Anze Kopitar wins Lady Byng Trophy

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar took home the Lady Byng Trophy at Monday night’s NHL Awards. This is Kopitar’s second Lady Byng; he previously won the trophy at the 2016 NHL Awards.

This is also the second consecutive year that Kopitar took home some hardware. He won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award last year. He is also a two-time Selke Award winner.

The Lady Byng recognizes “sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and ability”, as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. This year, Kopitar received 77 first place votes. Kopitar is the first two-time winner since Martin St. Louis, who won in 2010 and 2011. He is the second player in franchise history to win the award more than once, joining, of course, Wayne Gretzky in that honor.

Kopitar played all 82 games for the Kings, taking only two minor penalties in the process. The Kings captain led all forwards on the team in total ice time (1,665 minutes) and average time on ice (20:18). He also led the team in points, with 74 in 82 games. Kopitar’s four total penalty minutes were the fewest among all players who played in all 82 games this season.

Kopitar also placed fifth in votes for the Selke Trophy, which went once again to Patrice Bergeron.