2023 Ted Lindsay Award Finalists Announced
The NHL has announced the 2023 Ted Lindsay Award nominees. The award is given to the most outstanding player in the NHL and is voted on by the players. The Ted Lindsay Award is very similar to the Hart Trophy, with the unique feature of the award being that is that it is voted on by members of the NHLPA. Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs won the award last year and was the fourth different winner in as many years.
This year the finalists for the award are San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson, Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, and right winger David Pastrňák of the Boston Bruins.
McDavid continues to be widely regarded as the best player in the world and it is hard to argue with the numbers. The 26-year-old put up video game like numbers this year with 64 goals and 89 assists in 82 regular season games on his way to a third consecutive Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer. McDavid outpaced the entire league by 25 points this season, with the second leading scorer being teammate Leon Draisaitl. He outscored fellow Ted Lindsay nominee Pastrňák by 40 points.
Pastrňák has a career year putting up 61 goals and 52 assists in 82 games as he led the Boston Bruins to a historical President’s Trophy winning regular season. The soon to be 27-year-old put up an incredible 43 even strength goals and 76 even strength points. Pastrňák nearly lapped his own team in scoring as he outscored the second leading Bruins scorer Brad Marchand by 46 points. Maybe the most impressive feat of all for Pastrňák was that he put up this incredible season in a contract year. Somehow the winger was able to keep out the noise and put-up terrific numbers before signing an eight year $90MM contract extension on March 2nd .
Speaking of historical seasons, defenseman Erik Karlsson eclipsed the 100 points mark this season finishing the year with 25 goals and 76 assists in 82 games. The smooth skating Swede was the first defenseman to top 100 points in 31 years. Even more impressive than that was the fact that Karlsson did it playing on a bad Sharks team while also dealing with his name being in trade talks all season. Karlsson topped his career high point total by 19, and quieted a lot of his harshest critics in what was an incredible offensive display.
It’ll be interesting to see who comes away with the Ted Lindsay award come June when the ceremony will be held in Nashville. McDavid is likely the favorite to pick up the award, however I wouldn’t discount a 100-point defenseman in this era as Karlsson is just the sixth defenseman ever to accomplish the feat.
Evening Notes: Voit, Hildeby, Teravainen
The Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to stave off elimination this evening against the Florida Panthers. While the team on the ice is trying to keep their season alive, management was busy today making a couple of small moves. The Toronto Marlies announced that the Maple Leafs have assigned forward prospect Ty Voit to them via the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. Voit finished second in OHL scoring this year with 105 points in 67 games and just wrapped his OHL season this past Sunday when Sarnia was eliminated from the OHL playoffs by the London Knights.
Voit was drafted by the Leafs in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL entry draft and has seen his stock rise in the past two seasons. He finished eighth in OHL scoring in 2021-22 with 80 points in 67 games and followed it up with 24 goals and 81 assists this year. It’ll be interesting to see how the Pittsburgh native adjusts to professional hockey as he is undersized at 5’9” tall and 150 pounds.
In other notes this evening:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs announced another move earlier today calling up Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Marlies to serve as the team’s playoff emergency backup goaltender tonight behind Joseph Woll and Matt Murray. The 21-year-old spent almost all the 2022-23 season in the Swedish Hockey League with Farjestads BK Karlstad. He dressed in just two regular season games for the Marlies posting an 0-1-0 record with 5.28 goals against average and a .849 save percentage.
- Carolina Hurricanes team reporter Walt Ruff reported today that head coach Rod Brind’Amour ruled out any possibility that forward Teuvo Teravainen could return in their second round series against the New Jersey Devils. Teravainen suffered an injury to his hand after taking a slash in a game against the New York Islanders, he had surgery back in mid-April and has been rehabbing the injury ever since. He skated today with the club but is “a long way away,” according to Brind’Amour. Teravainen put up 12 goals and 25 assists this season in 68 games this season and would provide a good depth scoring option for Carolina if the Canes advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Seattle Kraken Sign Goaltender Niklas Kokko To ELC
The Seattle Kraken have announced that they have signed goaltender Niklas Kokko to a three year entry-level contract. Kokko was on the roster of Finland’s 2023 IIHF World Junior team but did not see any game action.
