The NHL announced the three finalists for the 2025 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, and the Capitals’ nominee, captain Alex Ovechkin, was not among them.
The players up for the award are Marc-Andre Fleury, Gabriel Landeskog, and Sean Monahan. The winner will be revealed next month with the rest of the year’s awards.
Ovechkin finished his age-39 season with 73 points (44g, 29a) in 65 games after starting the year scoring 15 goals in his first 18 games before breaking his left leg in November. He missed only 16 games with the first severe injury of his career, returning just a month and 10 days later.
Despite missing a total of 17 games at year’s end, Ovechkin still managed to score the 42 goals he needed to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. In his 20th season in the NHL, Ovechkin finished tied for third in goals scored (44), with only William Nylander (45) and Leon Draisaitl (52) ahead of him.
The Masterton Trophy is one of the few individual awards Ovechkin has not won during his illustrious career.
Fleury is a finalist after completing his final year in the NHL after playing 21 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks, and Minnesota Wild. The 40-year-old netminder served as Minnesota’s backup to Filip Gustavsson during the 2024-25 campaign, posting a 14-9-1 record with a 2.93 goals-against average, .899 save percentage, and one shutout.
Landeskog returned to the NHL this season after two full years away from the Colorado Avalanche due to knee surgery and a follow-up cartilage transplant surgery. In April, the 32-year-old Swede completed a conditioning assignment with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and made his return to the Avalanche in the postseason, playing his first NHL game in 1,032 days. He has since recorded four points (1g, 3a) in four games back.
Monahan produced at over a point-per-game rate with the Columbus Blue Jackets, 57 points (19g, 38a) in 54 games, shortly after the death of close friend and teammate Johnny Gaudreau. The 30-year-old center signed with Columbus to reunite with his former Calgary Flames teammate, who, along with his brother Matthew, were tragically killed by a suspected drunk driver while bicycling, and he has stepped up as a leader in the Blue Jackets’ locker room in Gaudreau’s absence.
Here’s the full press release from the NHL:
Fleury, Landeskog, Monahan named Masterton Trophy finalists
Wild goalie, Avalanche captain, Blue Jackets center up for award
NEW YORK – Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan are the three finalists for the 2024-25 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey,” the National Hockey League announced today.
The local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) submitted nominations for the Masterton Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season and the top three vote-getters were designated as finalists.
Following are the finalists for the Masterton Trophy, in alphabetical order:
Marc-Andre Fleury, Minnesota Wild
Fleury posted a 14-9-1 record with a 2.93 goals-against average, .899 save percentage and one shutout in 26 games with the Wild, upping career totals over his 21 NHL seasons to 575-339-97 in 1,051 games with a 2.60 GAA, .912 save percentage and 76 shutouts. He ranks second all-time in wins, games, starts (1,017) and minutes played (60,669:03). “I’ve had lots of ups and downs in my career, and I think that perseverance helped me … try to bounce back after the tough moments. I love the game. I’ve loved hockey since I’m a kid, I still do. Always feel very fortunate to be where I am today,” Fleury told Michael Russo in The Athletic. “The always-jovial Fleury is one proud athlete, yet at age 40, he signed for one final year and accepted his role as [Filip] Gustavsson’s backup to prioritize team success over personal accolades despite being on the cusp of retirement,” Russo wrote. “This is a man who has long been one of the game’s most beloved figures for his competitiveness on the ice, how he treats people off it and his unbridled love and enthusiasm for a sport that won’t be the same without him.”
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
Years of rehabilitation culminated in a major milestone when Landeskog made his AHL debut on a conditioning assignment with the Colorado Eagles on April 11. The 32-year-old Avalanche captain hadn’t played since June 26, 2022, a 2-1 victory against the Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. He missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season following knee surgery, then opted for cartilage transplant surgery, which resulted in him missing the 2023-24 season and the 2024-25 regular season. The grueling rehab work and associated mental challenges were chronicled in the five-part documentary series “A Clean Sheet,” released in March. “There were times where it would feel like it was so far to that next win,” Landeskog told Corey Masisak in the Denver Post. “You’ve got to break it down in incremental parts. Like, can I get through this workout? Yes, you did. Check. That’s a win. Throughout some of the tougher periods, some of the setbacks, especially, it’s like, just get through the day. That’s it … Obviously it’s been challenging mentally at times. So you just lean on your support system for those moments.”
Sean Monahan, Columbus Blue Jackets
Monahan, who signed with Columbus on July 1, 2024 to reunite with Johnny Gaudreau after the pair played together for nine seasons in Calgary, has served as an inspiration amid the unspeakable tragedy of Gaudreau’s death last August. He finished with the fifth-most points by a Blue Jackets player in his first season with the club (57) – a list Gaudreau sits second on (74 in 2022-23). His 1.06 points per game was the highest by any first-year Columbus player. “Even the veteran players, even those who have lived with grief in their own lives, have been awed by Monahan’s ability to play at a high level while modeling grace and vulnerability,” wrote Aaron Portzline in The Athletic. “Just the way Monny has persevered through really, really hard times. It’s been inspiring to me and to the whole group,” captain Boone Jenner said. “The way he’s handled himself, just stepping in here under those circumstances. He’s been a leader in the room and a leader on the ice. He’s a true pro. Everyone can learn from him.”
Bill Masterton Memorial Scholarship Fund
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.
History
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.
Announcement Schedule
The series of NHL Trophy finalist announcements for the 2025 NHL Awards continues Monday, May 5, when the three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy will be unveiled.
