San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid are Ted Lindsay Award finalists after standout seasons.
The Ted Lindsay Award finalists are set, and the names on the ballot read like a snapshot of what elite NHL play looks like at the top.
Misryoum’s spotlight is on three players whose seasons weren’t just productive, but definable—through scoring totals, consistency over long stretches, and the kind of impact that teammates notice.
Macklin Celebrini: a franchise-changing rookie surge
Macklin Celebrini. only 19. finished fourth in the NHL in points and set a San Jose Sharks franchise record with 115 points (45 goals. 70 assists) in 82 games.. In his second NHL season. he logged a point in 60 games. including at least three points in 18 games. plus five separate games with four or more points.. That production wasn’t confined to any one role either: he added 33 power-play points and scored five game-winning goals.
What stands out is how quickly he became an anchor for the Sharks.. San Jose’s turnaround trend is easy to measure in the record—39-35-8 and 86 points after 20 wins and 52 points the prior season—and Celebrini’s leap helped make that improvement believable.. Misryoum’s read is that the award narrative here isn’t simply “rookie excellence,” but “team lift.”
There’s also a social layer to why fans connect with this storyline.. A young star who racks up power-play points and game-winning goals creates moments people can point to. the kind that travel fast through highlights and group chats.. And if he does win. he’d become the first Sharks player to take home the Ted Lindsay Award—an achievement that would land far beyond individual bragging rights.
Nikita Kucherov: near-historic totals built on repeatability
Nikita Kucherov enters as the most decorated offensive engine on the shortlist.. He was second in NHL scoring with 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning.. His points-per-game mark of 1.71 led the league, and he posted a plus-43 rating tied for third among all players.. Consistency was the theme: he notched at least one point in 60 of 76 games. recorded 40 games with two or more points. and produced nine games with four or more points.
Misryoum also zeroes in on how his season had clear peaks without losing reliability.. His best run came from Dec.. 20 to Jan.. 12, when he piled up 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) across 10 games.. Kucherov even had the kind of offensive volatility that matters in games—two five-point performances. plus a season-long ability to stay dangerous even when defenses adjusted.
The bigger context: Kucherov is not new to award discussions.. He won the Ted Lindsay Award last season after leading the NHL with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists).. It would be his third straight year as a finalist, and his fourth overall, including a previous win in 2018-19.. Misryoum’s editorial angle here is that this is what sustained dominance looks like—performance that doesn’t simply spike. but keeps landing.
Connor McDavid: another near-universal scoring statement
Connor McDavid is the familiar name that tends to arrive when scoring races are discussed seriously.. He led the NHL with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists) and is a finalist for the seventh time in his career.. He has already won the Ted Lindsay Award four times, including 2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, and 2022-23.
This year’s production didn’t come in isolated bursts.. McDavid recorded points in 68 of 82 games. including 43 multipoint games. and he had seven games with at least four points—three of them with five points.. One of the season’s most telling markers is his 20-game point streak from Dec.. 4 to Jan.. 13, during which he collected 46 points.
Misryoum’s interpretation is that McDavid’s case isn’t only “top of the leaderboard. ” but also “top of the calendar.” When a player can keep stacking output through a long span while remaining an offensive focal point. it changes how opponents plan whole games—not just lines.. Edmonton finished second in the Pacific Division with a 41-30-11 record. and McDavid led the Oilers in goals. assists. and points.
There’s also the legacy tension fans can feel: he could join Wayne Gretzky as the only player to win the Ted Lindsay Award five times.. That kind of threshold turns a seasonal award into an all-time conversation. which is why his presence tends to dominate conversation boards long before the vote lands.
Why the Ted Lindsay finalists matter to more than just trophy tables
The Ted Lindsay Award is voted on by players, which is part of why these finalists resonate. Misryoum treats it as a “peer lens” award: not just who produced, but who consistently created problems for the people on the ice and did it often enough to become a shared reference point.
This year’s trio covers different archetypes of impact.. Celebrini represents rapid rise plus team momentum; Kucherov represents elite scoring repeatability; McDavid represents sustained league-wide control.. Together. they map a broader story about the NHL’s current peak performance—where success is measured in total points. but also in how often players can reach them against high-end defenses.
For fans, that means the award debate is really a debate about style and influence.. For the league. it’s a reminder that while systems and rosters shape outcomes. individual excellence still drives the most unforgettable nights.. And for the next season, it sets a clear expectation: the bar for “unavoidable offense” is rising again.