Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid named finalist for Ted Lindsay award
By Zach Laing
11 months agoEdmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid has been named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay award as “the most outstanding player in the NHL” as he looks to claim the title for the fourth time in his career.
McDavid was named a finalist alongside San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak. The 26-year-old Oilers superstar is coming off his most successful season in the league scoring 64 goals and 153 poins in 82 games this season.
Three times prior McDavid has won the award, as voted on annually by members of the NHL Players’ Association: 2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21). Should he win the award, he would become the third player in NHL history, alongside Wayne Gretzky (five) and Mario Lemieux (four), to have won the award four or more times in their career.
The award is the only one voted on by players themselves and was first done in 1970-71 with the Lester B. Pearson Award.
CONNOR MCDAVID, Edmonton Oilers
McDavid played in all 82 regular-season games for the Edmonton Oilers, while he led the Oilers to a second-place finish in the Pacific Division. The 26-year-old forward from Newmarket, Ontario, won his fifth Art Ross Trophy by leading the league with 153 points 30 points more than his career high set last season. McDavid became the sixth different player in NHL history to score 150 points in a single season. He scored 64 goals to win his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and paced all skaters with 89 assists setting new career highs. McDavid led the league in power-play points (71) and time on ice per game played among forwards (22:23), tied for first in primary assists (60), and he placed third in shots (352), even-strength goals (39) and even-strength points (75). A three-time TLA recipient (2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21) and six-time finalist (also 2018-19, 2021-22), McDavid is seeking his fourth TLA to join only two other players to achieve the feat Wayne Gretzky (five-time recipient) and Mario Lemieux (four-time recipient).ERIK KARLSSON, San Jose Sharks
Karlsson played in all 82 games for the San Jose Sharks during the 2022-23 regular season. The native of Landsbro, Sweden, led all defencemen with 25 goals and 76 assists for 101 points to become the first Swedish-born defenceman and only the sixth different defenceman in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark. He set a career high in goals, assists and points, which placed him 11th in league scoring. Karlsson’s 76 assists were good for a share of third among all skaters and matched the points output of the next highest-scoring defenceman. He also led all defencemen in even-strength points (74) and even-strength goals (20). Karlsson skated in the second-most total minutes of ice time (2,100:26) among all NHL skaters and he averaged the fifth-highest time on ice per game played (25:37). This is the second-consecutive season that a defenceman has been voted a finalist for the TLA, following Roman Josi last season. Karlsson is looking to become only the second defenceman (Bobby Orr, 1974-75) to receive the TLA.DAVID PASTRNAK, Boston Bruins
Pastrnak played in all 82 games for the Boston Bruins and helped the club set a new NHL record with 65 regular-season wins and 135 points. The native of Havirov, Czechia, scored 61 goals, 52 assists and 113 points to set new career-high totals. Pastrnak is only the second different Czech-born player (Jaromir Jagr, 1995-96) in NHL history to score 60 goals, and he also became the first Bruins player to reach the mark in 48 years (Phil Esposito, 1974-75). He tied for third in league scoring and placed second in goals for the season. He led all skaters in shots (407), game-winning goals (13), and he tied for first in overtime goals (4) all new career highs. Pastrnak also led all skaters in even-strength goals (43), and he finished second in even-strength points (76). As a first-time TLA finalist and the first Bruins finalist in 20 years (Joe Thornton, 2002-03), Pastrnak is looking to become only the third different Bruins player (Esposito, 1970-71, 1973-74; Bobby Orr, 1974-75) to receive the award.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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