It's important to differentiate between the Ted Lindsay Award that goes to the NHL's Most Outstanding Player and the Hart Trophy which is awarded to the league's Most Valuable Player. It is a very difficult and narrow differentiation to make, but the Hart Trophy is one that has team implications, while the Lindsay Award is based more on individual accomplishments.

The other aspect is that the Hart Trophy is determined by a vote from the Professional Hockey Writers Association while the Lindsay Award is chosen by the NHL Players Association.

This has been a sensational year for four of the NHL's most talented players. The top players in consideration for the Lindsay Award are Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

It doesn't stop there, either. It is difficult to ignore Artemin Panarin of the New York Rangers and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. Panarin had 49 goals and 71 assists for a career-best 120 points, while Pastrnak added 47 goals and 63 assists for 110 points. Both of those players are worthy of consideration, but the top four stands alone.

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay

Kucherov is one of the game's greatest talents, and he had his foot on the gas pedal from start to finish. He delivered 44 goals and 100 assists to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 144 points.

Getting to the 100 assist mark is extremely noteworthy, as the only players to have accomplished that before this season included Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Kucherov delivered that assist to teammate Brayden Point on a power play against the Maple Leafs in the regular-season finale.

He did remarkably well on the power play this season, scoring 13 goals with the man advantage and delivering 40 assists when the Lightning had the man advantage.

Kucherov combines the incredible patience in the offensive zone with deft accuracy on both his shot and his passing.

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado

While Kucherov is a smart, calculating player who can simply outwait the defense to make key plays, MacKinnon is a non-stop energy player who is almost always the fastest and most powerful offensive player on the ice.

MacKinnon regularly brings the crowd to its feet when he takes the puck from end to end and he has had a sensational season. He scored 51 goals and 89 assists to finish with 140 points, just four points behind Kucherov.

MacKinnon plays sensationally with fellow Avs superstars Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen, and it seems the Avs are better equipped to play catch-up than any other team in the NHL

Auston Matthews, Toronto

Matthews is not the playmaker that Kucherov, MacKinnon or McDavid is, but he is the league's best goal scorer. He put the puck in the net 69 times and while he was denied when he tried to become the first NHL player to reach the 70-goal mark since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny both scored 76 goals in 1992-93.

Matthews is a remarkable player and he has been a dynamic goal scorer throughout his eight-year career. Even though he is just 26, he has already scored 368 goals.

Many NHL observers expect Alexander Ovechkin to break Gretzky's all-time record for goals within two years. However, about 12 years from now, Matthews could be on track to break Ovechkin's eventual record.

Matthews also had 38 assists during the regular season, and he has played strong defense throughout the year. He will always be a game-changing scorer, but his all-around game has never been stronger.

Connor McDavid, Edmonton

McDavid is not likely to win the Hart or Lindsay Award this season only because he is considered the most talented player in the game and one of the sport's all-time great talents.

McDavid joined Kucherov in reaching the 100 assist mark, and he also had 32 goals. However, his goal total was dramatically down from the 2022-23 season when he had 64 goals.

McDavid is perhaps the fastest skater in the NHL and one of the fastest the game has ever seen when he has the puck under control. He finished third in the league in scoring after winning the title for three straight seasons.

That finish is likely to spur McDavid to an even better season in 2024-25.

Matthews wins the Lindsay Award

There is no doubt that Kucherov and MacKinnon are both brilliant players and it would not be a mistake to give either of them the Lindsay Award. Some have suggested that they both share the top awards. However, Matthews had the kind of goal-scoring season that has so rarely been seen that he deserves the honor of gaining the award named after Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay.