Kane, Kucherov, McDavid finalists for Ted Lindsay Award

Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers,were named as finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players' Association.

The winner will be announced at the 2019 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone at the Mandalay Bay Events Center sports and entertainment complex in Las Vegas on June 19.
Formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, it will be presented less than four months after the death of its namesake, Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay.
McDavid won the award in each of the past two seasons after Kane became the first United States-born player to win it in 2016. Kucherov, who led the NHL in scoring this season with 128 points (41 goals, 87 assists), is a first-time finalist.
Kucherov played in all 82 regular-season games to help the Presidents' Trophy-winning Lightning tie the NHL single-season record for victories (62) while winning the Art Ross Trophy as the League's top scorer. His 128 points were an NHL career-high and the most in League history by a Russia-born player, surpassing the previous mark of 127 set by Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93. Kucherov, who turns 26 on June 17, led the NHL in multipoint games (38), points per game (1.56) and power-play points (48). His 87 assists also led the NHL and matched the single-season record for most assists by a wing set by Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96. Kucherov's 41 goals were tied for second on the Lightning and tied for sixth in the NHL; his even-strength points (80) tied him with Kane for second in the NHL, one behind McDavid. Kucherov would be the second Lightning player to receive the award; Martin St. Louis won in 2003-04.

Kane played in 81 games for the Chicago Blackhawks and led them in goals (44), assists (66) and points (110), setting personal NHL-highs in the latter two categories. The 30-year-old tied Kucherov for second in even-strength points (80) and was third in the NHL in scoring and points per game (1.36). His average ice time of 22:29 was third among all forwards. Kane surpassed the 40-goal, 60-assist and 100-point marks in the same season for the second time in his NHL career; the first came in 2015-16. Kane is the only player in Blackhawks history to win the award and would be the 10th recipient at 30 years of age or older in the award's 48-season history.

McDavid, a center, was second to Kucherov in scoring with an NHL career-high 116 points (41 goals, 75 assists) in 78 games after winning the scoring title in each of the past two seasons. He led all players in even-strength points (81) one more than Kane and Kucherov. McDavid's 41 goals matched his total from 2017-18 and were tied for sixth in the NHL; his 75 assists were second in the League to Kucherov and also an NHL career high; his 1.49 points per game were second in the League to Kucherov (1.56). He tied for second among all players in game-winning goals (nine) and was third in takeaways (99) and led all NHL forwards in average ice time (22:50). McDavid would be the first player to win the award three times before his 23rd birthday, and the first to win it in three consecutive seasons since Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals from 2008-10.