McDavid of Oilers wins Ted Lindsay Award as most outstanding NHL player

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers won the Ted Lindsay Award, given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association, at the 2018 NHL Awards presented by Hulu at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old center led the NHL in scoring with 108 points (41 goals, 67 assists) to win his second consecutive Art Ross Trophy. He led the League with 100 points (30 goals, 70 assists) last season, when he also won the Ted Lindsay Award.

"I definitely didn't think I was going to win, just because of everything with not being in the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs and whatnot," McDavid said. "I didn't think there was much of a chance, but it's definitely special."

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Selected No. 1 by Edmonton in the 2015 NHL Draft, McDavid led the NHL in points per game (1.32) and multipoint games (32) and was fourth in average ice time among forwards (21:08) this season. He is one of three Oilers to win the award (Wayne Gretzky, 1982-85, 1987; Mark Messier, 1990) and is the first player to win the award twice before turning 22.

McDavid, who was the youngest player in NHL history to be named captain Oct. 5, 2016, won the Hart Trophy last season and finished third in Calder Trophy voting as the NHL rookie of the year in 2015-16 when he had 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 45 games.

He is the first player to win the Ted Lindsay Award in consecutive seasons since Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals in 2008-09.

Edmonton failed to qualify for the postseason after making it last season.

"Obviously, you always want to be in the playoffs," McDavid said. "It doesn't really matter what happened the year before. Every team comes into the season with one goal, and that's to win and play in the playoffs."

New Jersey Devils forward Taylor Hall, 26, and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, 22, were the other finalists for the award.