McDavid, Kucherov, and Celebrini Named 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award Finalists
The NHL Players' Association made it official on April 28, 2026: Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, and Macklin Celebrini are the three finalists for the 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award, the most player-driven honor in professional hockey. The NHLPA's announcement immediately set the hockey world buzzing — not just because of the star power involved, but because of what's at stake historically. If McDavid wins a fifth time, he ties Wayne Gretzky's all-time record. The winner will be announced in June.
This is also the award's 55th presentation, and the finalist list reflects everything compelling about the 2025-26 NHL season: a generational superstar chasing immortality, a reigning champion proving he's no fluke, and a teenager who rewrote his franchise's record books in just his second professional season.
What Is the Ted Lindsay Award — and Why Does It Matter More Than the Hart Trophy?
The Ted Lindsay Award occupies a unique place in hockey's award landscape. While the Hart Trophy is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association — journalists and media — the Ted Lindsay Award is the only NHL award voted on exclusively by the players themselves. That distinction matters enormously. Players see everything: the shifts at 3-2 in the third period, the battles along the boards, the leadership in the locker room. When they choose the most outstanding player, they're drawing on knowledge no writer can fully access.
The award was first presented in the 1970-71 season as the Lester B. Pearson Award, named after the Canadian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. In 2010, the NHLPA renamed it in honor of Ted Lindsay, the Hall of Fame left wing who was one of the founding figures of the players' union in the late 1950s. Lindsay's union efforts ultimately cost him — he was traded from Detroit to Chicago in what was widely seen as retaliation — but his legacy shaped the labor landscape that modern players benefit from. The award bearing his name is, in a sense, the players honoring one of their own who fought for them.
The Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award have been won by the same player in 38 of the award's 55 seasons, which tells you how often the players and the media align. But the gaps are meaningful — and this year's finalist list already hints at a possible divergence. Nathan MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 goals and is considered the frontrunner for the Hart Trophy, was not named a Ted Lindsay finalist. That absence is a story in itself.
Connor McDavid: Chasing Gretzky With 138 Points
McDavid's 2025-26 season needs no embellishment. He led the NHL with 138 points — 48 goals and 90 assists — in what amounts to another historically elite campaign. Over the course of the season, he put together a 20-game point streak from December 4 through January 13, posting 46 points in that span alone. That kind of sustained dominance is what separates McDavid from even the other elite players in this finalist field.
He has won the Ted Lindsay Award four times. A fifth would tie Wayne Gretzky's all-time record, which has stood since 1987. Bleacher Report frames it correctly: this isn't just an MVP race, it's a historical reckoning. The players would be voting to place McDavid alongside Gretzky in the record books — a statement about where he stands in the all-time conversation.
What makes McDavid's case so compelling to his peers is that his dominance isn't statistical abstraction. Every player who has lined up against him, who has tried to contain him on a penalty kill, or who has watched him turn a neutral-zone possession into a Grade-A chance in under three seconds — they all know exactly what they're voting on. McDavid's 138-point season came on an Edmonton team that didn't always give him the supporting cast his talent deserves, which only amplifies the argument.
Nikita Kucherov: The Reigning Winner Makes His Case Again
Kucherov won the Ted Lindsay Award last season, and he's made a compelling argument to keep it. He finished second in NHL scoring with 130 points — 44 goals and 86 assists — and led the entire league with a 1.71 points-per-game average, the highest single-season mark in the NHL since McDavid himself. The Lightning confirmed his finalist status, and the case for him is built on efficiency and impact in Tampa Bay's system.
On October 25, 2025, Kucherov recorded his 1,000th career NHL point against the Anaheim Ducks, cementing his place among the game's all-time greats. His best stretch of the 2025-26 season came between December 20 and January 12, when he posted 25 points in 10 games — a pace that would project to roughly 205 points over a full 82-game season.
The case against Kucherov is straightforward: McDavid outscored him by 8 points and plays in a harder division. The case for him is equally straightforward: points-per-game is arguably the purest measure of offensive impact, and by that metric Kucherov was the best player in the world this season. Players who have lined up against both men will have a genuine choice to make.
Macklin Celebrini: The 19-Year-Old Who Rewrote the Sharks' Record Books
If McDavid and Kucherov represent the established order, Celebrini represents something genuinely new. At 19 years old, in just his second NHL season, he posted 115 points — 45 goals and 70 assists, setting a San Jose Sharks franchise record and becoming a finalist for the league's most prestigious player-voted award. The East Bay Times notes that he would be the first Shark ever to win the Ted Lindsay Award if the vote goes his way.
