The National Hockey League announced on Wednesday its three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is awarded annually to the "most outstanding player in the regular season, as judged by the members of the NHL Players' Association."
This year's three finalists for the 2020-21 season are Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews and Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid.
Crosby is seeking his fourth-career Ted Lindsay Award honor, with his last win coming in 2014 when he also was named the Hart Trophy winner as the NHL's Most Valuable Player. The Penguins captain also won the Ted Lindsay Award, formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, back in 2013 and 2007.
The 33-year-old bounced back this past season with a healthy and productive year in Pittsburgh, scoring 24 goals and registering 38 assists for 62 points in 55 games played. Crosby's 62 points ranked him 10th overall in league scoring, while his production helped lead the Penguins to a first place finish in the East Division and a 15th-straight playoff appearance.
If Crosby were to win the Ted Lindsay Award in 2021, he would join Hockey Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history to win the award four or more times. He is also looking to win his fourth Ted Lindsay Award in his fourth time being nominated.
The Penguins finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 37-16-3 record, beating out the Washington Capitals for the No. 1 seed in the East Division playoffs thanks to the Regulation plus Overtime Wins tie-breaker. However, Pittsburgh suffered an early first round exit in the playoffs at the hands of the New York Islanders in six games.
This season is the first time Matthews has been named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award in his NHL career.
The 23-year-old led the entire NHL with 41 goals in 52 games played this past season, which earned him the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2021 as the league's top goal scorer. If the 2020-21 season was played to its entirety with an 82-game schedule, Matthews was on pace for 61 goals in 78 games.
Matthews was able to lead the goal scoring race for a majority of the season, as he finished eight goals ahead of the second-leading goal scorer in the league, which happened to be McDavid. His 66 points on the season also landed him in a tie in the top-five of overall scoring in the league with Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen and Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane.
He only trailed forward Mitchell Marner for the team lead in scoring, as Marner went on to put up 67 points (20+47) in 55 games for Toronto this season.
The Maple Leafs have not had a player of Matthews' caliber on their team in quite some time. He became the first Maple Leafs player since Gaye Stewart, 75 years ago to lead the league in goals. Matthews would also become the first Maple Leafs player to ever win the Ted Lindsay Award.
Meanwhile, Matthews also became the second American-born player to ever win the league's goal-scoring race. He was the first player since Keith Tkachuk led the league with 52 goals in the 1996-97 season while playing for the Phoenix Coyotes. The native of Scottsdale, Arizona is looking to join Kane as the only American-born players to ever win the Ted Lindsay Award.
As for the Maple Leafs, they cruised this regular season to a first place finish in the North Division with a 35-14-7 record and 77 points. However, their run in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs came to an end after blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens, losing the series in seven games.
Toronto has now lost eight-consecutive games with a chance to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Maple Leafs have also not moved on past the second round of the NHL postseason since 2004.
As for McDavid, he's looking to join Crosby as a three-time winner of the Ted Lindsay Award. He won the honor in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, McDavid also won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP of the season.
The 24-year-old ended his 2020-21 season as the league's leading scorer with an impressive 105 points in 56 games, while also leading the league with 72 assists. His 105 points landed him his third-career Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point scorer. If he had played an 82-game season, McDavid would have been on an incredible 154-point pace. His 1.88 points per-game pace this past year is the best season production rate the NHL has seen since Jaromir Jagr averaged 1.82 points per-game in the 1995-96 season with the Penguins.
McDavid finished the year 21 points ahead of the next closest scorer in the NHL, who happened to be teammate Leon Draisaitl, who was the recipient of the Ted Lindsay Award, Art Ross Trophy and Hart Trophy last season. 15 points behind Draisaitl was the next-highest scorer in the NHL, Brad Marchand, who scored 69 points (29+40) in 53 games with the Boston Bruins.
If McDavid earns the Ted Lindsay Award in 2021, he'd become the seventh player in NHL history to win the award three or more times.
While the Maple Leafs finished the 2020-21 season as the top team in the North Division, Edmonton managed to finish second with a 35-19-2 record and 72 points. However, the Oilers suffered an abrupt first round exit at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets, who swept Edmonton in four-straight games.
The winner of the Ted Lindsay Award will be announced as part of the 2021 NHL Awards during the Stanley Cup Final.
The next round of finalists for the 2021 NHL Awards will be announced on Thursday, June 3, with the three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, recognizing "the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League."
Other 2021 NHL Awards finalists: