MONTREAL – The National Hockey League announced on Thursday that Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield has been named a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the 2025-26 season.
Caufield is joined by Anze Kopitar and Jake Sanderson as the award’s other finalists.
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is presented annually “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” Voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA), the trophy was first awarded in 1924-25 by Lady Byng, the wife of Canada’s Governor General at the time. The award was named in her memory following her death in 1949.
A first-time finalist, Caufield would be the third Canadiens player to win the award, joining Mats Naslund (1987-88) and Toe Blake (1945-46). Current Habs head coach Martin St-Louis was also a three-time winner of the award during his playing career.
In his sixth season with the Canadiens, the 25-year-old winger registered career highs in goals (51) and points (88), leading the team in the former category, while collecting just 14 penalty minutes. He was the second-least penalized Canadiens player this season, among Habs who played at least 40 games.
He also became just the seventh Hab in franchise history to tally at least 50 goals in a single season, achieving the feat without any empty netters, and finished second in this year's NHL goalscoring race.
The winner of the 2025-26 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy will be announced by the NHL at a later date.
