Ted Lindsay, the rugged Detroit Red Wings star who fought to bring collective-bargaining rights to the NHL's players, is being honoured by the union he helped create.
Reports out of Toronto on Tuesday indicated that the Lester B. Pearson Award, handed out each year to league's most valuable player as chosen by the NHL Players' Association, will be renamed to honour Lindsay -- who in the 1950s battled the league's owners to kick-start the NHLPA's formation.
The change is expected to be announced Thursday in Toronto.
On its website Tuesday, the NHLPA said that Lindsay, 84, will be a "special guest" at a Thursday news conference at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Lindsay, a native of Renfrew, Ont., won four Stanley Cups and one scoring title in 17 NHL seasons, but it was his fearless stand against NHL ownership and players reluctant to form a union that cemented him as a hockey legend.
The award, originally named after one of Canada's greatest prime ministers, is voted on by the league's players, unlike the Hart Trophy, an MVP award voted on by hockey writers.
Source: Edmonton Journal
