NEW YORK – Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog is the 2025-26 recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” The award was presented by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) to honor the late Bill Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars who exhibited those qualities. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, as a result of an on-ice injury.
After watching videos of teammates, family and doctors expressing how proud they are of his rehabilitation journey, Landeskog was surprised with the trophy by his wife, Melissa, and their three children.
Each of the PHWA’s 32 local chapters submitted nominations for the Masterton Trophy. The top three vote-getters, as determined by a membership-wide runoff, were designated as finalists. The other finalists for this year’s honor were Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres and Jonathan Toews of the Winnipeg Jets.
Landeskog missed three full regular seasons with knee issues after playing through injury during the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup run. He had four major procedures done, including knee cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023. He became the first player ever to return to the NHL after having that procedure done when he re-joined the Avalanche during the 2025 playoffs. If his comeback wasn’t remarkable enough, his first full season back included broken ribs after crashing into the net in January.
“I don’t know if there’s a mode, but if you can go on NHL26 and build the captain, you just copy Gabe Landeskog,” Avalanche forward Parker Kelly told Corey Masisak in the Denver Post. “That’s what you’re going to build. He has it all, man. Just feel super lucky to play with him and super happy for him to get back in the lineup, do as well as he’s done this year, making an impact every night.” The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche went 45-7-8 when Landeskog was in the lineup and 10-9-3 when he was not.
