2023-24 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy finalists: Auston Matthews, Elias Pettersson, Jaccob Slavin

[Koivu11]

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[Rob Brown]

Nice.

 

[Fatass]

Was it Ray Ferraro who said he never wanted any part of this award?

 

[NVious]

I can only imagine the brutal chirps that will be said on the ice if they don't win it

"Petey I don't think you should've won the award last year" Auston
"Auston, I disagreed with the voters who gave you the Lady Byng last year" Jacob
"Jacob du är en fantastisk spelare, men jag tror att jag förtjänade priset" Elias

 

[featherhawk]

Slavin would get my vote if I had one

 

[Golden_Jet]

Was it Ray Ferraro who said he never wanted any part of this award?

Ya I think he said that but not positive, I do remember Moligny,
When then-Toronto Maple Leaf Alex Mogilny won the Byng in 2003, he refused to show up and accept it,

 

[Incognito]

At first glance, Matthews had a lot more PIM this season (20) than Slavin (8) or Pettersson (12). But half of those PIM for Matthews came from a 10 minute misconduct that was given to literally every player who happened to be on the ice at the time during a game against Buffalo, regardless of their level of involvement in the brawl.

 

[M2Beezy]

Objectively this should easily be Elias Petterssons trophy this year

 

[ijuka]

Softest player award, or what was it again?

Was it Ray Ferraro who said he never wanted any part of this award?

Smart man.

 

[njdevils1982]

Softest player award, or what was it again?


Smart man.

stan mikita was not soft.

....




Mikta was a skilled puck handler and scared goalies to death when he neared their area code.

However, he still had a temper that caused him to get into trouble as well as the penalty box.

Between 1963-64 and 1964-65 when he led the NHL with 89 and 87 points respectively, Mikita also piled up a combined 300 penalty minutes.

He may have only been 5’9”, but Mikita didn’t back down to anyone.

In fact, Hull once described his friend as “…tougher than a night in jail.”

Then, one day Mikita had a conversation with his daughter, Meg, and he had an epiphany that changed his playing style for the better.

“She said to me, ‘I watched you last night and you were really good,’ and I said, ‘Well, thank you, dear,’” Mikita told The Hockey News in 2007. “Then she asked me, ‘When that man with the stripes on his sweater blew the whistle, why did Uncle Bobby (Hull) and Uncle Kenny (Wharram) go one way and you went the other way and sat down all by yourself? Were you being a bad boy?’ That really made me think. I decided then that when I did get a penalty, I would go to the referee and say, ‘Geez, I’m really sorry, sir.’ I would kill them with kindness.”

In 1966-67 and 1967-68, Mikita resolved to clean up his act and did so in glorious fashion.

Not only did he decrease his penalty minutes to just 26 during that span, but Mikitaalso received the Lady Byng Trophy for the most sportsmanlike and gentlemanly player in the NHL.

“I guarantee you, if you had placed a wager during my first few seasons in the NHL that I would someday be hailed for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct, you would have gotten some really long odds,” said Mikita.

It wasn’t just his disposition that was rewarded.

Mikita led the NHL in points with 97 in ‘66-67 and 87 in ‘67-68 (which included a career-best 40 goals).



source: The Life And Career Of Stan Mikita (Story)

 

[NyQuil]

It’s a bit of a throw back award.

It would be nice if the referees voted on it or something because we just look at skilled players with few PIMs in a weird statistical exercise.

Does tripping a few more guys by accident make you more of a gentleman than someone else?

Do we have to divide the PIMs by minutes played?

Gets a bit wonky.

 

[Roksta]

The soft player award should go to Matthews, definitely

 

[Kryten]

At this point Im not sure if winning, losing, or just being nominated will be good or bad for Petterssons mental health

 

[Cancuks]

Matthews can have it, well deserved.

 

[cptjeff]

Wasn't Matthews suspended just last year? Quite legitimately too, if memory serves.

Regardless, this should be going to Slavin every year.

 

[Aqualung]

What the qualifications for this award really?

 

[Rowlet]

What the qualifications for this award really?

The 3 NHLers with the best vibes in a given year

 

[Golden_Jet]

What the qualifications for this award really?

Sportmanship and gentlemanly conduct is the basis, in the wording.

 

[cptjeff]

What the qualifications for this award really?

Being an extremely good player with exemplary sportsmanship. Doesn't mean you're a pushover, it means you're not hacking, whacking, and being a horrible asshole at every chance. Jaccob Slavin, for instance, has only used the F word once in his career, in junior, and still brings it up as a moment of real regret. He had a season where he only took one penalty, an accidental puck over glass DoG. It does not stop him from erasing Connor McDavid from the scoresheet.

 

[JimmyApples]

The worst award. You do not want to be nominated for this soft award.

 

[Weztex]

Was it Ray Ferraro who said he never wanted any part of this award?

Ya I think he said that but not positive, I do remember Moligny,
When then-Toronto Maple Leaf Alex Mogilny won the Byng in 2003, he refused to show up and accept it,

Grown men being afraid of an award. Like it will somehow change the perception players they face multiple times a years have of them. If you’re so insecure about being labeled as soft just don’t be. That’s not even what this award is about anyway.

Softest player award, or what was it again?


Smart man.

Playing within the rules of the game and having sportsmanship isn’t being soft. Nobody ever labeled Joe Sakic, Bobby Hull, Ron Francis, Anze Kopitar or Johnny Bucyk as such.

Grow up.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Kopitar made sure he wasn't winning a third one this year.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Grown men being afraid of an award. Like it will somehow change the perception others players they face multiple times a years have of them. If you’re so insecure about being labeled as soft just don’t be. That’s not even what this award is about anyway.

Playing within the rules of the game and having sportsmanship isn’t being soft. Nobody ever labeled Joe Sakic, Bobby Hull, Ron Francis, Anze Kopitar or Johnny Bucyk as soft.

Grow up.

Gentlemanly conduct kind of implies soft, in a physical game.
Name of the trophy doesn’t help the stigma.

 

[cptjeff]

Gentlemanly conduct kind of implies soft, in a physical game.

Only if you think being dirty and being physical are the same thing. You can absolutely be physical without being dirty.

 

[Raistlin]

Pettersson for Byng? On a side note, how many awards did the Canuck organisation get nominated for this year? Seems like the all star game again.