Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar has been named the winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy given to the player judged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. Kopitar nudged out Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the award. Kopitar had just two minor penalties the entire season and accumulated just four PIM. This is the second time he has won the Lady Byng as he was given it back in 2016 as well.
The long-time Kings Center had another terrific season posting 28 goals and 46 assists in 82 games while posting terrific defensive numbers despite being 35 years of age. It was Kopitar’s best offensive season in six years. The native of Jesenice, Slovenia took more defensive zone draws this year than he did in the offensive zone but still managed to drive play and make everyone around him better. Even more impressive is the defensive work he did while not needing to resort to taking penalties if caught out of position. Kopitar’s four PIM represented a career low, an impressive feat for a player who has continuously posted very low numbers of penalties year to year.
Kopitar took 77 first-place votes, while Hughes had 41, and Point had 15. Overall, it was a decisive win for Kopitar as he accumulated 1175 points to Hughes 934. It’s a bit of a surprising number given that Hughes had just three minor penalties and six total penalty minutes. Kopitar certainly deserved the award, but it looked as though the voting would be closer than it was.
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