NHL Awards: 3 Candidates for Ted Lindsay Award Have Been Announced

According to an article by Tal Pinchevsky of NHL.com, the three candidates for the Ted Lindsay Award have been announced.

Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and New York's Henrik Lundqvist are the finalists—the same three players up for the Hart Memorial Trophy for league MVP.

Formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award, the trophy is given annually to the NHL's "most outstanding player," with members of the NHLPA voting on the winner. 

Vancouver Canucks star Daniel Sedin won the award last season.

The 2012 NHL Awards take place June 20 at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas.

Evgeni Malkin would be the first Penguin since Sidney Crosby in 2007 to capture the award. Mario Lemeiux was the only other Penguin to win, taking the award home four times. If Malkin were to lose out on the MVP, winning the Ted Lindsay trophy is a nice consolation.

Steven Stamkos would become only the second Lightning player in the franchise's young history to walk away with the distinction. The last belonged to fellow teammate Martin St. Louis after Tampa won the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Henrik Lundqvist would become only the third goaltender in NHL history to win the Ted Lindsay Award, as Dominik Hasek (1996-97, 1997-98) and Mike Liut (1980-81) were the previous winners. Hasek is the only goalie to ever win it in two consecutive years.

The last Ranger to win was Jaromir Jagr (2005-06).

All three players are worthy of consideration and the vote will surely be close. Who would you vote for?

Leave your answer in the comments below!