The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
. It is named after
Bill Masterton
William Masterton (August 13, 1938 – January 15, 1968) was a Canadian American professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars in 1967–68. He is the only player in NHL history t ...
, 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
The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey sports journalism, journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 vot ...
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
William Masterton (August 13, 1938 – January 15, 1968) was a Canadian American professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota North Stars in 1967–68. He is the only player in NHL history t ...
, a
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
player who died on January 15, 1968, after sustaining an injury during a hockey game.
[Dinger, p.201] 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
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral U ...
, Masterton had briefly played in the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
organization before giving up his professional dreams and taking a job as an engineer at
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
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
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
and Montreal Canadiens have won the trophy five times; players for the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
and
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
have won the trophy four times; and players for the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
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
See also
*
List of National Hockey League awards
The National Hockey League presents numerous annual awards and trophies to recognize its teams and players. The oldest, and most recognizable, is the Stanley Cup. First awarded in 1893, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the NHL's playoff champion. ...
*
List of NHL players
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
*
List of NHL statistical leaders
__NOTOC__
Skaters
The statistics listed include the 2021–22 NHL regular season and 2022 playoffs.
All-time leaders (skaters)
Active skaters (during 2022–23 NHL season) are listed in boldface.
Regular season: Points
Regular season: Po ...
References
*
;Notes
External links
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophyat NHL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masterton, Bill Memorial Trophy
National Hockey League trophies and awards
Sportsmanship trophies and awards