With just eight penalty minutes, Jake Sanderson's game continues to be as clean as it is skilled.
Jake Sanderson has been named as a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
The annual award is presented each year to the NHL "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."
Sanderson, who's still only 23 years old, was one of the top defensemen in the league this season, putting up 54 points in 67 games and helping Team USA win an Olympic gold medal in Milan back in February.
The Whitefish, Montana native plays a game that's bursting with speed and skill, but he also kept his nose clean, as he always does, posting just eight penalty minutes. In four NHL seasons (303 games), Sanderson has amassed a grand total of 55 penalty minutes
The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy has been awarded 90 times to 53 different players, including Ottawa's Frank Nighbor, who was the first to win it in 1925. Over a century later, Sanderson has a chance to be the first modern-day Ottawa Senator to win this award.
But he'll be in tough because LA's Anze Kopitar, who just ended hs 20-year NHL career this week, was probably the heavy sentimental favourite when voting was conducted at the end of the regular season. Kopitar is one of the three finalists, along with Montreal's Cole Caufield.
The universe didn't exactly repay Sanderson for his sportsmanship this season.
He missed almost a month with a shoulder injury after a hard hit from Seattle's Brandon Montour in early March. Eight games after returning, he took a violent shoulder to the head from Carolina's Taylor Hall in Game 3 of the NHL playoffs.
Sanderson missed the rest of the series with a concussion, and the Senators were swept in four. Four days after the concussion, Sanderson still wasn't well enough to be available for the season-ending media availabilities.
Unlike all the current dialogue about the future of his Senator and Team USA teammate, Brady Tkachuk, it's going to be a while before the Sens need to think about Sanderson's contract. He's still signed up for six more seasons at a club-friendly rate of $8,050,000 per season.
The Lady Byng voting trophy will be awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published at The Hockey News Ottawa. Check out more great Sens features from The Hockey News at the links below:
Did The Senators Actually Improve This Season? And What Has To Happen Now?
One Battle After Another: Brady Tkachuk Addresses Distraction-Filled Season
Staios Admits Senators Goaltending Plan For This Season Was Flawed
Now Facing A Suspension, Ridly Greig Addresses His Game 4 Sucker Punch
Senators’ Offence Never Gets On Track As Hurricanes Complete Sweep