NHL royally screws up the Bill Masterton Trophy.

This is one of the most embarrassing mistakes I have seen from the league in a little while, and it is the kind of mistake that makes you wonder how there was no one at any point that realized the error in time.

On Saturday former New York Islanders goaltender and current Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner took to social media to voice his displeasure over an award he had received. Lehner, in case you missed it, not only was a finalist for the Vezina this season as the National Hockey League's best goaltender but was also the man who walked away with the William Masterton Trophy at the end of the 2018 - 2019 NHL season. The Masterton Trophy, named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die due to injuries he suffered during a game, is awarded annually to the NHL player that best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication in the sport of ice hockey. Lehner was able to capture the award after he went from a stint in rehab to arguably being the very best goaltender in the NHL last season, in fact many believe he would have won the Vezina had he played in more regular season games. 

In spite of the fact that Lehner clearly deserved the Masterton Trophy, it was after all one hell of a comeback story, it seems like at least one person was completely oblivious to Lehner's amazing turn around last season. We say this because when Lehner received the trophy, that is to say the actual physical trophy and not merely the award, it was obvious immediately that there was a brutal and entirely inexcusable mistake that had been made. You see the trophy clearly printed the name of William Masterton, and just beneath that was the name of the player who had won it, in this case Robin Lehner, except it listed him as a member of the New York Rangers. 

The Rangers of course loved this. 

Now not only did Lehner not play for the Rangers last season, in fact he has never played for the Rangers at any point during his NHL career, but he played for their biggest rival, the New York Islanders. No doubt the NHL would have prefered if he didn't out the mistake publicly on social media, but I can imagine that Lehner was in complete shock when he saw that his award had effectively been ruined by a careless mistake.