Matt Dumba of the Wild, Oskar Lindblom of the Flyers, and Patrick Marleau of the Sharks are the three finalists for the 2020-21 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The award, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, is given “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.”
Bobby Ryan was last season’s winner.
Each local PHWA chapter submits one nominee and the full membership votes at the conclusion of the regular season. You can find the full list of the 2020-21 nominees here.
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Matt Dumba’s story: Last season’s King Clancy Trophy winner, Dumba continued to help make an impact in the community with the launch of his inaugural Matt Dumba Hockey Without Limits Camp during the Hockey Day Minnesota 2021 celebrations. "[At the grassroots level] is where you can make the most change for the next generation of young hockey players and young leaders in our game,” Dumba said via NHL.com. “I think having a camp like mine with as much inclusivity and diversity involved in it as there’s going to be tomorrow, is something special; something hockey’s really never seen before.”
Oskar Lindblom’s story: A finalist last season, the Flyers forward continued his comeback from bone cancer by playing 50 games during the regular season, scoring eight goals and recording 14 points. The good news continued for Lindblom as he was declared cancer-free again after a March scan. “Just to be able to play this game again, play in the NHL, the best league in the world, and I can still manage to be out there and compete, it’s a great feeling,” he said in April. “I’m just happy to be able to be here and play again.
Patrick Marleau’s story: It was an historic 23rd NHL season for the Sharks veteran. First, Marleau passed Gordie Howe for first place on the all-time regular-season games played list (1,768). He then became only the fourth player in league history to play in 900 consecutive games. An unrestricted free agent, it’s unknown if he’ll be back for a 24th season, but as it stands he’s 54 games behind Doug Jarvis (964) for the Ironman record and 12 behind current active leader Keith Yandle (922).
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The winners of the 2021 NHL Awards will be announced during the Stanley Cup Semifinals and Stanley Cup Final.
The trophy was presented by the NHL Writers’ Association in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars who exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey and who died on Jan. 15, 1968.
A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.
NHL Award finalists announcement schedule:
Vezina Trophy: Marc-Andre Fleury, Philipp Grubauer, Andrei Vasilevskiy
Ted Lindsay Award: Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid
Calder Memorial Trophy: Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Nedeljkovic, Jason Robertson
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Kurtis Gabriel, Pekka Rinne, P.K. Subban
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Auston Matthews, Jaccob Slavin, Jared Spurgeon
Selke Trophy: Aleksander Barkov, Patrice Bergeron, Mark Stone
Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award: Renee Hess, Kevin Hodgson, Howard Smith
Wednesday, June 9: James Norris Memorial Trophy
Thursday, June 10: Hart Memorial Trophy
Friday, June 11: Jack Adams Award
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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.