The 19-year-old spent the bulk of this past season with Hermes of the Mestis league where he put up fairly pedestrian numbers. Kokko had a 4-6-4 record with a .901 save percentage and a 2.95 goals-against average. Although Kokko didn’t see any game action in the recent World Juniors tournament he did backstop Finland’s U18 squad to a bronze medal at the 2022 U18 IIHF World Juniors.
Kokko was Seattle’s second round pick in the 2022 NHL entry draft and has good size for a young goaltender standing 6’3” tall and weighing around 185 pounds. He will likely fill out a bit more as he gets older, which should help him improve on his numbers. Given what Seattle is doing they must be happy with his development thus far.
It will be interesting to see where Kokko fits into Seattle’s plans. He is a long way from the NHL, but Seattle will be looking to develop him over the next few years to likely be the heir apparent to Philipp Grubauer. Grubauer is signed for another four seasons while Chris Driedger is signed for just one more. The Kraken still have Joey Daccord in the AHL but may let him walk when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. The only other goaltender of note in the Kraken system is Ales Stezka. He continues to play in Czechia and at the age of 26 it appears that he will likely not be an NHL option for Seattle. With Grubauer signed long term it appears as though Kokko will have ample time to develop in Seattle’s system and could have a golden opportunity in the very near future.
Afternoon Notes: Bruins, Samsonov, Sprong
Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub is reporting that Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is hinting that the Bruins will go into a re-tool this offseason. What that will be remains to be seen but the long-time GM was quoted as saying, “roster changes are likely coming.” Sweeney continually referenced Boston’s dire salary cap situation as well as integrating younger players into the lineup. Sweeney’s words are no surprise given that Boston has less than $5MM in cap space entering the offseason and have just seven of their current forwards signed to contracts for next year. Boston will also need to work out a new contract for backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman who will be a restricted free agent this summer.
On top of needing to work out a deal with Swayman, Boston has many other key free agents who will likely need to move on given the Bruins lack of cap space. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí are both unrestricted free agents who played on low cap hits last season and hit bonus clauses that will cause Boston to carry bonus overages of $4.5MM into 2023-24. Trade deadline acquisitions Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway are also all unrestricted free agents this summer and are likely to seek employment elsewhere. Given everything going on in Boston they will have a very different looking team than the one that lost in the first round to the Florida Panthers.
In other notes from around the NHL:
NHL Insider Chris Johnston tweeted today from Toronto Maple Leafs practice that Ilya Samsonov was not at Toronto practice and that goalie coach Curtis Sanford was working with Joseph Woll and Matt Murray. The Leafs have yet to offer an update on their netminders status for game 4. Samsonov is expected to have an MRI and some additional tests prior to the team offering an update on their starter for the elimination game on Wednesday. Woll would be the likely starter for Toronto should Samsonov be unable to play. The 26-year-old Samsonov was injured in a collision with teammate Luke Schenn in game 3 and was unable to return to action.
The Seattle Kraken have announced that forward Daniel Sprong has been ruled out of game 4 against the Dallas Stars. The 26-year-old is dealing with an upper body injury and won’t dress tonight as they Kraken look to take a 3-1 stranglehold on their second round series. Sprong has just two points in 10 games in these playoffs and is currently mired in a six-game pointless streak. He played just 6:36 in Seattle’s 7-2 game 3 victory and has been largely relegated to fourth line minutes during his recent stretch of poor play.
