The 33-year-old Crosby, who already has three Ted Lindsay Awards to his name (2006-07, 2012-13, 2013-14), is looking to join Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history to receive the award four or more times.
Crosby finished the 2020-21 campaign ranked 10th in league scoring with a team-high 62 points (24G-38A) in 55 games, helping Pittsburgh to its 15th-consecutive postseason appearance - the longest active streak among North-American professional sports leagues.
The captain's 1.13 points-per-game average was 11th highest in the NHL, as he averaged at least a point per game in each of his first 16 NHL seasons. Only Gretzky (19) has started his career with more consecutive point-per-game seasons, and only Gretzky (19) and Gordie Howe (17) have accomplished this feat more than Crosby.
Crosby also had the distinction of hitting the 20-goal plateau for the 13th time in his career, surpassing Mario Lemieux (12) and Evgeni Malkin (12) for the most 20-goal seasons in team history, while also leading the team in points for the 11th time in his career, tying him with Lemieux (11) for most such instances in franchise history.
Crosby's most notable milestone came on February 20th against the New York Islanders when he became the first player in franchise history to skate in 1,000 NHL games with the team. He also became the 350th player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 games, and his 1,276 points through his first 1,000 games were the eighth-most in NHL history.
The 2020-21 Ted Lindsay Award recipient will be announced during the Stanley Cup Final (exact date TBD). Formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, the TLA is the namesake of the first president of the original Players' Association and NHLPA pioneer, Ted Lindsay. This season marks the 50th season of the award.
