Masterton 2015 Finalists

[Hennessy]

I don't know how you can say it is a recovery ward prize being that only one out of the 3 nominees has suffered an injury and has recovered from it.

Yes. I was only talking about this year's nominees in referencing what I am sick of.

 

[Weztex]

I don't know how you can say it is a recovery ward prize being that only one out of the 3 nominees has suffered an injury and has recovered from it.

Yeah but he will win it in a landslide. I'm with Hennessy on this. It went from honoring players who bleed hockey through highs and lows throughout their career to ''who got treated for the s****est medical condition. Sportsmanship and dedication to hockey are not factors anymore, as the award was intended to. Just make it flashiest comeback or biggest feel good story.

 

[Baby Ryan]

I think some of you guys are reading into this too much.

Regardless, Letang should and will win it.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

I was honestly surprised at Hammond and Dubnyk being there -- but good for them!

Letang has this one in the bag.

 

[uncleben]

Yes. I was only talking about this year's nominees in referencing what I am sick of.

Of the 46 winners so far since 1968, 22 have won it for recovering from health issues/injury

'72 Clarke - diabetes
'73 MacDonald - knee/ligament, cartilage damage
'76 Gilbert - back injury
'86 Simmer - knee/ligament damage
'89 Kerr - knee, shoulder injuries and asceptic meningitis
'92 Fitzpatrick - Eosinophilia–myalgia syndrome
'93 Lemieux - Hodgkin's lymphoma
'95 Lafontaine - series of head injuries
'96 Roberts - bone spurs and nerve damage
'97 Granato - brain injury
'98 McLennan - bacterial meningitis
'99 Cullen - non-Hodgkin lymphoma
'00 Daneyko - alcoholism
'02 Koivu - non-Hodgkin lymphoma
'03 Yzerman - knee realignment surgery
'04 Berard - eye injury/blindness
'06 Selanne - knee surgery
'07 Kessel - testicular cancer
'08 Blake - chronic myelogenous leukemia
'09 Sullivan - fragmented disc, sprained groin
'12 Pacioretty - concussion, fractured vertebrae
'13 Harding - multiple sclerosis

3 players won the award after not being able to recover from injury

'90 Kluzak - knee injuries/operation
'94 Neely - various injuries/myositis ossificans, knee, degenerative hip condition
'11 Laperriere - post-concussion symptoms/puck to the face

In '78 Goring won for overcoming being too short and light... if you want to count that.

And if you want to count overcoming mental/emotional trauma, 2 players have won under those circumstances

'10 Theodore - death of his infant son
'14 Moore - sickness and death of his wife


So it wasn't always about the recovery room, but overcoming grievous injury/health issues/personal trauma has been the trend since the early 90s.

The rest are mostly some rearrangement of the words "dedication and perseverance", and that has not been the case since
'01 Graves - "all-around dedication to hockey"

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

'07 Kessel - testicular cancer


Wow i did not know that

 

[uncleben]

'07 Kessel - testicular cancer


Wow i did not know that

Mid-season. And he only missed 12 games.

 

[TheCLAM]

I vote Bryan Murray

 

[T-Funk]

Lol at Dubnyk nomination. He overcame being a lazy ******* with no work ethic.

 

[Quarter]

I don't know why people are dismissing Dubnyk and Hammond when an easy case can be made for both. I mean, yeah, it's going to Letang, but there's no reason to say that the goaltenders haven't deserved their nominations.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

Seems odd. 1 guy came back from a stroke to a Norris caliber season, and the other 2 overcame the fact that they used to suck and got better? I dunno

I'm guessing Tang got like 90% of the votes and the goalies 5% each.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Lol at Dubnyk nomination. He overcame being a lazy ******* with no work ethic.

Right...I'm sure Dubnyk was the problem during his time in Edmonton. There's certainly no reason to believe he was mishandled by the management there at the time. No damning quotes from other coaches or anything like that...

 

[kingsholygrail]

Dubnyk recovered from Oilersitis.

 

[OmniSens]

I vote Bryan Murray

That's actually pretty interesting .

 

[uncleben]

Lol at Dubnyk nomination. He overcame being a lazy ******* with no work ethic.

You don't get to the NHL by being lazy.
Maybe in comparison to other NHLers? Idk, I didn't watch their practices and training days, and while he had bad habits and questionable technique on the ice, I wouldn't call him lazy. That's just a ******** buzz word that makes little sense in professional sports.
Reality is he had already worked his way up and earned the title of Oilers starting goaltender (and had actually been pretty good the season before!) before he collapsed last year. Even if his competition to get there wasn't the best, he obviously had some drive and passion and work ethic.

 

[hototogisu]

I don't know why people are dismissing Dubnyk and Hammond when an easy case can be made for both. I mean, yeah, it's going to Letang, but there's no reason to say that the goaltenders haven't deserved their nominations.

Because most people here don't understand what the award is actually intended to honor.

Which is understandable because, as has been pointed out, it is getting to be a "who was the sickest/suffered the most medical trauma" award.

 

[Esko6]

I thought Määttä would win this instantly after the cancer scare.

 

[Vesa Awesaka]

Murray is a good choice except its a player award no?

 

[tp71]

I thought Määttä would win this instantly after the cancer scare.

There can only be one player from each team nominated. The Pens nomination was Letang.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

Still feel Jagr deserves a shot.

 

[beowulf]

Because most people here don't understand what the award is actually intended to honor.

Which is understandable because, as has been pointed out, it is getting to be a "who was the sickest/suffered the most medical trauma" award.

This. I am guessing Dubnyk was nominated because of his outstanding season after having being traded a number of times and being sent to the minors in the last two season. He would be nominated because of dedication to the sport.

 

[Inkling]

It's refreshing that the voters didn't just go for the typical <player-gets-sick-follows-doctors-orders-and-recovers-and-plays-hockey-again> that typically seems to happen. Letang's case is exceptional and he will probably win it and deserve it, but Hammond and Dubnyk are both good stories.

Hate to pile onto Kessel, and don't want to minimize any type of cancer, but his win was kind of ridiculous and is what's wrong with this award many times. There was never any possibility that he would retire and end up driving a taxi cab back in Wisconsin. He got a serious but treatable disease, he got treatment and he got back to playing hockey. Same with Määttä this year, he had the surgery and returned 2 weeks later.

The 'thirty year old rookie' kind of story, and similar, is what this award should be about.

 

[OilTastic]

Dubnyk recovered from Oilersitis.

^he should win it just for surviving that !!

Dub was nominated because he was literally on the scrap heap in the minors and his future looked pretty bleak, yet not only did he come back, but he almost single handedly put the Wild into the playoffs, and even got himself traded from Arizona because he was actually winning games out there too and put the Yotes in jeopardy of not getting a shot at McEichel as well as vastly out playing over paid Mike Smith.

he played in 58 total games for the Yotes/Wild and won 36! his won/loss for the Wild was 27-9 .936 save % a sparkling 1.78 goals against and 5 shutouts....not bad from the ash heap, wouldn't you say? VERY MUCH deserves the nomination !

 

[wej20]

There can only be one player from each team nominated. The Pens nomination was Letang.

Pens already have next year's Masterton locked up .

 

[11Goat11]

Still feel Jagr deserves a shot.

Great point, talk about dedication to hockey...

My homer vote goes to Markov, he went through so many freak injuries the last few years, many thought he was done and he put up awesome numbers this year.

I think the 3 guys nominated are all deserving though especially Letang.