McDavid of Oilers wins Ted Lindsay Award

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers won the Ted Lindsay Award on Tuesday, given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association.

McDavid led the NHL with 105 points (33 goals, 72 assists), 21 ahead of teammate Leon Draisaitl, who was second with 84 points. The center led the NHL in assists, even-strength points (68) and power-play points (37) and was second in goals and game-winning goals (11). It was the third time McDavid led the NHL in scoring (100 points in 2016-17; 108 in 2017-18).
"To have your fellow peers recognize you, it really means a lot," McDavid said. "These are the guys we go up against each and every night and battle hard against. For them to recognize you, it really is a special feeling."
McDavid scored at least one point in 45 of 56 regular-season games and had 33 multipoint games, including 18 with at least three points. The Oilers were 33-11-1 when McDavid scored a point and 2-8-1 when he didn't.
He helped Edmonton (35-19-2) finish second in the Scotia North Division and advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where the Oilers were swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round.
"It really is a team award, and I'm just so grateful to have so many great people in my life," McDavid said.

McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award for the third time (2016-17, 2017-18), and is the second straight Edmonton player to win it, after Draisaitl last season. He is the seventh player to win it at least three times, joining Wayne Gretzky (five), Mario Lemieux (four) and Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr, Guy Lafleur and Alex Ovechkin (three times each).
"I just feel so humbled and grateful to have won this award a few times," McDavid said.
The Oilers captain also won the Hart Trophy unanimously voted as most valuable player in the NHL by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He is the second unanimous Hart Trophy winner in the 97-year history of the award, which was first presented in 1923-24. Wayne Gretzky was the unanimous winner in 1981-82, following his 92-goal, 212-point season.
"It's just special to win the award," McDavid said. "I've been able to do it twice now (2016-17) and it's equally sweet, I would say. I guess maybe it's just a little feather in the cap to do it unanimously, and obviously anytime you're in the same breath as Wayne Gretzky, obviously you're doing something right. So I appreciate the writers viewing it that way, and just honored to win the award, and to have it unanimous is just another feather on top, I guess."
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, and Crosby, a center for the Pittsburgh Penguins, were the other finalists for the Lindsay Award, which players voted on before the postseason began.
Matthews led the NHL with 41 goals in 52 games and scored 66 points with a plus-21 rating. He scored 12 game-winning goals, which led the NHL.
Crosby led the Penguins in goals (24), assists (38) and points (62).
NHL.com staff writer Tim Campbell contributed to this report