McDavid motivated by success of Oilers, not individual achievements

NASHVILLE --Connor McDavid is expected to win the Hart Trophy for the third time and the Ted Lindsay Award for the fourth time at the 2023 NHL Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Monday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS), but individual achievements are not what motivates the Edmonton Oilers captain.

"It would be nice. It would be special. That being said, it's not the motivating factor, it never really was," McDavid said. "When you're young and you're coming into the League, you're so excited to play in the NHL and to win a Hart Trophy and an Art Ross (awarded to the NHL scoring champion). It's exciting when you're younger, and it still is, but at this point in my career, it's not the be-all end-all."

McDavid, who won the Hart Trophy voted as the NHL's most valuable player in 2017 and 2021, is a finalist again for the award alongside Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak after leading the NHL in goals (64), assists (89) and points (153), which were the most in a season since Mario Lemieux had 161 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.

Pastrnak and San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson are the other finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association. McDavid previously won the award in 2017, 2018 and 2021.

"Who would have ever thought I'd be in the same conversation as Connor McDavid and Pastrnak, two guys who I've loved watching," Tkachuk said. "I think it's pretty obvious who we assume the award is going to go to, myself too. But it's good to come to Nashville with my family and friends and have a good time and not have to worry about giving a speech."

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Despite the continued individual success for McDavid, the Oilers weren't able to get over the hump in the postseason, losing in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Second Round.

It is the second consecutive season Edmonton was eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion. It was swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final in 2022.

"Obviously, it was super disappointing. There is no other way to say it other than that," McDavid said. "To see Vegas win is hard. We feel like we were right there. With that being said, here we are, the season is over, and we have a full summer ahead of us, training camp and all that stuff just to go back and get to the same spot. We still have lot of time to reflect and look back and try to figure out what went wrong."

Edmonton (50-23-9) was right there this season, finishing second in the Pacific Division, two points behind Vegas (51-22-9). The Oilers then defeated the Los Angeles Kings in six games in the first round and were tied 2-2 with the Golden Knights in the second round before losing Games 5 and 6.

McDavid had 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in the 12 playoff games, including scoring two goals in Game 5 against Vegas and another in Game 6, but it still wasn't enough.

"You for sure look to learn the lessons," McDavid said. "I've kind of gone back and watched some of the games and try to see what you can do better. It's little things, which is a good thing I guess. You have to learn from all that and you have to work to get yourself back into the same spot."

McDavid added that he is starting to understand the process of losing that usually comes before a team breaks through and wins.

"I always kind of wondered, 'Why do you have to lose before you win?' And understanding the path we've kind of been on, you really start to understand why it goes that way," McDavid said. "There are definitely little things throughout the course of the game that those winning teams just seem to know how to deal with, they manage it, and they just know what they're doing.

"I said this earlier in the year that winning is a skill. Obviously, the teams that figure that out quickest and do it the longest end up winning."