NEW YORK -- Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield is the 2025-26 recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded “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.
Caufield believed that he was surprising teammate Nick Suzuki with the Frank J. Selke Trophy inside the Montreal locker room, not knowing that Suzuki also was surprising him with the Lady Byng.
Caufield was the first Lady Byng Trophy finalist representing the Canadiens since Mats Naslund (1st in 1987-88, 3rd in 1985-86 and 1988-89). The first-time NHL Awards finalist joins Naslund and Toe Blake (1945-46) as Canadiens players to have won the Lady Byng since the trophy was first presented in 1924-25.
The Montreal winger prevailed in a wide-open race in which four players received at least 20 first-place votes. Caufield was the top choice of 45 voters and was named on 113 of the 198 ballots en route to 776 voting points, ahead of five-time Lady Byng finalist and three-time winner Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings (38 first-place votes, 602 points). Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson, a first-time NHL Awards finalist, ranked third with 28 first-place votes and 585 points. Points are allocated on a 10-7-5-3-1 basis for first through fifth place.
Caufield enjoyed a historic season as Montreal’s first 50-goal scorer in 36 years, helping the Canadiens (48-24-10, 106 points) post their second-highest standings points total in that span. He notched 51-37—88 in 81 games, finishing second in the race for the Maurice Richard Trophy behind Nathan MacKinnon (53 goals) and tying the seventh-highest goal tally in franchise history. Among those 51 were 29 go-ahead goals, the second-highest figure for a single season in League history behind Brett Hull (39 in 1990-91). He did so while taking just seven minor penalties for a total of 14 penalty minutes, tied for the fewest among the NHL’s 45 players with at least 30 goals.
