While the season for the Tampa Bay Lightning came to a close in disappointing fashion with another opening round loss to the Florida Panthers, one member of the team is getting more confirmation of his on-ice greatness.
Forward Nikita Kucherov, one of the most gifted and offensively dynamic players in the NHL today, was named the recipient of the Ted Lindsay Award for the second time in his career after he led the NHL in points, assists, primary assists, and power-play points.
Via NHLPA.com, the Ted Lindsay Award is “the only NHL award voted on by the players themselves, carrying on the tradition established in 1970-71 with the Lester B. Pearson Award. NHLPA members annually vote on the player they deem to be the most outstanding in the NHL regular season. The award was reintroduced in 2009-10 as the namesake of the late Ted Lindsay to honor his legacy as a Hockey Hall of Fame forward known for skill, tenacity, and leadership, along with his role in establishing the original Players’ Association.”
Kucherov scored 37 goals with 84 assists for 121 points, along with an impressive +22 rating.
Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has established himself as one of the NHL’s best players
A two-time Stanley Cup winner, Kucherov has firmly established himself as one of the best players in the NHL. Not only has he won the Stanley Cup twice, but he has also won the Art Ross Trophy three times, the Hart Trophy once, and has now put together three consecutive seasons of reaching at least 113 points.
His greatness isn’t lost on the Lightning who get to watch him up close every day, via The Tampa Bay Times.
“What Nikita Kucherov does in the NHL, he makes it look really easy,” GM Julien BriseBois said after the season. “The level of difficulty is incredibly high. That’s why no one else plays like him. That’s why no one else produces like he does.”
“You still get in awe sometimes just watching what he does on the ice and the plays he makes and the stuff he sees,” said first-year teammate Jake Guentzel. “It was unbelievable for me just to be able to have communication with him, and he helped me in a lot of ways this year that I never thought of.”
Kucherov has scored 357 goals with 637 assists in 803 career games and helped the Lightning to victory in the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.
