Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Template:Short description Template:Infobox sports award The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries suffered during a game. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association after each team nominates one player in competition. It is often awarded to a player who has come back from career– or even life-threatening illness or injury.

History

The trophy is named in honor of the late Bill Masterton, a Minnesota North Stars player who died on January 15, 1968, after sustaining an injury during a hockey game.<ref name="Book1">Dinger, p.201</ref> During his playing career, Masterton exhibited "to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey". A US college standout at Denver University, Masterton had briefly played in the Montreal Canadiens organization before giving up his professional dreams and taking a job as an engineer at Honeywell in Minneapolis. During his spare time, he played senior amateur hockey including for the US national team, where he was scouted by the expansion North Stars and became the club's first contracted player.<ref name="Book1"/> It was first awarded following the 1967–68 regular season. As of the end of the 2018–19 NHL season, players for the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens have won the trophy five times; players for the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers have won the trophy four times; and players for the Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders have won the trophy three times. Players on Western Conference teams have won the award only 18 times since the award was first given in the 1960s.

Winners

File:Oskar Lindblom (28179260119) (cropped).jpg

Oskar Lindblom, the winner for the 2020–21 season.

File:Bobby Ryan 2 2017-05-13.jpg

Bobby Ryan, the winner for the 2019–20 season.

File:Robin Lehner 2013-05-17.JPG

Robin Lehner, the winner for the 2018–19 season.

File:Brian Boyle Maple Leafs.png

Brian Boyle, the winner for the 2017–18 season.

File:Craig Anderson 2013-05-24.JPG

Craig Anderson, the winner for the 2016–17 season.

