Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov has been awarded the Ted Lindsay Award for the second time in his NHL career. The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) announced on June 4, 2025, that Kucherov received the most votes from his peers, recognizing him as the "most outstanding player in the NHL."
This marks Kucherov's second time receiving the Ted Lindsay Award, his first coming in the 2018-19 season. He was also a finalist for the award last season. The Ted Lindsay Award is unique because it is the only NHL award voted on by the players themselves. NHLPA members annually vote on the player they deem to be the most outstanding in the NHL regular season.
Kucherov had a remarkable 2024-25 season, leading the league with 121 points (37 goals and 84 assists) in 78 games. This performance also earned him his third Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the NHL's leading scorer. In addition to his league-leading point total, Kucherov also topped the NHL in power-play points with 46 (eight goals, 38 assists) and tied for third in game-winning goals with nine. He maintained a plus-22 rating and recorded at least one point in 65 games. His outstanding performance helped the Lightning secure second place in the Atlantic Division with a 47-27-8 record. The Lightning also had the most productive offense in the league, scoring 292 goals, six more than the second-place Washington Capitals.
Adding to his list of accomplishments this season, Kucherov tallied a league-leading 84 assists, making him only the fourth player in NHL history to record three consecutive 80-assist seasons. He also ranked second in multi-point games with 33. Among right-wingers, he ranked third in average ice time, playing an average of 21:11 per game.
His teammates initially planned to surprise Kucherov with the trophy after his daily skate at the team's practice facility in Brandon, Florida. However, Kucherov threw a wrench in the plan when he decided not to skate that day. To stall, general manager Julien BriseBois called captain Victor Hedman into his office and instructed him to tell Kucherov that the team would either fly him to Los Angeles for the NHL Awards or fly the trophy to Tampa. A confused Kucherov asked BriseBois, "What trophy?" prompting a quick save from the GM, who replied, "If you win one." Eventually, Kucherov walked into the next room, where his teammates were waiting to surprise him with the Ted Lindsay Award, which was presented by Hedman.
Kucherov expressed his gratitude to his teammates, acknowledging how much the award meant to him.
