Monday kicked off the official announcements of all major NHL awards for the 2025-26 season. The first to be announced was the Ted Lindsay Award. This award is essentially the NHL MVP as voted by the players themselves.
The three finalists were Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks, Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award Finalists... Who should win it? 🤔🏆 pic.twitter.com/zTlahu2ssh
— BarDown (@BarDown) April 28, 2026
All three were fine choices. But the evident surprise is the 19-year-old Celebrini getting the nod over established superstars like Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon had himself one heck of a year. He locked up the Rocket Richard Trophy by leading the league with 53 goals. He was also third in the league in scoring with 127 points.
If those numbers aren’t enough to earn a nomination, well, then Lord only knows what numbers are needed.
It’s easy to see McDavid and Kucherov getting nominations. They are all-world players with an enviable pedigree and resume. So, we won’t even question them.
But as far as Celebrini getting more votes than MacKinnon, that could be due to the novelty factor. After all, it’s not common to see a 19-year-old, second-year player finish fourth in the league in scoring.
Plus, when considering that Celebrini led his team in scoring by a country mile, it’s plain to see just how impressive his overall performance was this season.
Make no mistake, Celebrini looks like the sort of talent that’s here to stay. He looks like he’ll be a star for the next decade. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that MacKinnon is the best player in the NHL right now.
No offense to Mr. McDavid. But I think the results speak for themselves. The Avalanche swept the Kings in the first round. They were the wire-to-wire Presidents’ Trophy winners with MacKinnon leading the way.
The Oilers, meanwhile, could see their season end on Tuesday night. Most importantly, McDavid and the Oilers struggled to get going this season. Sure, he ended up catching fire after a slow start. But his team had a hard time finding momentum.
Now, an upstart team like the Anaheim Ducks has managed to keep McDavid off the scoresheet. Kucherov is hanging on against Montreal, while Celebrini got an early start to his summer.
That’s why it’s mind-boggling to see MacKinnon get a major snub. But that’s okay. Winning the Stanley Cup will trump any individual award any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
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