(via NHL Communications) - The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced today that Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning is the recipient of the 2018-19 Ted Lindsay Award (TLA) after receiving the most votes from the NHLPA membership for his exceptional season. The TLA was presented by Ted Lindsay’s daughter, Lynn LaPaugh, and former NHL player and current NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider during the 2019 NHL Awards presented by Bridgestone, less than four months after Lindsay’s passing.
Kucherov is the second-ever player who was selected in the second round of the NHL Draft to receive the TLA (Bobby Clarke, 1973). He becomes the fourth different Russian player to be named the most outstanding player, following Sergei Fedorov (1993-94), Alex Ovechkin (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10), and Evgeni Malkin (2011-12). Kucherov joins Martin St. Louis (2003-04) as only the second Tampa Bay Lightning player to receive the award.
During the 2018-19 regular season, Kucherov played in all 82 games to help the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning tie a league-best record of 62 wins while capturing his first Art Ross Trophy. The 26-year-old from Maykop scored a career-high 128 points to set a new single-season scoring record for the most by a Russian-born player, besting Alexander Mogilny’s 127 points from 1992-93. Kucherov led the league in multi-point games (38), points per game (1.56) and power-play points (48). His 87 assists also led the league and, in addition to establishing a personal best, tied the single-season record for the most by a winger (Jaromir Jagr, 1995-96). The right-winger’s 41 goals were good for a share of second-most on his team and sixth in the league, while his even-strength points (80) placed him in a tie for second in the NHL.
Forwards Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers both finished as finalists for the 2018-19 TLA. McDavid received the previous two TLAs (2016-17, 2017-18), having become the first player to be voted most outstanding by his peers twice before the age of 22. Meanwhile, Kane is the only U.S.-born player to receive the award (2015-16) and sought his second such honour in four seasons.