Does Klefbom Deserve the Lady Byng?

Oscar Klefbom is in the midst of a potentially Lady Byng-worthy campaign. Could he end up being only the third Edmonton Oiler and fourth defenceman of all time to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy?

The Lady Byng is awarded annually to “the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” Only two Oilers have ever won the Lady Byng, with Wayne Gretzky taking it home in 1980 and Jari Kurri doing the same in 1985.

Historically, the Lady Byng has been awarded mostly to forwards, as a defenceman has only ever won the trophy five times in the 91 seasons that it has been awarded. Bill Quackenbush did it in 1949 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, while Red Kelly won it in 1951, 1953 and 1954 with the Red Wings, as well as once more in 1961 while playing centre for the Maple Leafs. More recently, Brian Campbell received the award in 2012 while with the Florida Panthers.

The Case for Klefbom

Oscar Klefbom could be the next addition to the list of defenders who have won the Lady Byng. His campaign to date ticks both boxes in the award description, as his gentlemanly conduct and high standard of playing ability have both been showcased this season for the Oilers.

With only two minor penalties and zero fighting majors through 64 games played, Klefbom’s sportsmanship has been on full display. Of his two penalties, neither has been a particularly grievous offence. One came in the form of a holding penalty on February 14^th against the Arizona Coyotes, while the other was a tripping call in Washington on February 24^th.

As this is being written, Klefbom currently sits tied for third in the league among defenders when it comes to goal scoring with 11 tallies so far. Klefbom leads all Oilers defencemen in goals (11) and points (28), while also logging the most time on ice per game (22:08) of the whole team. He is adept at getting the puck on net with 161 shots to date, third most on the Oilers and seventh most among defenceman league wide.

The Competition

At first glance, Klefbom seems like a solid candidate for the Lady Byng. However, he isn’t without competition. There are a hand full of players that also seem to fit the criteria for the award, including fellow defenceman John Carlson of the Capitals, Mikael Granlund of the Minnesota Wild, Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames, and former nominee Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers. Here’s a look at some of the potential candidates at this point in the season.

Klefbom compares well to the competition in terms of penalty minutes and boasts some solid counting numbers for a defender, putting him firmly in the race for the Lady Byng. In the past ten seasons, the average total of penalty minutes taken by the award winner has been 13.8, with the highest total being 22 minutes in 2009 by Pavel Datsyuk, and the lowest total coming from Ryan O’Reilly in 2014 with just two penalty minutes. If Klefbom takes penalties at a similar rate compared to his season so far, he’ll still be much closer to O’Reilly’s penalty total in 2014 than to Datsyuk’s 22 minutes in 2009.

To Sum Up

There’s still a fair amount of hockey to be played with 18 games left in the season for Edmonton, making it far from a forgone conclusion that Klefbom will give the Oilers their first Lady Byng winner since Jari Kurri in 1985. However, he does seem to be tracking in the right direction to at least earn a nomination as one of the three finalists.

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