Ilya Samsonov To Have MRI And Other Tests
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a massive hole as they trail the Florida Panthers 3-0 in their best of seven Eastern Conference semi-final series. Now they may have to deal with an elimination game without goaltender Ilya Samsonov. David Alter of The Hockey News is reporting that Samsonov is feeling better today but will be going for an MRI and additional testing to gain a better understanding on what is happening with the 26-year-old. His status for game four is unknown currently.
Samsonov left game three early after he was run over by teammate Luke Schenn on an odd man rush. The former first round pick lay on the ice after the incident and was checked by Maple Leafs training staff. He was eventually ruled out of the game and did not return. Joseph Woll came in to relieve Samsonov and made 18 saves before allowing the overtime winning goal to Sam Reinhart.
Samsonov has been terrific this season for Toronto having posted a .919 save percentage to go along with a 27-10-5 record. Should he miss game four the Maple Leafs would likely go back to rookie Woll who filled in admirably for Samsonov. Woll has been great for Toronto in limited action this year having posted a 6-1 record with a .932 save percentage and 2.16 goals against average.
One thing to potentially keep an eye on could be current third string goaltender Matt Murray. The Thunder Bay native was cleared to return prior to the series and has been practicing with the club. Murray hasn’t played since he suffered a concussion in early April and while it is unlikely he would be thrown into the net to start an elimination game, he would become the backup should Samsonov miss any time.
Tomáš Tatar Fined For High Sticking Sebastian Aho
New Jersey Devils forward Tomáš Tatar has been fined $5K for his high stick infraction on Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho. NHL Player Safety tweeted the news on their official Twitter page early on Monday morning. The fine was the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
The high-sticking incident occurred in the first period of the Devils’ 8-4 Game 3 victory and resulted in a two-minute minor penalty for the 32-year-old. The play looked ugly but, thankfully, didn’t result in any serious injuries. Tatar swung his stick wildly at the back of Aho’s head after taking a cross-check in the lower back from the Finnish forward. Aho’s cross-check swung Tatar around and as the Devils’ forward was spinning, he hit Aho in the back of the head with his stick. Aho was okay and took two minor penalties of his own later in the game. The stick swing drew a crowd of Hurricanes players who were not happy with the Slovak player.
Tatar is not known for his aggressiveness, having only recorded over 30 PIM four times in his 12-year NHL career. It appears he was frustrated by a very routine cross-check from Aho and had it boil over. Tatar has been a non-factor in the series thus far, going pointless in three games with a -5 against the Devils. He has struggled throughout this year’s playoffs with just a single goal in ten games, this comes on the heels of a solid season that saw him put up 48 points in 82 games.
The Hurricanes lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 going Tuesday night in New Jersey. The Devils looked lifeless in the first two games but exploded yesterday for eight goals. It will be interesting to see if they can turn the series into a best-of-three heading back to Raleigh.
Matthew Knies Will Not Return To Game Two
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies will not return to game two after suffering what appears to be an injury in the first period. The Maple Leafs public relations tweeted the news midway through the first intermission of tonight’s game. Knies appeared to hit the back of his head hard on the ice after he and Sam Bennett got tied up behind the Florida Panthers net. Bennett forcefully wrestled Knies down to the ice and skated away while Knies was slow to exit the Panthers zone before returning to the Maple Leafs bench and heading down the runway.
Although Knies played in just three regular season games for Toronto he has been a central piece of their playoff push thus far with four points in six games coming into this evening. Knies was one of the big reasons the Leafs came to life in game one after falling behind to the Panthers as his first career NHL goal ignited the home crowd and started the Leafs push in a failed attempt at a comeback.
Knies suffered an upper body injury earlier this season when he was still playing NCAA hockey but didn’t miss game action and eventually signed with the Leafs before playing three regular season games. Should Knies be out long term it could deal a huge blow to the Maple Leafs who have given Knies a lot of responsibility very early in his career. The 20-year-old played almost 15 minutes in game one and was one of the few Maple Leafs who were able to match the Panthers level of physicality.
