Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Sport	Ice hockey
Given for	National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.
History
First award	1967–68 NHL season
Most recent	Kris Letang Pittsburgh Penguins

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. 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. 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

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

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

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

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

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

Player is still active

Season	Winner	Team	Reasons for winning
1967–68	Provost, ClaudeClaude Provost	Montreal Canadiens	"Embodied the definition of perseverance and dedication to hockey" throughout his 15-year career.
1968–69	Hampson, TedTed Hampson	Oakland Seals	Had his best statistical year on a recent expansion team.
1969–70	Martin, PitPit Martin	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.
1970–71	Ratelle, JeanJean Ratelle	New York Rangers	A 20-year veteran, he won the trophy for a "lifelong dedication to strong, clean hockey".
1971–72	Clarke, BobbyBobby Clarke	Philadelphia Flyers	Overcame diabetes to play in the NHL.
1972–73	MacDonald, LowellLowell MacDonald	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.
1973–74	Richard, HenriHenri Richard	Montreal Canadiens	This honoured a 20-year career with 11 Stanley Cups.
1974–75	Luce, DonDon Luce	Buffalo Sabres	Awarded for perseverance and dedication, after a 38-point increase in scoring from the previous season.
1975–76	Gilbert, RodRod Gilbert	New York Rangers	Overcame a serious back injury early during his career.
1976–77	Westfall, EdEd Westfall	New York Islanders	Awarded for being a good leader.
1977–78	Goring, ButchButch Goring	Los Angeles Kings	Made the NHL despite his small overall stature and weight, and had consistently good seasons.
1978–79	Savard, SergeSerge Savard	Montreal Canadiens	Awarded for "dedication to hockey", after he won his eighth Stanley Cup in eleven seasons.
1979–80	MacAdam, AlAl MacAdam	Minnesota North Stars	Rewarded for his perseverance after scoring a career-high 42 goals and 51 assists (93 points).
1980–81	Dunlop, BlakeBlake Dunlop	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.
1981–82	Resch, GlennGlenn Resch	Colorado Rockies	Awarded for perseverance, as he gave his young team more confidence while he served as its goaltender.
1982–83	McDonald, LannyLanny McDonald	Calgary Flames	Presented for his dedication; scored 66 goals and 32 assists for 98 points.
1983–84	Park, BradBrad Park	Detroit Red Wings	Awarded for his dedication to hockey, having played for a team that qualified for the playoffs for 17 straight seasons without winning the Stanley Cup.
1984–85	Hedberg, AndersAnders Hedberg	New York Rangers	He was recognized for a dedicated career, and unlike many other winners, for a very good season (20 goals and 31 assists in 64 games played) as well.
1985–86	Simmer, CharlieCharlie Simmer	Boston Bruins	Overcame serious ligament damage to his knee to score 60 points.
1986–87	Jarvis, DougDoug Jarvis	Hartford Whalers	Awarded during a season in which he played his 915th consecutive game, beating Garry Unger's record. He retired having improved the record to 964.
1987–88	Bourne, BobBob Bourne	Los Angeles Kings	Awarded for exemplifying the qualities of dedication and perseverance.
1988–89	Kerr, TimTim Kerr	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.
1989–90	Kluzak, GordGord Kluzak	Boston Bruins	Tried to overcome severe knee injuries, but after playing two games after his tenth knee operation, he retired.
1990–91	Taylor, DaveDave Taylor	Los Angeles Kings	Played his entire 17-season career with the Kings, and was honored for his dedication.
1991–92	Fitzpatrick, MarkMark Fitzpatrick	New York Islanders	Overcame Eosinophilia–myalgia syndrome, a potentially life-threatening disease, and returned to the NHL.
1992–93	Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	Missed 24 games because of Hodgkin's lymphoma, and still won his fourth Art Ross Trophy with 160 points.
1993–94	Neely, CamCam Neely	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.
1994–95	LaFontaine, PatPat LaFontaine	Buffalo Sabres	Overcame a series of serious head injuries.
1995–96	Roberts, GaryGary Roberts	Calgary Flames	Successfully recovered from possibly career-ending surgery to correct bone spurs and nerve damage.
1996–97	Granato, TonyTony Granato	San Jose Sharks	Overcame possibly career-ending brain injury sustained during the 1995–96 NHL season to score 25 goals during the 1996–97 NHL season.
1997–98	McLennan, JamieJamie McLennan	St. Louis Blues	Overcame bacterial meningitis.
1998–99	Cullen, JohnJohn Cullen	Tampa Bay Lightning	Overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
1999–2000	Daneyko, KenKen Daneyko	New Jersey Devils	Overcame alcohol dependence.
2000–01	Graves, AdamAdam Graves	New York Rangers	Awarded for all-around dedication to hockey.
2001–02	Koivu, SakuSaku Koivu	Montreal Canadiens	Overcame non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
2002–03	Yzerman, SteveSteve Yzerman	Detroit Red Wings	Eventually overcame several health problems, but played only a small part of the 2002–03 NHL season.
2003–04	Berard, BryanBryan Berard	Chicago Blackhawks	Overcame an injury that rendered him legally blind in one eye.
2004–05	Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06	Selanne, TeemuTeemu Selanne	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	Overcame major knee surgery to get 90 points (40 goals and 50 assists).
2006–07	Kessel, PhilPhil Kessel	Boston Bruins	Missed 12 games because of cancer mid-season.
2007–08	Blake, JasonJason Blake	Toronto Maple Leafs	Despite his diagnosis with chronic myelogenous leukemia, he played all 82 games of the season.
2008–09	Sullivan, SteveSteve Sullivan	Nashville Predators	Played 41 games this season after missing nearly two years due to a fragmented disc in his back.
2009–10	Theodore, JoseJose Theodore	Washington Capitals	Had his best season since 2001–02 following his son Chase's death in 2009 from complications stemming from his premature birth.
2010–11	Laperriere, IanIan Laperriere	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."
2011–12	Pacioretty, MaxMax Pacioretty	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 to have his most productive season to date (33 goals and 32 assists).
2012–13	Harding, JoshJosh Harding	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.
2013–14	Moore, DominicDominic Moore	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.
2014–15	Dubnyk, DevanDevan Dubnyk	Minnesota Wild	Led the last-place Wild to the playoffs following a mid-season trade, going 27–9–2 with a 1.78 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and five shutouts. The Wild were Dubnyk's fifth team over the previous two seasons.
2015–16	Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr	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 3 absences. Jagr became the oldest player to surpass 60 points, and was lauded for his work ethic and off-ice mentorship.
2016–17	Anderson, CraigCraig Anderson	Ottawa Senators	Helped his team advance to the conference final after leaving mid-season to be with wife, Nicholle, who was diagnosed with cancer.
2017–18	Boyle, BrianBrian Boyle	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.
2018–19	Lehner, RobinRobin Lehner	New York Islanders	After publicly revealing struggles with 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.
2019–20	Ryan, BobbyBobby Ryan	Ottawa Senators	After publicly revealing struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, he returned to the NHL, scoring a hat trick in his first home game back.
2020–21	Lindblom, OskarOskar Lindblom	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.
2021–22	Price, CareyCarey Price	Montreal Canadiens	Worked for months on a protracted recovery from offseason knee surgery, before returning to play five games at the end of the season.
2022–23	Letang, KrisKris Letang	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.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy facts for kids

History

Winners

See also