RELEASE: McDavid selected as Ted Lindsay Award finalist

EDMONTON, AB – The National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today the three finalists for the 2020-21 Ted Lindsay Award including Oilers captain Connor McDavid.

McDavid joins Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs as finalists for the award, presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.

Crosby is seeking his fourth Ted Lindsay Award, while McDavid is vying for his third such honour and Matthews is a first-time finalist. All three players led their respective teams to the playoffs, with Crosby leading his team in points for the 11th time in his career, McDavid winning his third Art Ross Trophy and Matthews winning his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.

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McDavid played in all 56 of Edmonton’s regular-season games to help lead the Oilers to a second-place finish in the North Division. The 24-year-old forward led the league in points (105) to win his third Art Ross Trophy, finishing 21 points ahead of the next highest scorer.

He also paced all players in assists (72), points per game (1.88), power-play points (37) and even-strength points (68). McDavid recorded 33 multi-point games, and finished second in goals (33), game-winning goals (11) and even-strength goals (24).

He averaged the second-highest time on ice per game (22:09) of his career – fourth among NHL forwards. A two-time Ted Lindsay Award recipient (2016-17 and 2017-18), and now a four-time finalist (also 2018-19), McDavid is looking to become the seventh player to receive the award three or more times (following Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Alex Ovechkin and Crosby).

The 2020-21 Ted Lindsay Award recipient will be announced during the Stanley Cup Final (exact date TBD). Formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, the Ted Lindsay Award is the namesake of the first president of the original Players’ Association and NHLPA pioneer, Ted Lindsay.

This 2020-21 campaign marks the 50th season of the award.