Fantastic Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov won the 2019 Lady Byng Trophy on Wednesday. Barkov edged two fantastic finalists in Calgary Flames’ Sean Monahan and St. Louis Blues’ Ryan O’Reilly.
The Lady Byng is awarded to the “player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
Take a look at the top 15 voting, which also included Panthers winger Evgenii Dadonov.
Sometimes people knock the award, but it’s really a nice opportunity to give a great player who may not otherwise lock down an award some recognition. Fittingly, last year, William Karlsson (Vegas Golden Knights) won the 2018 Lady Byng Trophy.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.