Context matters here. The Sharks have been a rebuilding team — Celebrini is doing this without the benefit of elite linemates or a system optimized around his strengths. His 45 goals at age 19 place him in rarefied company historically; very few players have ever hit 40 goals before their 20th birthday. The Athletic's breakdown of the finalist field acknowledges that while Celebrini almost certainly won't win — the numbers don't quite reach McDavid or Kucherov's level — his nomination is itself a major statement about how his peers view him.
A player earning a Ted Lindsay nomination in his second NHL season, at 19, on a non-playoff team, is not a footnote. It's a signal. The players around the league are watching Celebrini and seeing someone who is going to be a defining figure in the sport for the next 15 years.
The MacKinnon Omission: What It Tells Us About the Vote
Nathan MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals this season and is widely regarded as the Hart Trophy favorite. He was not named a Ted Lindsay finalist. That gap between the two award processes is worth examining.
The most likely explanation isn't that players undervalue MacKinnon — he's widely regarded as one of the two or three best players alive. It's that the Ted Lindsay vote reflects a holistic view of "outstanding player" that the players themselves define differently than the media does. Goals are visible and celebrated, but so are the other dimensions of a player's game. McDavid's playmaking, Kucherov's efficiency, Celebrini's emergence — the players may be weighting those differently than Hart Trophy voters will.
The historical pattern supports this interpretation. When the two awards split, it's often because the players prioritize sustained excellence or impact-per-shift over raw counting stats. MacKinnon's 53 goals are extraordinary. But 138 points from McDavid and 1.71 points-per-game from Kucherov apparently resonated more strongly with his peers.
What This Means: The Historical Stakes in June
The June announcement carries weight beyond the immediate season. McDavid winning would place him alongside Gretzky as the only player to win the Ted Lindsay (or Lester B. Pearson) Award five times. That is not a small thing. Gretzky's record has stood for nearly four decades. Tying it would be the clearest single-data-point argument that McDavid belongs in the all-time conversation at the very highest level.
If Kucherov wins, it validates a back-to-back argument that only a handful of players have made in the award's history, and it reinforces his standing as the second-best player in the world during this era. If Celebrini wins — the longest shot of the three — it would be one of the most remarkable individual seasons in award history, a 19-year-old beating two established superstars on their merits.
The Ted Lindsay Award is the players' award. When they cast their votes, they're not just deciding who had the best season — they're deciding who they most respect as a player. That's a different question, and the answer in June will say something meaningful about how this generation of NHL players sees its own era.
One additional wrinkle: with the Ted Lindsay and Hart Trophy converging in 38 of 55 seasons historically, whoever wins the Ted Lindsay is also likely the Hart Trophy frontrunner — though the MacKinnon omission from the finalist list suggests this could be a split year. If McDavid wins the Ted Lindsay and MacKinnon wins the Hart, it would be one of the more interesting award divergences in recent memory, and a genuine debate about how to define "most valuable" versus "most outstanding."
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award finalists?
The three finalists are Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. The NHLPA announced the finalists on April 28, 2026. The winner will be revealed in June.
How is the Ted Lindsay Award different from the Hart Trophy?
The Ted Lindsay Award is voted on exclusively by NHL players — the men who play the game. The Hart Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, a body of journalists and media. Both awards recognize the league's most outstanding or valuable player, but the voter base is entirely different, which is why the winners occasionally differ. In 38 of the award's 55 seasons, both awards went to the same player.
How many times has Connor McDavid won the Ted Lindsay Award?
McDavid has won the Ted Lindsay Award four times. A fifth win would tie Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of five wins, the most in the award's history. Gretzky's record has stood since 1987.
Has a San Jose Shark ever won the Ted Lindsay Award?
No. Macklin Celebrini would be the first San Jose Shark to win the Ted Lindsay Award if he takes the 2025-26 honor. Celebrini set a franchise record this season with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) at just 19 years old, in his second NHL season.
When was the Ted Lindsay Award renamed from the Lester B. Pearson Award?
The award was renamed in 2010. It was originally established as the Lester B. Pearson Award in the 1970-71 season. The NHLPA renamed it after Ted Lindsay, one of the founding figures of the players' union, to honor his legacy of fighting for players' rights — a fight that cost him professionally but shaped the modern NHL.
The Bottom Line
The 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award finalist announcement is one of those moments where the immediate news — three great players, one award — sits on top of something larger. McDavid's chase of Gretzky's record gives the vote genuine historical gravity. Kucherov's back-to-back candidacy is a reminder that Tampa Bay still has one of the most dangerous offensive players in the sport. And Celebrini's nomination, at 19, signals the arrival of a player who will be part of this conversation for a long time.
When the players cast their votes, they'll be weighing 138 points against 1.71 points-per-game against 115 points from a teenager on a rebuilding team. There's no objectively correct answer. That's what makes the June announcement worth watching — not just as a trophy presentation, but as a statement from the people who know this game best about who they believe is its most outstanding player.
