Connor McDavid already has a stocked trophy cabinet. But after yesterday's news, he might need to build another one (if he hasn't already).
Just hours before the Edmonton Oilers contested Game 5 of their series against the Anaheim Ducks, the Oilers announced that McDavid was named as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award. The award is presented annually by the NHL Players' Association to the player that is deemed to be the most outstanding over the course of the regular season.
THE CAPTAIN 🫡#Oilers forward Connor McDavid has been selected as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award which is given to the @NHL's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the @NHLPA. pic.twitter.com/CeZxlmhLZd
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 28, 2026
The 2025-26 season served as the sixth consecutive campaign and the ninth of his 11-season NHL career in which McDavid recorded at least 100 points. During the regular season, McDavid recorded 48 goals and 90 assists, giving him a total of 138 points on the season. That total not only reflects a 38-point increase on his 2024-25 point haul, which consisted of 26 goals and 74 assists, but it also gives McDavid the league lead in points for the 2025-26 campaign.
Does McDavid deserve to win the Ted Lindsay?
Winning the Ted Lindsay Award for the 2025-26 season would serve as McDavid's fifth time winning the award. The last time he won the award was following the 2022-23 regular season, when he recorded 64 goals and 89 assists for a total of 153 points. His Oilers would advance to the second round of that year's playoffs, where they would ultimately lose in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Vegas Golden Knights.
The other two nominees for the award were San Jose Sharks' forward Macklin Celebrini and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, the latter of whom won the award twice before (2018-19 and 2024-25).
Kucherov finished second in the NHL in points during the regular season with eight fewer than McDavid. He scored 44 goals and recorded 86 assists over the course of the 76 games that he played during the regular season.
Meanwhile, Celebrini single-handedly brought the Sharks into postseason contention; his performance also had them in a playoff spot at several points during the regular season. While his Sharks would fall short of their first playoff berth since 2019, the season nonetheless marked a significant push towards playoff contention. In terms of his season statistics, Celebrini recorded 45 goals and 70 assists, for a total of 115 points. His total was good enough for fourth in the NHL in that category, putting him behind McDavid, Kucherov, and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon.
Despite being listed as a game-time decision prior to Game 5, McDavid was nonetheless able to take part in the Oilers' 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks, which kept the team's season alive and halved Anaheim's advantage in the series. McDavid recorded two assists and four shots on goal during the game, and his Oilers would race out to a 3-0 advantage in the first period of play.
Whether the Oilers can force the series back to Edmonton is another question, but it's possible to argue that McDavid's nomination for the Ted Lindsay Award could spur the Oilers to a Game 6 victory.
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