On Wednesday (April 30), Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Colorado Avalanche teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar were announced as this season’s Ted Lindsay Award finalists.
Related: Two Avalanche Players Named Ted Lindsay Finalists
The winner of the award, given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), will be announced at a later date.
Notably absent from the list of finalists is Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, who much of Oil Country believes was one of the NHL’s top three players in 2024-25.
The majority of his peers in the NHLPA don’t seem to agree, however. And so despite leading the NHL with 52 goals this season, Draisaitl will not in 2025 be winning the second Ted Lindsay Award of his illustrious career.
Was Draisaitl snubbed, or is it simply a case that the German’s tremendous campaign was just a shade less tremendous than those of Kucherov, MacKinnon and Makar?
Comparing Stats Between Draisaitl and Finalists
In addition to scoring the NHL’s most goals in 2024-25, Draisaitl led the league with 11 game-winning goals and set a single-season NHL record with six overtime goals. He tied for third in the league for total points (106) and second for both points per game (1.49) and power-play goals (17).
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Kucherov and MacKinnon were the only skaters to amass more points than Draisaitl, with 121 and 116, respectively. The two forwards also tied for the NHL lead with 84 assists, 30 more than Draisaitl recorded.
Meanwhile, Makar had one of the greatest offensive seasons ever for a defenceman, becoming only the fifth blueliner in NHL history to reach the 30-goal and 60-assist marks in a single campaign. The Calgary native led all NHL defencemen in goals (30), assists (62), points (92), power-play goals (12) and power-play points (35).
Draisaitl tied for fifth among all NHL forwards with a team-leading plus/minus rating of plus-32, while MacKinnon and Kucherov were further back with ratings of plus-25 and plus-22, respectively. Makar had a rating of plus-28, 11th highest among blueliners.
Injuries Might Have Hurt Draisaitl‘s Chances
Team success likely influences voting for the Ted Lindsay Award, but in this case, it’s a wash: Colorado and Tampa Bay finished with 102 points apiece, while Edmonton ended the season with 101 points.
However, if there was one factor that hurt Draisaitl, it might be that he was out of the lineup for most of the stretch drive. Injuries sidelined the 29-year-old for all but three of Edmonton’s final 14 games, while Kucherov, MacKinnon and Makar were all continuing to add to their stats and help their teams battle for playoff positioning.
Draisaitl ended up with 71 games played this season, while Makar suited up for 80 contests, MacKinnon played 79 times, and Kucherov appeared in 78 games.
NHL Players Should Know Who’s Best
While Oilers fans might not like how the voting went, there is arguably no honour that more accurately reflects what it means to recognize than the Ted Lindsay Award. That’s because it’s voted on by those who actually perform what the award judges.
Who is a better authority on the most outstanding NHL player than an NHL player? They know the training, practice, and preparation that goes into being an outstanding NHL player. They’ve faced off against one another, witnessing their outstanding play first-hand on the ice.
Could there be some players that refuse to vote for an opponent that they just flat-out dislike for any number of reasons borne out of their on-ice battles? Of course. But bias can influence voting no matter who is casting the ballot. The mutual respect and appreciation among the NHL fraternity suggest that such an issue would be minimal when it comes to the Ted Lindsay Award.
Draisaitl Could Still Be a Hart Finalist
With that said, does Draisaitl’s Ted Lindsay Award snub mean that he’s also unlikely to be included when the 2024-25 finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy are announced soon? The Hart Trophy, given annually “to the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team”, is selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, who don’t always vote alike the NHLPA.
Last year, two of the three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award and the Hart Trophy were the same (Kucherov and MacKinnon) but Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs was a finalist for the latter award while Draisaitl’s Edmonton teammate Connor McDavid was a finalist for the former trophy.
The same held true in 2022-23, when McDavid and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak were finalists for both honours, but San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson was the third Ted Lindsay finalist while Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers was the third Hart Trophy finalist.
In fact, it hasn’t been since 2019-20 that the Ted Lindsay and Hart Trophy finalists have been identical. So Draisaitl could yet find himself on the list of Hart Trophy finalists, especially because MacKinnon and Makar are likely to split the vote going to Avalanche players.
Draisaitl already has both a Ted Lindsay Award and Hart Memorial Trophy in his display case, receiving both five years ago. Surely, he would like to win more, but his main concern right now is adding the one prize he doesn’t yet have: a Stanley Cup ring.
On that front, he’s ahead of all three 2024-25 Ted Lindsay Award finalists. Edmonton leads the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in its best-of-seven Stanley Cup Playoffs first round series, while Colorado trails the Dallas Stars 3-2, and the Lightning have already been eliminated from the postseason, bowing out in five games at the hands of the Panthers. The Oilers can advance to Round 2 with a victory over the Kings in Game 6 at Rogers Place tonight (May 1).
