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Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov are the finalists for the 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award, the NHL Players’ Association announced Tuesday.
The award is given annually to the league’s “most outstanding player” as voted by NHL players.
McDavid, seeking his fifth award, led the NHL with 138 points and reached key career milestones of 800 career assists and 400 goals.
“It’s the least surprising thing that I’ve heard all morning,” Leon Draisaitl said of his fellow Oilers superstar as the team prepared for a do-or-die Game 5 on Tuesday against visiting Anaheim.
Head coach Kris Knoblauch, who said McDavid was a game-time decision for the crucial contest with his team down 3-1 in the first-round series, commended McDavid for elevating his game even higher late in the regular season during the Oilers’ playoff push.
“Where do I start? I believe production-wise, [his] second-best year, led NHL in scoring and really had a tremendous second half or three quarters of the season,” Knoblauch said. “Especially when at the end of the year, when our season was on the line, and we’re missing Draisaitl, who’s another star in this league, he really elevated his game and got our team into the playoffs.
“Connor gets a lot of attention, a lot of accolades, and deservedly so with how good of a player he is. This year, being as good as he is, it was still one of his best years. He’s very deserving of that award.”
Celebrini set a Sharks franchise record and was fourth in league scoring with 115 points in his sophomore season.
Kucherov, who won his second Ted Lindsay Award last season, led the Lightning with 130 points and reached 1,000 career points faster than any Russian-born player.
The winner of the award will be named later.
The award was originally known as the Lester B. Pearson Award when it was created for the 1970-71 season. It was renamed in 2010 for Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay, who played a significant role in the formation of the NHLPA.
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