The NHL has announced that Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is the 2024 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner as the “Player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” The other two finalists for the award were Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.
Slavin became only the fourth NHL defenseman in history to win the award back in 2021 and is just the second NHL defenseman to win the honor more than once. Red Kelly is the only defenseman other than Slavin to win the award more than once and was a four-time award Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner.
The 30-year-old Slavin, had another solid regular season averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time while dressing in 81 games for Carolina. Offensively he was strong once again tallying six goals and 31 assists while seeing minimal power play time. Slavin spent less than 25 minutes on Carolina’s man advantage this season and recorded 34 of his 37 points at even strength. The Denver, Colorado native remained a key cog in the Hurricanes’ penalty kill that was tops in the NHL with an 86.4% success rate. Slavin averaged 2:38 on the penalty kill per game and finished in the top 10 in takeaways.
Slavin is one of just two Hurricanes players ever to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and the only one to be nominated for the award on more than one occasion. He is one year away from unrestricted free agency and will be eligible for a contract extension on July 1st.