Karlsson was named on 126 of the 164 ballots and received 57 first-place votes for 915 voting points to finish ahead of center Ryan O'Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres, the 2013-14 Lady Byng Trophy recipient (654 points) and Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, the 2015-16 Lady Byng runner-up (445).
Karlsson, who compiled 18-32-50 in 183 NHL games prior to 2017-18, ranked third in the NHL with 43 goals (43-35-78 in 82 GP) to power the Golden Knights to unprecedented success for an expansion team. Only five players have scored more goals while playing for a club in its inaugural season, while just seven have registered more points. Karlsson filled the scoresheet while taking only six minor penalties, finishing with the fewest penalty minutes (12) among the League's top 40 scorers. He also topped the NHL with a +49 rating, 13 better than the next-closest player and the highest by anyone since 2009-10 (Jeff Schultz: +50 w/ WSH). The 25-year-old Marsta, Sweden, native is a first-time NHL Awards recipient and the first player to win an end-of-season trophy for a team in its inaugural campaign since 1979-80 (Wayne Gretzky w/ EDM).