Timo Meier Will Not Play In Game One
New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier will not play in game one against the Carolina Hurricanes. The news was tweeted out by NHL.com writer Tom Gulitti just moments ago. Meier did not dress for the warm-up and will be replaced in the lineup by one of Jesper Boqvist or Curtis Lazar.
Meier famously took a high hit from New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba in game seven of their first round series. He stayed down after the hit and needed medical attention from the Devils staff before he was able to skate off the ice under his own power. Meier later returned for the end of the game and had a cordial exchange with Trouba in the handshake line.
Meier was acquired by the Devils at the NHL trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks and took some time to adjust to the new team and system. He produced a respectable 14 points in 21 games with New Jersey to finish out the regular season but failed to produce a single point in the seven-game series with the Rangers.
The Devils haven’t made much information available on Meier’s condition and had original deemed him to be a game time decision earlier today. With Meier now scratched for game one it will be interesting to see what more is revealed prior to game two on Friday.
Nashville Predators Extend Affiliation Agreement With Milwaukee Admirals
The Nashville Predators announced this afternoon that they have extended their affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals through the 2024-25 season. President of Hockey Operations David Poile spoke with the media today after the club had extended their pact with the only AHL affiliate they have ever known. The Admirals have been Nashville’s affiliate since the Predators inaugural season in 1998-99
Milwaukee has been competitive through most of their run with Nashville and have made the playoffs in five of the past six seasons. They’ve reached the Calder Cup final twice during the affiliation and even won the league title in 2004. While the club has been able to cultivate a winning culture, they’ve also been able to develop an incredible number of players for the Predators. Over 200 players have dressed in games for both the Admirals and Predators including 15 players just last year.
On top of developing on ice talent, Milwaukee has produced a lot of behind the bench talent as well. The Admirals have seen eight of their head coaches or assistant coaches move onto NHL jobs after their time in Milwaukee.
The Admirals might have an infusion of young talent in the upcoming couple of years as the Predators have 13 draft picks in the upcoming NHL entry draft including seven picks in the first three rounds. Nashville also holds three second round picks in 2024 and could be on the verge of re-tooling after making a flurry of trades at this year’s trade deadline including the lopsided deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins where they shipped off Mikael Granlund for a second round pick.
Golden Knights Notes: Stone, Theodore, McNabb
The Vegas Golden Knights appear to finally be getting healthy at exactly the right time as they begin their second round best of seven series against the Edmonton Oilers. Vegas announced today that forward Mark Stone would be in the lineup tonight after leaving practice yesterday in discomfort. Vegas fans held their collective breath for Stone, especially considering the Golden Knights captain had only returned to the Vegas lineup in game one of their first round series against the Winnipeg Jets.
Stone showed no ill effects of his injury as he was dominant against the Jets putting up three goals and eight points in just five games. He appeared to have returned to form in that series which was a pleasant surprise given the injuries he has dealt with over the past couple of seasons. Stone missed almost half of the regular season this year playing just 43 games. Despite missing 39 games Stone was still able to post 17 goals and 21 assists this season.
In other Vegas Golden Knights news:
- It appears defenseman Shea Theodore will be returning to the Vegas lineup. TSN is reporting that head coach Butch Cassidy said Theodore would be in the lineup for game one against the Oilers. The Langley native was sidelined with in illness for game five of the Golden Knights series against Winnipeg but appears to have gotten over whatever was ailing him. Theodore was strong in four games of the first round series as he posted three assists and six shots on goal.
- Brayden McNabb also appears to be drawing back into the Vegas lineup. McNabb also did not dress in the Golden Knights series clinching game five victory against Winnipeg as he was sidelined with an upper body injury. TSN is reporting that Cassidy included McNabb as one of the players who would be back in the lineup tonight for Vegas. McNabb was pointless in the first four games of the playoffs and missed just the one game. He dressed in all 82 regular season games this year putting up a single goal while adding 16 assists.