UPDATED WITH QUOTES
Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon on Tuesday was named one of three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given “to the most outstanding player in the NHL,… in voting by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.
The other finalists are Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl and the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin.
The winner will be announced during the conference finals at date to be determined.
"This award is a one-year thing, but I think a body of work is a little bit required to get the respect of your peers, and (Panarin and Draisaitl) have been so dominant for so long," MacKinnon said. "Obviously it's a tough league and the way these guys produce every year and every night is very special. For either one of these guys to win the award would be very deserving."
MacKinnon was fifth in the league in scoring with 93 points (35 goals, 58 assists) in 69 games. He missed the regular-season finale against the Rangers on March 11 because of a lower-body injury.
MacKinnon also was a finalist for the award in 2017-18; Edmonton’s Connor McDavid won that year.
The finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award are in!
— NHL (@NHL) July 14, 2020
This year it's Leon Draisaitl, Nathan Mackinnon (@Mackinnon9) and @artemiypanarin who are up for most outstanding player, as voted by the @NHLPA.
MORE: https://t.co/XE9sKjmwTr pic.twitter.com/Ep8yEKAGwd
“For me, just watching him every day, I think he’s very deserving of the Ted Lindsay Award,… coach Jared Bednar said. “You look at him finishing 40-plus points ahead of our second-leading scorer (93 points to 50 for rookie defenseman Cale Makar), his pace of scoring didn’t change no matter who we played him with. I mean, we played him with everyone from (Matt) Calvert to (Matt) Nieto to (Gabriel Landeskog) to Mikko (Rantanen) and almost everyone in-between, and he finds a way to produce and help us win hockey games.
“The fact that our team is fighting for No. 1 in the West with some of the injuries and ups and downs we had during the season is because of guys like Mack who kind of elevated their game at the right times for us and were impact players for us.
“If I’m voting, I’m voting him for the Ted Lindsay (Award) and for the Hart (Trophy). I think he’ll get a lot of votes for that and hopefully he’s able to be in on both those awards and win both those awards.
"We're spoiled, we see him every day, but obviously the impact that he has for our team, we consider him an MVP candidate and the lots of people around the league are taking notice of that.…
MacKinnon had 29 multi-point games with a point in 53 of 69 games. The Avalanche went 42-20-8 for a .657 points percentage to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. They’ll play St. Louis, Dallas and Vegas in a round-robin games to determine the top four seeds in the Western Conference.
“We’ve been through some tough years, we’ve had some tough seasons,… MacKinnon said. “This is exciting. It’s my seventh year and it’s the first one where I really feel like we have a chance to win. It doesn’t come around very often (and) we definitely don’t want to take this for granted.
“Winning this year (wouldn’t be) like winning every other year, but we feel like the importance will be the same and we’re excited for the challenge. There are so many amazing teams, it’s going to be very challenging. We’re confident that we can get it done.… MacKinnon would be the second player in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to win the award. Joe Sakic, now Colorado’s general manager, won in 2000-01.
2019-20 Ted Lindsay Award finalist: Nathan MacKinnon@Mackinnon9 led the @Avalanche in scoring with 35-58—93 this season, owning a 43-point advantage over his next-closest teammate. https://t.co/ujoPgn0RM0 #NHLAwards #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/fUnwRbzyIT
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) July 14, 2020
Draisaitl led the league with 110 points (43 goals, 67 assists) in 71 games. The Oilers, the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, will play 12th-seeded Chicago in a qualifying round, with the winner moving on to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Panarin, in his first season with the Rangers, had 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists) in 69 games to tie Boston’s David Pastrnak for third in the league in scoring. New York, the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference, will play sixth-seeded Carolina in a qualifying round.
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The NHL revealed its exhibition schedule late Tuesday. The Avalanche will play Minnesota at 12:30 p.m. MT on Wednesday, July 29, in Edmonton.