Each and every year the National Hockey League awards the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey." The award is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association who begin by nominating a player from each team for the award.
There are in theory 32 potential winners but with like many of the other NHL awards that list is boiled down to a group of 3 finalists before the winner is announced later in the year. There are some very strong candidates for the award this year including Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price who returned from a serious offseason injury, numerous setbacks while rehabbing that injury, and even checked himself into the Player Assistance Program earlier this year.
Another player I believe will be among the top candidates for this award will be Las Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel. Not only did Eichel recover from major neck surgery to make his return to play in the NHL this season, but he also has now pioneered that surgery in the NHL as the first player in the history of the league to undergo the procedure successfully.
Here are this year's nominees from each of the NHL's 32 teams:
Anaheim Ducks - Ryan Getzlaf
Arizona Coyotes - Andrew Ladd
Boston Bruins - Jake DeBrusk
Buffalo Sabres - Kyle Okposo
Calgary Flames - Chris Tanev
Carolina Hurricanes - Antti Raanta
Chicago Blackhawks - Dylan Strome
Colorado Avalanche - Jack Johnson
Columbus Blue Jackets - Justin Danforth
Dallas Stars - Tyler Seguin
Detroit Red Wings - Marc Staal
Edmonton Oilers - Kris Russell
Florida Panthers - Anthony Duclair
Los Angeles Kings - Blake Lizotte
Minnesota Wild - Jared Spurgeon
Montreal Canadiens - Carey Price
Nashville Predators - Mark Borowiecki
New Jersey Devils - Nico Hischier
New York Islanders - Zdeno Chara
New York Rangers - Chris Kreider
Ottawa Senators - Anton Forsberg
Philadelphia Flyers - Kevin Hayes
Pittsburgh Penguins - Brian Boyle
St. Louis Blues - Vladimir Tarasenko
San Jose Sharks - Brent Burns
Seattle Kraken - Jaden Schwartz
Tampa Bay Lightning - Alex Killorn
Toronto Maple Leafs - Ondrej Kase
Vancouver Canucks - Luke Schenn
Las Vegas Golden Knights - Jack Eichel
Winnipeg Jets - Josh Morrissey
Washington Capitals - Nicklas Backstrom
