Two of those all-time greats, Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky, called him after the show.
“I got a call from Sid and Wayne called me,” MacKinnon said. “That’s always pretty cool seeing Wayne Gretzky pop up on your phone, and seeing his name like a hundred times on this thing too [pointing at Ted Lindsay Award]. It’s cool to have all the support I have. I couldn’t do this alone.”
Gretzky swept the two trophies five times, doing so in four straight seasons from 1981-85 and again in 1986-87. Crosby won both the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award in 2006-07 and again in back-to-back seasons, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
MacKinnon is the 24th player to sweep the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award in the same season. It has happened 37 times since the Ted Lindsay Award was first handed out in 1970-71.
“The awards should speak for themselves,” said Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina Trophy on Thursday. “He’s a phenomenal player. He does have a strong hold on the game. He continues to get better, and that’s what you want to see out of your elite guys.”
MacKinnon won the vote for the Hart Trophy in a landslide, receiving 137 of the 194 first-place votes and 1,740 voting points. He was first or second on 184 of the 194 ballots submitted.
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov was the runner-up with 50 first-place votes and 1,269 voting points. McDavid finished third with 845 voting points. He received one first-place vote.
New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (three), Matthews (two) and Hellebuyck (one) also received first-place votes.
“I thought I had a chance in 2018 and I thought I had a chance tonight,” MacKinnon said. “The other year I think Connor had like 50 more points than me, so it wasn’t that close. Yeah, I thought I had a chance. Didn’t know. ‘Kuch’ and Connor had unbelievable seasons, a hundred assists each, so I really didn’t know. Definitely cool to win it.”