Season	Winner	Team	Reasons for winning
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Montreal Canadiens	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Oakland Seals	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Chicago Black Hawks	After denouncing the Hawks at the end of the 1968–69 NHL season, Martin and his team came back to finish first in the league, and Martin had 30 goals and 33 assists for 63 points.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Rangers	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Philadelphia Flyers	Overcame diabetes to play in the NHL.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Pittsburgh Penguins	Overcame severe ligament and cartilage damage to his knee and scored 34 goals and 41 assists for 75 points during the 1972–73 NHL season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Montreal Canadiens	He won his 11th Stanley Cup the previous year, the most anyone has ever won as a player.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Buffalo Sabres	Awarded for perseverance and dedication, after a 38-point increase in scoring from the previous season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Rangers	Overcame a serious back injury early during his career.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Islanders	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Los Angeles Kings	Made the NHL despite his small overall stature and weight, and had consistently good seasons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Montreal Canadiens	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Minnesota North Stars	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	St. Louis Blues	Although he was a star in junior hockey, he only broke out during the 1980–81 NHL season, after being drafted during the 1973–74 NHL season, by scoring 20 goals and 67 assists for 87 points. It was awarded for perseverance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Colorado Rockies	Awarded for perseverance, as he gave his young team more confidence while he served as its goaltender.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Calgary Flames	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Detroit Red Wings	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Rangers	Recognized for a dedicated career, scoring 20 or more goals in every full season he participated in. He was also one of the first Swedish stars to play in the NHL.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Boston Bruins	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Hartford Whalers	Awarded during the season in which he played his 915th consecutive game, beating Garry Unger's record. He retired having improved the record to 964.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Los Angeles Kings	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Philadelphia Flyers	He returned to score 48 goals and 40 assists for 88 points in 69 games after overcoming severe knee and shoulder injuries, as well as aseptic meningitis the season before.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Boston Bruins	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Los Angeles Kings	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Islanders	Overcame Eosinophilia–myalgia syndrome, a potentially life-threatening disease, and returned to the NHL.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Pittsburgh Penguins	Missed 24 games because of Hodgkin's lymphoma, yet still won his fourth Art Ross Trophy with 160 points.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Boston Bruins	Awarded "to recognize his valiant efforts to return to NHL action after suffering career-threatening injuries"; however, those injuries caused his retirement after the 1995–96 NHL season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Buffalo Sabres	Overcame a series of serious head injuries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Calgary Flames	Successfully recovered from possibly career-ending surgery to correct bone spurs and nerve damage.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	San Jose Sharks	Overcame possibly career-ending brain injury sustained during the previous season to score 25 goals during this season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	St. Louis Blues	Overcame bacterial meningitis.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Tampa Bay Lightning	Overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New Jersey Devils	Overcame alcoholism.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Rangers	Awarded for all-around dedication to hockey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Montreal Canadiens	Overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Detroit Red Wings	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Chicago Blackhawks	Overcame an injury that rendered him legally blind in one eye.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Boston Bruins	Missed 12 games because of testicular cancer mid-season but returned to play full-time.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Toronto Maple Leafs	Despite his diagnosis with chronic myelogenous leukemia, he played all 82 games of the season.
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Nashville Predators	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Washington Capitals	Had his best season since Template:NHL Year following his son Chase's death in 2009 from complications stemming from his premature birth.
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Philadelphia Flyers	Diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome after being hit in the face with a puck while blocking a shot during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs; did not play again after the injury, but "continued to serve the team in several capacities."
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Montreal Canadiens	Was knocked out of the 2010–11 season following a hit that left him with a concussion and a fractured vertebra. Pacioretty returned in 2011–12, which would prove to be his breakout season with, at the time, his most productive year. (33 goals and 32 assists).
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Minnesota Wild	Earned a shutout in his first start after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the off-season, then missed 33 games before returning late in the season and starting five playoff games.
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Rangers	Returned to the NHL in the 2013–14 season after taking an 18-month leave of absence from the league in the spring of 2012 to care for his wife, Katie, following her diagnosis with a rare form of liver cancer. She died in January 2013.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Minnesota Wild	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Florida Panthers	At the age of 44, led the Panthers in points (66) and was second in goals (27), as the team earned its first Atlantic Division title and returned to the playoffs after a four-year absence. Jagr became the oldest player to surpass 60 points. He was commended for his work ethic and off-ice mentorship.
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Ottawa Senators	Helped his team advance to the Eastern Conference Final after leaving mid-season to be with his wife, Nicholle, who was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a form of cancer that originates in the upper part of the throat behind the nose.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New Jersey Devils	Diagnosed with myeloid leukemia, a type of bone marrow cancer at the beginning of training camp. He returned to the NHL on November 1 and scored 10 goals over his first 25 games.
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	New York Islanders	After publicly revealing struggles with alcoholism and bipolar disorder in the offseason, had a career-low 2.13 goals against average in the regular season with the Islanders, which was the lowest total since the mid-1980s.
Template:NHL Year	Template:Sortname	Ottawa Senators	After publicly revealing struggles with alcoholism and post-traumatic stress disorder, in an effort to help others with addiction issues, he returned to the NHL, scoring a hat trick in his first home game back.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020–21	Template:Sortname	Philadelphia Flyers	After being diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma in the middle of the 2019–20 season, he returned in the playoffs that year and played a full season in 2020–21.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021–22	Template:Sortname	Montreal Canadiens	Publicly disclosed and sought treatment for substance abuse, and worked for months on a protracted recovery from offseason knee surgery, before returning to play five games at the end of the season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2022–23	Template:Sortname	Pittsburgh Penguins	Suffered a stroke, the second of his career, after initially suffering from a stroke in January 2014. He returned to play 12 days later. Additionally, he missed time due to a broken foot and the death of his father, Claude, within the same month, still returning to play weeks later.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023–24	Template:Sortname	Arizona Coyotes	Nearly retired in 2021 due to clinical depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, before entering the NHL Player Assistance Program. Led the league in shutouts in 2023–24 and was named First Star of the Week in December, after winning four consecutive games against the past four Stanley Cup champions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024-25	Sean Monahan	Columbus Blue Jackets	Following the tragic death of his long-time teammate and best friend during the offseason, Monahan dedicated this season to Johnny Gaudreau. Monahan had signed with Columbus on July 1, 2024 in order to play with him again, the two having previously played together for nine seasons with the Calgary Flames from 2013 to 2022. On the evening of August 29, 2024, Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck and killed by a drunk driver while they were cycling in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. Monahan was presented the trophy for the effect his perseverance, dedication, and role in remembering Johnny had on the team and the city amidst such a tragedy. Johnny's widow, Meredith Gaudreau, surprised him with the award at his home outside of Toronto.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of National Hockey League awards
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL statistical leaders

References

• Template:Cite book

Notes

External links

• Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Template:Webarchive at NHL.com