Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers on Monday won the Ted Lindsay Award, given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association.
"It's just very special to get that recognition by your peers and by the guys that you play against all year, battle against," Draisaitl said. "It means a lot."
Draisaitl also won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP after he led the League with 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists) during the regular season. The forward ranked first in points per game (1.55), assists and power-play points (44), and he was first among forwards in ice time per game (22:37), tied with Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak for first in game-winning goals (10), and was second in even-strength points (66) and power-play goals (16). He had 33 multipoint games and scored at least one point in 56 of 71 games.
Draisaitl helped the Oilers (37-25-9, .585 points percentage) advance to the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, when they lost a best-of-5 series to the Chicago Blackhawks in four games. Edmonton was 24-5-2 when he scored this season and 13-20-7 when he didn't.
Draisaitl is the fourth Oilers player to win the award and first since center Connor McDavid in 2017-18. McDavid also won it in 2016-17. Mark Messier won the award in 1989-90, and Wayne Gretzky won it a record five times with Edmonton, including four straight seasons (1981-85) and in 1986-87.
"Again, can't thank the team, the training staff, the coaches, obviously most importantly my teammates enough to support me, to have confidence in me," Draisaitl said. "It means a lot to me. Without all those people around me, family friends, the city of Edmonton, obviously this is not even close to being possible."
Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers were the other finalists for the award, which players voted on before the postseason began. The three forwards also were the finalists for the Hart Trophy.
MacKinnon finished fifth in the NHL with 93 points (35 goals, 58 assists) and helped the Avalanche finish with the second-best record in the Western Conference (42-20-8, .657) and qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third straight season.
Panarin tied Pastrnak for third in the NHL with 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists) in 69 games. He ranked first in the League in even-strength points (71) and first among forwards in rating (plus-36) to help New York (37-28-5, .564) advance to the Qualifiers.
The 2020 NHL Awards had been scheduled for June 18 in Las Vegas but were postponed March 25 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html
No comments:
Post a Comment