the playoffs.

Granato will be back in San Jose tonight when Colorado faces the Sharks in Game 1 of their second-round Western Conference series.

There are numerous connections between the franchises, which have met three times in the last six postseasons and also exchanged many players over the years.

Few participants know the connections as well as Granato, who spent the final five seasons of his playing career with the Sharks.

Granato, who also played for the Kings, has downplayed the significance of his return.

“I don’t know if it’s strange. It’s certainly exciting,” Granato said. “Obviously, no matter who you’re playing at this point in the season, it’s a challenge.”