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Boyle, Okposo, Staal among 2018 Masterton Trophy nominees

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The 31 nominees for the 2018 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy have been announced. The award, which is given to the players “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey,” will be handed out at the NHL awards show in June in Las Vegas.

The 31 nominees are selected by each Professional Hockey Writers’ Association chapter.

Anaheim Ducks - Andrew Cogliano
Arizona Coyotes - Jakob Chychrun
Boston Bruins - David Backes
Buffalo Sabres - Kyle Okposo
Calgary Flames - Matt Stajan
Carolina Hurricanes - Jordan Staal
Chicago Blackhawks - Jeff Glass
Colorado Avalanche - Carl Soderberg
Columbus Blue Jackets - Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars - Mattias Janmark
Detroit Red Wings - Niklas Kronwall
Edmonton Oilers - Adam Larsson
Florida Panthers - Roberto Luongo
Los Angeles Kings - Dustin Brown
Minnesota Wild - Matt Cullen
Montreal Canadiens - Antti Niemi
Nashville Predators - Auston Watson
New Jersey Devils - Brian Boyle
New York Islanders - Josh Bailey
New York Rangers - Chris Kreider
Ottawa Senators - Mark Borowiecki
Philadelphia Flyers - Claude Giroux
Pittsburgh Penguins - Kris Letang
San Jose Sharks - Joe Thornton
St. Louis Blues - Carter Hutton
Tampa Bay Lightning - Steven Stamkos
Toronto Maple Leafs - Roman Polak
Vancouver Canucks - Derek Dorsett
Vegas Golden Knights - Brad Hunt
Washington Capitals - Devante Smith-Pelly
Winnipeg Jets - Tyler Myers

Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson was last year’s winner.

Plenty of worthy choices among the 31, but hard to imagine Brian Boyle not winning this year’s award considering what he’s been through this season dealing with a diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia. He missed the opening month of the season and returned on Nov. 1, scoring his first goal a week later. He inspired a mural in New York City and later represented the New Jersey Devils at the NHL All-Star Game in Tampa in place of teammate Taylor Hall.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.