Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Feb 14, 2008 | By John Doe | History Articles Archive

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. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association after each teams 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. A player can win this trophy only once in his career.

History

The trophy is named in honour 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". It was first awarded following the 1967–68 regular season. As of the end of the 2006–07 NHL season, players for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins have won the trophy 4 times each, while the Los Angeles Kings have won 3 times. Due to the nature of the award, no player has ever won it more than once.

Winners

Mario Lemieux, the winner for the 1992–93 season.
Mario Lemieux, the winner for the 1992–93 season.
Teemu Selanne, the winner for the 2005–06 season
Teemu Selanne, the winner for the 2005–06 season

1967–68     Claude Provost     Montreal Canadiens     "Embodied the definition of perseverance and dedication to hockey" throughout his 15 year career.
1968–69     Ted Hampson     Oakland Seals     Had his best statistical year on a recent expansion team.
1969–70     Pit Martin     Chicago Black Hawks     After denouncing his team at the end of the 1968-69 NHL season, Martin and his team came back with a first place, and Martin had 30 goals and 33 assists for 60 points.
1970–71     Jean Ratelle     New York Rangers     A 20 year veteran, he won the trophy for a "lifelong dedication to strong, clean hockey".
1971–72     Bobby Clarke     Philadelphia Flyers     Overcame diabetes to play in the NHL.
1972–73     Lowell 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     Henri Richard     Montreal Canadiens     This honoured a career with 11 Stanley Cups.
1974–75     Don Luce     Buffalo Sabres     Awarded for perseverance and dedication, after a 38-point increase in scoring from the previous season.
1975–76     Rod Gilbert     New York Rangers     Overcame a serious back injury early during his career.
1976–77     Ed Westfall     New York Islanders     Awarded for being a good leader.
1977–78     Butch Goring     Los Angeles Kings     Made the NHL despite his small overall stature and weight, and had consistently good seasons.
1978–79     Serge Savard     Montreal Canadiens     Awarded for "dedication to hockey", after he won his 8th Stanley Cup in eleven seasons.
1979–80     Al MacAdam     Minnesota North Stars     Rewarded for his perseverance after scoring a career high 42 goals and 51 assists for 93 points.
1980–81     Blake 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     Glenn Resch     Colorado Rockies     Awarded for perseverance, as he gave his young team more confidence while he served as goaltender.
1982–83     Lanny McDonald     Calgary Flames     Presented for his dedication; he was traded around the league numerous times, and when he was traded to the Flames, he scored 66 goals and 32 assists for 98 points.
1983–84     Brad Park     Detroit Red Wings     Awarded for his dedication to hockey
1984–85     Anders Hedberg     New York Rangers     He was recognized for a dedicated career, and unlike many other winners, for an exceptional season as well.
1985–86     Charlie Simmer     Boston Bruins     Overcame serious ligament damage to his knee to score 60 points.
1986–87     Doug Jarvis     Hartford Whalers     Awarded after he beat Garry Unger's record for consecutive games played, with 914 games.
1987–88     Bob Bourne     Los Angeles Kings     Awarded for exemplifying the qualities of dedication and perseverance.
1988–89     Tim 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     Gord Kluzak     Boston Bruins     Tried to overcome severe knee injuries, but after playing two games after his 10th knee operation, he retired.
1990–91     Dave Taylor     Los Angeles Kings     Played all his 17 seasons with the Kings, and was honored for his dedication.
1991–92     Mark Fitzpatrick     New York Islanders     Ovecame eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, a potentially life-threatening disease, and returned to the NHL.
1992–93     Mario Lemieux     Pittsburgh Penguins     Scored 69 goals and 91 assists for 160 points, despite missing 24 games due to Hodgkin's lymphoma
1993–94     Cam Neely     Boston Bruins     Awarded "to recognize his valiant efforts to return to NHL action after suffering career-threatening injuries"; however he retired after 1995-96 NHL season due to them.
1994–95     Pat LaFontaine     Buffalo Sabres     Overcame serous head injury
1995–96     Gary Roberts     Calgary Flames     Successfully recovered from possibly career-ending surgery to correct bone spurs and nerve damage
1996–97     Tony Granato     San Jose Sharks     Overcame possibly career-ending brain injury sustained during 1995-96 NHL season to score 25 goals during the 1996-97 NHL season
1997–98     Jamie McLennan     St. Louis Blues     Overcame bacterial meningitis
1998–99     John Cullen     Tampa Bay Lightning     Overcame non-Hodgkins lymphoma
1999–00     Ken Daneyko     New Jersey Devils     Overcame alcoholism.
2000–01     Adam Graves     New York Rangers     Awarded for all-around dedication to hockey
2001–02     Saku Koivu     Montreal Canadiens     Overcame non-Hodgkins lymphoma
2002–03     Steve Yzerman     Detroit Red Wings     Eventually overcame several health problems, but played only a small part of the 2002-03 NHL season
2003–04     Bryan Berard     Chicago Blackhawks     Overcame an eye injury that rendered the eye legally blind.
2004–05     No winner due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout
2005–06     Teemu Selanne     Mighty Ducks of Anaheim     Overcame major knee surgery to score 90 points (40 goals and 50 assists)
2006–07     Phil Kessel     Boston Bruins     Missed 12 games due to testicular cancer mid season.

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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