NHL Announces Finalists For Lady Byng Award

NHL Award season continues as the nominations keep flying in across the league. On Saturday the league announced the finalists for the Lady Byng Award - Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jared Spurgeon of the Minnesota Wild, and Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes. 

The award is handed out to the player who exhibits the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play. All three players don't take a ton of penalties and are big pieces to their teams. Matthews is up for the award for the second straight season, after only serving 10 minutes in penalties in 52 games. The Leafs superstar has already won the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy and has also been nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award for most outstanding player voted by his peers.

Slavin is a staple on the Hurricanes back-end. He averaged over 22 minutes of ice-time a night for the 'Canes and only took one minor penalty. The call was for a delay of game...

Wild's Spurgeon had 25 points this season, playing top-pair minutes and only received three minor penalties. Turns out Slavin was the only player in the NHL who averaged more ice-time and took less penalties. The award winner will be announced next month at the NHL Awards.

Photo credit:  Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports