He is the first Maple Leafs player to win the award.
"I think it's a tremendous honor to wear the blue and white and represent the city of Toronto and wear the Maple Leaf every night," Matthews said. "The guys that have come before us and just the history that's embarked on this organization, it means a lot. So any time you get your name mentioned in history in an organization like that, it's definitely pretty special and something I don't take for granted."
Matthews led the NHL with 60 goals, the most in Maple Leafs history and the most by a United States-born player in League history. He was the first to score that many since Steven Stamkos scored 60 for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011-12.
Matthews is the second United States-born player to win the Ted Lindsay Award and first since Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane in 2015-16.
"I know from my perspective Kane
voted NHL most valuable player by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (McDavid and New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin were the other finalists) and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.
"It's nice. I can't lie," Mathews said. "It feels really good. It's special to have my family here with me. A lot of great players in that room, a lot of really deserving guys. Definitely pretty special."
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report
