Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor Wins Lady Byng Award

On Monday evening, the National Hockey League made the announcement that Winnipeg Jets star forward Kyle Connor is the 2021-22 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner.

As voted upon by the membership of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, the player selected is adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability over the course of the NHL’s regular season.

LADY BYNG for Winnipeg's Kyle Connor!

What a spectacular season for the #NHLJets' 47-goal, 93-point man.

With just four total penalty minutes on the entire season, the 25-year-old has now been recognized as the league's most sportsmanlike and gentlemanly player.

Congrats, Kyle

— Carter Brooks (@CBrooksie84) June 6, 2022

There was no better candidate than Winnipeg’s 25-year-old goal-scoring phenom.

And his general manager and coach called it, well in advance.

“He is someone whom I hope truly gets awarded with the Lady Byng for the type of way he plays and what he exemplifies on and off the ice,” Jets’ general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said at his year-end media availability. 

Having a career year for the Jets, Connor posted single-season bests in goals, assists and points, to which he produced 47, 46 and 93, respectively. He broke Winnipeg’s franchise record of 91 points (a mark hit twice by captain Blake Wheeler) while outscoring former teammate Patrik Laine‘s record of 44 goals in a single season as the most by one player since relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta.

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The award was announced prior to Monday’s showing of Game 4 of the Western Conference Final between Colorado and Edmonton.

Typically presented to a player with a minute penalty minute total, Connor accomplished just that, putting up just four penalty minutes on two separate minor infractions all season long.

“I would think that would make him worthy of winning the Lady Byng trophy,” Connor’s head coach Dave Lowry said near the end of the season. “A guy that has an impact every night on the outcome of a hockey game, leading the team in scoring, is one of the elite goal scorers in the National Hockey League, and he takes two minor penalties – that tells me right there he doesn’t get enough recognition. They don’t talk about him enough, nationally, for his accomplishments in the game.”

#NHLJets’ Kyle Connor has been named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly play.

He had four total penalty minutes all season, while leading all Winnipeg players with a career-high 47 goals and 93 points.

— Carter Brooks (@CBrooksie84) May 18, 2022

Named as a finalist alongside Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin – the reining Lady Byng Award winner – and Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon, Connor proved that his talented offence, paired with his ability to stay out of harm’s way, meant more to the writers than a couple of defensemen who managed to dodge the physical side of the game while in shut-down roles.

Despite putting up more total penalties than Connor, both Slavin and Spurgeon’s numbers are increased due to the fact they operate as defensemen for their respective clubs, which means they are typically more prone to taking penalties than a forward would be.

Slavin had 10 penalty minutes in 79 games while putting up four goals and 42 points on the season. Spurgeon also had 10 penalty minutes in 65 games for Minnesota, while racking up 10 goals and 40 total points on the season.

Connor’s four penalty minutes are the fewest among NHL players with 80+ points on the year and are the fewest among all players appearing in 76+ games this season. Averaging 21:47 spent on ice each game, Connor finished the year ranked third among all active forwards. He ended the year fifth in goals scored.

Clearly, he is on the ice a lot.

“It’s intelligence and quickness,” coach Lowry added. “When you have the puck, you’re not taking penalties. I think those are key contributing factors. This is a guy here that is extremely quick. I don’t think he gets enough recognition for that as well. He has a very good stick, he’s a very intelligent player. His quickness makes him evasive and it makes him able to get in and out, and he can recover, so he’s not using his stick.”

The official voting numbers showed that Connor earned first-place votes on 122 out of 195 ballots while appearing on 181 total ballots.

Yes, it was a landslide, but deservedly so.