Look, the NHL Awards weren't all that bad. Some of what transpired around Henrik Zetterberg was quite stunning. Like Emma Andersson.

Some puckheads have been a little harsh towards last night's NHL Awards. Tapeleg asks "damn it, how many of these things are we going to watch if they keep turning out to be crap like this?" He also has several ways to fix the awards, ranging from the dangerous (players skits) to the basic (how about some explanations for each award?). Rudy Kelly had another suggestion on Battle of California: "They should have livened things up a bit by hitting Red Kelly in the face with a pie while screaming, 'T-t-today, Junior!'"

Full disclosure: I ducked out of the show for some barbequing right around when Gary Bettman reached a new level of incompetence by somehow sucking the nobility out of Gordie Howe receiving a lifetime achievement award. I know Bettman gets the flop sweats every time he's standing near a trophy in front of hockey fans; maybe when the boos didn't echo through the theater, he lost his bearings. But isn't giving Gordie Howe a lifetime achievement honor, like, the ultimate empty netter on an awards show? And yet Bettman totally Patrick Stefan'd it.

From what I saw, it was less an awards show than a high-school assembly. Peers honoring peers. Alumni returning to warm receptions. Awkward speeches. Some montages from the A.V. club. And Principal Ron MacLean, your amiable but completely humor-deprived host (just a hunch, but Gene Kelly references don't really fly with the younger demos these days). The only things missing were a performance by the Glee Club and some cat-calls when the smoking hot Math teacher makes her appearance on stage (every school had one).

Everyone experienced the awards in his or her own way. As you'll see later in the post, Elisha Cuthbert enjoyed glaring at other players. Over on his blog The Inside Scoop of This Sports Nut, a guy named Wes discussed what it was like to fill seats for NHL stars as they collected awards during the broadcast. You're going to be jealous.

Seat-filling is a longstanding tradition at televised awards shows in which audience members move down to the good seats; filling in the empties created when stars leave to present an award or to collect their hardware on stage. Immortalized in an episode of "Seinfeld," it can be an absolute thrill ... if the show actually needs them, that is.

According to his blog, Wes chose to attend the show as a seat-filler, and was one of "approximately 100 or so seat fillers that needed to be processed." He bounced around different seats for most of the night, including one in the first row. Here's his take on the end of the evening:

As the cameras went off-air, the theatre became a zoo. Many kids were in attendance, and they were already running around during the commercial breaks for the autograph, and the trend continued after the show. Being around the same area the entire night, I made eye contact with several of the Red Wings and proceeded to have a chat/handshake and a word of congratulations with their head coach Mike Babcock, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Dominic Hasek, as well as a few guys around the area - Jason Blake and Evgeni Malkin. Not quick to leave the theatre, I eventually got my first picture of the night (and only picture) with Jarome Iginla. Also introduced myself to various TV personalties to the likes of Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire, Darren Dreger, Gord Miller, Scott Morrison and James Duthie.

Following the Awards ceremony, I managed to get a ticket to the after party at Carlu. As I make my way out of the theatre to get on the shuttle bus, I was approchaed by those waiting outside the theatre for an autograph, again I assure them I am a nobody. Getting on the bus behind me was Guy Carbonneau, and his first words were "Man I'm thirsty! This bus needs some drinks!", and we were off to Carlu for a night of open bar.

Pretty, pretty cool. Plenty of hockey royalty there last night, but decidedly few Hollywood and entertainment celebrities. There was, of course, the requisite attendance of Dion Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert. Phuthbert was rather low-key on the red carpet, which really won't do if they intend to keep pace with Domrie/Dumrie/Duffrie at those Lakers games.

Erin Nicks from The Universal Cynic sent over the photo seen here of Iginla, with Cuthbert gazing in the background. "Good God -- even being gazed upon by Elisha Cuthbert looks like it requires a dose of amoxicillin immediately afterward," writes Nicks.

That's a little harsh. Especially for a girl whose dress appears to be inspired by Rorschach from "Watchmen."

Related: Gary Bettman, Commissioner for Life, When Hockey and Hollywood Collide