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Getzlaf, Toews, Ladd are Messier Leadership nominees

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Lance Thomson

Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, and Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf have been selected as the finalists for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

The trophy, which seeks to award those “who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season,” is chosen by Mark Messier. All three of this year’s finalists led their respective clubs to the playoffs.

Toews has played a major part in Chicago’s rise to power since the start of the 2008-09 campaign. Going into this season, Chicago had reached the Western Conference Final in four of its last six years and won the Stanley Cup twice over that span.

Getzlaf, who also won the Cup back in 2007, played a key role in Anaheim winning its division for the third straight year. For Ladd and Winnipeg, making the playoffs was itself an accomplishment after the franchise’s struggles over its first three seasons in Winnipeg. Like the other nominees, Ladd has his name on the Stanley Cup, although he hasn’t accomplished that feat with his current team. He won it all with Carolina in 2006 and then Chicago in 2010.

Since the award was first presented in 2006–07, no player has won the annual version twice and that tradition is now guaranteed to continue this year.

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