Simon Nemec vs. David Jiricek: Who's the Better Prospect? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTg5NDUzNDE3OTc2OTY0NzA1/ted-lindsay.jpg] Another day; another crop of NHL award finalists. The NHL unveiled its three candidates for the 2022 Ted Lindsay Award on Friday morning, with Nashville's Roman Josi, Edmonton's Connor McDavid, and Toronto's Auston Matthews all in the running to take home the honor. While the Hart Trophy is awarded to the player who is deemed to be most valuable to his team as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the Lindsay is meant to recognize the league's most outstanding player, with the winner voted on by members of the NHL Player's Association, instead. All three finalists this year could certainly make a case for themselves to win it. Josi put together the best offensive campaign from a defenseman in the salary cap era to this point, racking up a truly astounding 96 points in 80 games this season, including 73 assists, all while logging 25 minutes per night for a Predators team that earned a birth in the playoffs. While Josi's defensive metrics might not have been as sterling as a few other top defenders, any blueliner who can flirt with 100 points while playing against top opposing competition is worthy of recognition. McDavid, of course, is a shoo-in to earn a nod here on an annual basis. The Oilers' captain led all NHLers in scoring by a wide margin this season, with his 123 points being eight more than the next closest competitor, while his 79 assists ranked second in the league behind only Jonathan Huberdeau. In what seemed like merely a decent season by McDavid's standards, he still wrapped up the Art Ross in a landslide, smoothing over a flawed Oilers roster to help them earn home-ice advantage in the playoffs. That, by definition, is pretty outstanding. And then there's Matthews. In a sport in which goal-scoring reigns supreme, Matthews paced the field while setting historic marks across the board in 2021-22, becoming the first NHLer to score 60 goals in a season since Steven Stamkos managed to a decade ago, while his eye-popping 44 even-strength markers led the league, as well. Matthews' evolution into one of the NHL's premier two-way forwards earns him serious consideration for this award, too. Racking up gaudy goal totals is one thing. But Matthews did so while never cheating for offense and providing borderline-elite defensive value to a team that needed it. With three worthy candidates, it will be interesting to see who takes home the ultimate prize in due time.
