The National Hockey League continued to announce 2021 NHL Award finalists on Saturday with the three candidates for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The Lady Byng Trophy is awarded every year to the player "adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability," as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
The finalists for the 2021 Lady Byng Trophy are Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon.
This is the second-straight season Matthews has been named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy, coming second in voting last year to Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon.
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, Connor 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 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 vying to become the eighth-different Maple Leafs player to win the Lady Byng Trophy, and the first Toronto player since forward Alexander Mogilny in 2003.
Matthews is also up for the Ted Lindsay Award this year, recognizing the NHL's most outstanding player from the regular season.
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.
This is the first time Slavin has been named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy after finishing fourth in voting for the award last season.
Slavin was part of a Hurricanes defensive group that was one of the best in the NHL this season, giving up an average of just 2.39 goals per-game. The 27-year-old did not put up the biggest numbers offensively with just 15 points (3+12) in 52 games, but he averaged 22:59 of total ice-time, while also taking just one minor penalty all season.
The sixth-year veteran of the Hurricanes is looking to become the second player to ever win the Lady Byng Trophy in franchise history. The last Carolina player to do so was former team captain, and current general manager of the Seattle Kraken, Ron Francis in 2002.
As for the Hurricanes, their 2020-21 campaign was the best one the team has had in some time. Carolina was able to finish as the top team in the Central Division with a 36-12-8 record and 80 points in the standings. It was their first division title since the 2005-06 season, in which they ended up winning the Stanley Cup.
The success for Slavin and the Hurricanes has continued into the playoffs so far, where the team managed to pull off a six-game series win over the Nashville Predators in Round 1, Carolina currently trails the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 in their second round series.
Game 4 in Tampa Bay is set to take place Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.
As for Spurgeon, the captain of the Wild is also a first-time finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy this year.
The 31-year-old led all defensemen on the Wild this season with seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 54 games played. His production from the blue line was also more than just offense, as he blocked 102 shots, averaged 22:05 of total ice-time, and only took three minor penalties during the season.
Spurgeon is just the second player to ever be named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy in Wild history, joining Mikael Granlund, who finished third in voting in 2017.
Along with Slavin, Spurgeon is looking to become just the fourth defenseman in NHL history to ever win the Lady Byng Trophy. The last defenseman to ever win the Lady Byng Trophy was Brian Campbell, who won the honor in 2012 while with the Florida Panthers.
After an early exit in the NHL's Return To Play tournament last season, the Wild bounced back this year with a 35-16-5 record and 75 points, which resulted in a third place finish in the Pacific Division.
Minnesota put up a great fight in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, nearly coming back from a 3-1 deficit in their series with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, the effort came up just short, as the Wild ended up losing the series in seven games.
The winner of the Lady Byng Trophy will be announced as part of the 2021 NHL Awards starting Monday, June 14.
The next round of finalists for the 2021 NHL Awards will be announced on Sunday, June 6, with the three finalists for the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy, recognizing the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game.
Other 2021 NHL Awards finalists:
- Vezina Trophy
- Ted Lindsay Award
- King Clancy Memorial Trophy