Gabriel Landeskog snubbed from Masterson Trophy

Gabriel Landeskog’s comeback story in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs was one of guts, resilience and emotion as the captain made his return to the ice after not playing for the Colorado Avalanche for over 1,000 days. He endured multiple knee surgeries and countless hours of rehab to make his way back to the ice and rack up four points in his first five games back with the Avalanche.

Sounds like everything and more the NHL would want for the winner of the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy, an award that is “awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”  Right?

Apparently not, as Landeskog, one of three finalists, was not announced as the winner of the award on Thursday morning. Columbus’s Sean Monahan was named as the recipient of the award instead of the Colorado captain.

Sean Monahan is this year’s recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy! 🏆 #NHLAwards

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually "to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey."

Read more:… pic.twitter.com/IWKmk5FW23

— NHL (@NHL) June 5, 2025

Monahan led the Blue Jackets through a very difficult time for their team, as Johnny Gaudreau passed away last offseason at the hands of a drunk driver. He “has served as an inspiration amid the unspeakable tragedy of Gaudreau’s death last August,” per the NHL’s release regarding him winning the award.

The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association.

For Landeskog, it would’ve been more plausible for him to win the award if he came back before the postseason. No hockey player has ever come back from the procedure he had to play again, so his achievement was groundbreaking. If he is able to play like he did in the postseason, for a decent amount of games, it will be more than likely for the Landeskog to be back as a finalist for the award after the 2026 season.

This news comes just a day after it was revealed that neither Nathan MacKinnon nor Cale Makar would be bringing home the Ted Lindsay Award, despite both being finalists. Nikita Kucherov was voted on by members of the NHLPA as the league’s most outstanding player, spoiling Mackinnon’s chances of winning it for the second consecutive season or Makar’s chances of being the third player in Avalanche history to win the award.

Makar is still the favorite for the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the league’s top defenseman. The winner of that award will be announced on June 12 just before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers.

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