Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov have been named finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, voted by NHLPA members.
Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini and Nikita Kucherov have been named finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, an honour chosen by NHLPA players.
The Ted Lindsay Award is presented annually to the league’s most outstanding player. as voted on by fellow members of the players’ association—meaning the winner is essentially backed by the men and women who share the ice and the grind every night.. For the trio. it’s not just another trophy moment; it’s a peer-reviewed validation of the kind of impact that changes games.
McDavid enters the conversation as a familiar standard-bearer.. He has won the award four times before. and he added more fuel to his case by capturing the Art Ross Trophy for the sixth time in his career.. Leading the league in points again. the Edmonton Oilers captain delivered 138 points in 2025-26—48 goals and 90 assists—marking the second-highest total of his career.. Only the 153-point season he posted in 2022-23 sits above it.
Celebrini arrives as the storyline twist.. At 19. the San Jose Sharks forward is competing for the Lindsay for the first time after a sophomore campaign that redefined what “breakout” can look like in the NHL.. He scored 45 goals and added 70 assists. and in doing so broke the Sharks franchise record for points in a single season. surpassing the benchmark previously held by Joe Thornton.. It’s a level of production that doesn’t just stand out inside San Jose—it signals a player whose talent is already translating into difference-making habits.
For the Lightning, Kucherov’s presence keeps the spotlight on a different kind of dominance: precision.. He finished second in league scoring with 130 points, made up of 44 goals and 86 assists, behind only McDavid.. Tampa Bay’s star also reached major career milestones during the year. recording the 1. 000th point of his NHL tenure in October and becoming the fastest Russian-born player to hit the mark.
That blend—McDavid’s sustained league-leading pace. Celebrini’s franchise-altering surge. and Kucherov’s elite playmaking with a goal-scoring edge—makes this finalists group more than a ranking of talent.. It’s a snapshot of the different ways superstars can decide outcomes: through constant creation. through record-setting escalation. and through a blend of scoring and orchestration that forces defenses to choose between risks.
The NHLPA vote matters in a distinct way because it reflects how players view each other’s value under pressure.. Coaches design systems; scouts study tendencies; but when NHL players cast ballots. they’re weighing what they feel in real time: how often an opponent turns a shift into a scoring chance. how quickly momentum flips. and whether a star makes the game easier for teammates while raising the standard for everyone else.
For the Oilers. McDavid’s candidacy reinforces the team’s identity around a player who can carry both volume and efficiency at the same time.. For the Sharks. Celebrini’s run is the kind of season that can change expectations. attracting attention not just from fans but from the way contenders and decision-makers evaluate the franchise’s trajectory.. And for the Lightning. Kucherov remains the model of high-level offensive consistency—someone who can still be a difference-maker even when defenses focus their attention.
As the award race moves toward the final vote result. the common thread is simple: each finalist represents the highest end of on-ice impact.. Whether the league ends up rewarding another McDavid chapter. celebrating the breakthrough momentum of Celebrini. or recognizing Kucherov’s relentless production. the outcome will underline what the Ted Lindsay Award has always meant—peer recognition at the peak of the sport.