For the second time in his career, Nikita Kucherov was deemed the best player in the league by his peers. The future hall-of-famer was presented the Ted Lindsey Award on Wednesday by his captain, Victor Hedman, while surrounded by a group of his teammates at the Lightning’s facilities in Tampa.
The NHL is shaking things up as to how they announce some of their award winners. They are going on location and surprising the winners in hopes of catching some viral fame. They will still have an awards show on June 12 prior to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final for some of the major trophies such as the Hart Trophy, of which Kucherov is a finalist.
Another season of leading the league in points impressed his fellow players enough to come out on top for the award (the Lindsay Award is voted on by the NHLPA). Could it be a harbinger in regards to the Hart Trophy? Sixteen times in history, including 2018-19 with Kucherov, has the same player won both awards. Nathan MacKinnon pulled off the feat last season when he edged out the Lightning forward for both honors.
Kucherov put up another wonderful season with 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists). As usual, the Lightning offense rolled through him, and part of the Lightning’s post-season disappointment can be traced to Florida’s ability to shut him down. Yes, he had four points in five games, but three of those came in the Lightning’s Game 3 victory.
Any thought of Kucherov slowing down as he passed over the 30-year-old barrier were put to rest as led the league in points and assists for the third time in his career. Not bad for someone playing with a left-hand injury over the final 30 games of the season.
There are two years left on his current contract, and he hasn’t given any indication of slowing down anytime soon. It’s kind of fitting that he was handed the award in the Lightning’s facility on a random Wednesday in June. Why there? Because the team knew he would be working out as he gets ready for the next season. The somewhat surprising thing (other than how young he looks without his beard) is that the team had to stall because Kucherov wasn’t out on the ice as they expected.
Congratulations to Nikita Kucherov.
