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NHL awards: Kings captain Anze Kopitar wins Lady Byng Trophy

June 27, 2023

Anze Kopitar, the Kings’ captain and longest-tenured player, won the NHL’s Lady Byng Trophy on Monday, awarded to the most sportsmanlike and gentlemanly player who combined his exemplary conduct with excellent performance as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.

He previously won the award following the 2015-16 season, when he also earned the first of his two Frank J. Selke trophies, awarded to the NHL’s most outstanding defensive forward. Kopitar missed the cut as a finalist for that award this year, which was won handily by the Boston Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron for a record sixth time.

Kopitar is the fourth King to garner the Lady Byng and joined Wayne Gretzky as the franchise’s only multiple-time honoree. He is the first two-time winner since then-Tampa Bay Lightning winger Martin St. Louis captured consecutive trophies in 2010 and 2011.

Entering the final season of his contract, Kopitar, 35, has shown few signs of falling off at an age when most players generally settle into a reduced role. Last season he led the Kings in scoring, something he’s done in all but two seasons during his career, and was their top faceoff option as well. Combined with his physical strength, defensive acumen and calming presence, Kopitar was on the ice in virtually every key situation. Nevertheless, he accumulated just four penalty minutes, a practically impeccable total for a player who logs first-line minutes.

On a day when Kopitar added to his burgeoning trophy case, the focus was largely on trade rumors about the Kings and another center, Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jets. Though no deal was final, the crescendo of rumors and speculation grew louder ahead of the opening of free agency later this week.

Ever magnanimous, Kopitar first mentioned the other finalists, Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point and the New Jersey Devils’ Nico Hischier.

“First and foremost, congratulations to Jack and Brayden for being nominated. It was very well-deserved and I’m sure you guys will win a bunch of these in the future,” Kopitar said during his acceptance speech.

“Thank you to (Kings owners) Mr. and Mrs. Anschutz, their commitment to our team is astronomical and they always try to make us better. The organization, from top to bottom, starting with (team president) Luc (Robitaille) and (General Manager) Rob (Blake), and the coaches, the staff that put in the work every day. This also cannot happen without my teammates, I love you guys, and thank you for all of your support.”

OTHER AWARDS

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid won his third Hart Trophy as NHL MVP on Monday night in Nashville, Tenn., falling one vote short of unanimous selection after the highest-scoring season by a player in more than a quarter-century.

McDavid also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL’s most outstanding player as voted by his peers. The Oilers’ captain led the league with 64 goals, 89 assists and 153 points. That’s the most points since Mario Lemieux had 161 in 1995-96.

McDavid previously won the Hart in 2017 and 2021 and the Lindsay in 2017, 2018 and 2021. Universally recognized as the best hockey player in the world, McDavid is still searching for his first Stanley Cup title after Edmonton lost in the second round of the playoffs to eventual champion Vegas.

“Certainly it’s not lost on me what these trophies mean in the grand scheme of our game,” McDavid said. “To do it a number of times, it means a lot to me. Obviously, it’s not the motivating factor, but it’s special still.”

One voter out of 196 picked Boston’s David Pastrnak as MVP. The Bruins had a big night at the league’s awards ceremony after setting the record for the most wins and points in a regular season, records made possible in part by rule changes.

This year was a rare instance in which most of the major award winners were obvious before the end of the regular season.

San Jose’s Erik Karlsson also became a three-time award winner, receiving the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman – his first such honor since 2015. Karlsson at age 32 was the first defenseman to surpass 100 points in a season since Brian Leetch in 1992.

“I still feel like I had a fantastic year and I felt good the whole way, but I feel like there’s more,” said Karlsson, who has expressed interest in being moved to a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. “That’s what makes me excited moving forward.”

The Bruins had three award winners: goaltender Linus Ullmark, Bergeron and Coach Jim Montgomery.

The Vezina Trophy as top goalie and Jack Adams Award as coach of the year were each a first for Ullmark and Montgomery. Ullmark led the league with a 1.89 goals-against average and .938 save percentage and was tied for the most wins with 40 – getting them in just 48 starts.

“You want to be the best at your position or even the best player, which is very tough when you have guys like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby playing against you, that’s a tough one,” Ullmark said. “Still, you have that goal.”

Montgomery coached Boston to 65 wins in his first season with the team, and he thanked those who supported him through a low point in his career.

“Three and a half years ago, the Dallas Stars terminated my contract because of my struggles with alcohol, and I had to change my actions and behaviors,” Montgomery said. “For those who struggle out there, you can change, you can affect change within yourself, and it doesn’t happen alone. You need a team.”

At age 37, Selke winner Bergeron led the league in faceoff wins and percentage and was only on the ice for 27 goals against at even strength in 78 games.

Seattle’s Matty Beniers won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. Beniers led all rookies with 57 points and was tied for the lead among them in goals with 24, helping the Kraken make the playoffs in their second year of existence.

“I think I was pretty fortunate this year production-wise,” Beniers said. “Every year is not going to be like that, I know that, but it was definitely a good start. I was obviously really happy and thankful for the year.”

Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos won the Mark Messier Leadership Award, and Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang – who had a stroke on Nov. 28 but returned to play 12 days later – won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association vote for the Hart, Norris, Selke, Calder, Masterson and Lady Byng. NHL GMs determine the Vezina, while members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association pick the Jack Adams.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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