NHL awards 2024: Finalists announced for Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship

05/05/2024

The voting is in and the three finalists for each NHL regular season award are starting to be announced.

The announcements began Monday with the Vezina Trophy finalists for top goaltender and continued Saturday with the Lady Byng Trophy for “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

But the most interesting announcement will be Tuesday for the Hart Trophy as MVP to his team.

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Four or more players could rightfully win the award, with NHL leading scorer Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning), Colorado Avalanche franchise record setter Nathan MacKinnon, three-time Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (league-best 69 goals) and others in the mix. Kucherov and McDavid became just the fourth and fifth players in NHL history to record 100 assists in a season.

nhl awards 2024: finalists announced for lady byng trophy for sportsmanship

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is a three-time Lady Byng Trophy finalist and won the award in 2020-21.

The date and place for the NHL awards show have yet to be announced.

Below are the finalists for each award, plus the schedule for the announcements:

Who are the finalists for the Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship)?

Finalists (in alphabetical order): Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin

Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association

Matthews: He led the league with 69 goals and finished sixth with 107 points while recording only 20 penalty minutes, the fewest among the NHL’s top 15 scorers. He’s a three-time finalist.

Pettersson: He had his third consecutive 30-goal season while helping lead the Canucks to the Pacific Division title. He had only 12 penalty minutes. He’s a first-time finalist.

Slavin: He played nearly 1,700 minutes and recorded 37 points while being assessed only eight penalty minutes. He won the award in 2020-21 and finished second in voting the following year.

Who are the finalists for the Jack Adams Award (coach)?

Finalists (in alphabetical order): Winnipeg Jets’ Rick Bowness, Nashville Predators’ Andrew Brunette and Vancouver Canucks’ Rick Tocchet

Who votes: NHL Broadcasters’ Association

Bowness: The second-year Jets coach led Winnipeg to a franchise-record-tying 52 wins and franchise-best 25 road wins. The Jets allowed the fewest goals in the league while recording two eight-game winning streaks. The 14-year veteran coach is a first-time finalist.

Brunette: The first-year Predators coach led Nashville back to the playoffs after an eight-season streak ended in 2022-23. The team had a franchise-record 18-game point streak. He was a runner-up for the award with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22.

Tocchet: In his first full season as Canucks coach, he led Vancouver back to the playoffs and to the Pacific Division title with 50 wins and 109 points. The Canucks jumped from 22nd to sixth in points. Tocchet is a first-time finalist.

Who are the finalists for the Masterton Trophy (perseverance)?

Finalists (in alphabetical order): Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, Arizona Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram and Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington.

Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association. Each chapter nominates a player then the entire membership votes on the nominees.

Andersen: He missed 49 games with a blood-clotting issue. After returning in March, he went 9-1-0 with a 1.30 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and three shutouts to help the Hurricanes finish third in the NHL overall standings.

Ingram: He nearly retired because of undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and lingering depression before he sought help through the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program in 2021. He was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes in 2022 and this season had 23 wins and tied for the league lead with six shutouts.

Kylington: He returned to the Flames in late January after missing more than a year and a half because of mental-health reasons. He skated in 33 games and had eight points while averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time a game.

Who are the finalists for the Norris Trophy (defenseman)?

Finalists (in alphabetical order): Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar.

Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association

Hughes: He led all defensemen with 75 assists and 92 points – breaking his franchise records for a defenseman – as the Canucks won their first playoff berth since 2019‑20 and first division title since 2012-13. The first-time finalist was named Canucks captain this season. His younger brother Luke is a finalist for rookie of the year.

Josi: He led defensemen in goals (23), power-play goals (nine) and shots on goal (268) and finished third with 85 points. His goals were the most in NHL history by a defenseman 33 and older. He had 24 points during the Predators’ 18-game point streak that pushed Nashville into a playoff spot. Josi won the award in 2019-20 and finished second in 2021-22.

Makar: He had 21 goals, 69 assists and 90 points to top defensemen with 1.17 points per game – the third-highest average by a defenseman over the past 30 seasons (minimum: 50 games). Makar set single-season franchise records for assists and points by a defenseman and led NHL defensemen in power-play points (39). He’s a finalist for the fourth time in his five seasons and won in 2021-22.

Who are the finalists for the Calder Trophy (rookie)?

Finalists (in alphabetical order): Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard, Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes.

Who votes: Professional Hockey Writers Association

Bedard: He led or tied for first among rookies in goals (22), assists (39) and points (61) despite missing 14 games with a broken jaw. He also led rookies in shots on goal (206) and takeaways (47). He was first on the Blackhawks in assists and points and tied for first in goals. He had a five-point game on March 12 against Anaheim and scored a lacrosse-style “Michigan” goal on Dec. 23 against St. Louis.

Faber: He had eight goals, 39 assists and 47 points. He tied for first among rookie in assists and led rookies in average ice time (24:58) and blocked shots (150). He broke the Wild’s previous record for points by a rookie defenseman (Filip Kuba, 30 in 2000-01).

Hughes: He finished with nine goals, 38 assists and 47 points. He led all rookies with 21 power-play assists and 25 power-play points.

Who are the finalists for the Vezina Trophy (goaltender)?

Finalists (in alphabetical order): Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Vancouver Canucks’ Thatcher Demko and Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck.

Who votes: General managers

Bobrovsky (36-17-4, 2.37 goals-against average, .915 save percentage, six shutouts): He helped the Panthers finish with 110 points, second-most in franchise history. He had a 14-1-1 stretch from Dec. 23 to Feb. 20 as Florida rose from third place to first. Bobrovsky won the award in 2013 and 2017 while with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Demko (35-14-2, 2.45 goals-against average, .918 save percentage, five shutouts): He set career bests in wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts in just 51 starts as the Canucks won their first division title since 2012-13. He went 18-2-1 from Dec. 8 – Feb. 15. The first-time finalist missed five weeks down the stretch with a knee injury.

Hellebuyck (37-19-4, 2.39 goals-against average, .921 save percentage, five shutouts): He won the Jennings Trophy as the goaltender on the team allowing the fewest regular-season goals. Hellebuyck yielded three or fewer goals in 50 of his 60 appearances, including a pair of 10-game streaks with two or fewer goals against. He won the award in 2020 and was a finalist two other times, including last season.