This is the NHL awards season. As the playoffs continue, the list of finalists for various year-end awards continues to drip. It’s been a tough season for many in the Columbus Blue Jackets, but several of their players are recognized as finalists. Zach Werenski was previously named the finalist of the James Norris Trophy and was reported on May 2 as Sean Monahan was named the finalist of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Masterton is a prize that no one really wants to win, because usually it means you’ve already gone through a lot of personal difficulties. According to NHL.com, the award is “granted to players who best reflect perseverance, sportsmanship and qualities of hockey.” Based on the winners won by the past, the most important word in this definition is “perseverance.”
It often encounters players who have re-action after trauma. Due to injuries during the game, it will return to a high level of game due to a lot of time lacking. Kris Letang has a great performance in the 2023 season, Kris Letang suffered a strong season in the season stroke, or Oskar Lindblom returned to the game after a cancer diagnosis. Or stay in the game despite mental health disorders. This is the victory for Connor Ingram in 2024, with Robin Lehner and Bobby Ryan in 2019 and 2020. These are often the types of players who win Masterton.
Monahan, who was named a finalist along with Minnesota wild Marc-Andre Fleury, has been evident in the climax of his 21-season career. Gabriel Landeskog from the Colorado Avalanche is another nominee. Landeskog fought back in 2022 injuries, playing his first NHL game in 1,032 days on April 26. Let’s take a look at Monahan’s path to nomination.
How does Monahan meet Masterton standards?
As I wrote above, it was a tough season for the Blue Jackets organization. Of course, this is not who has the worst competition, but you have to feel for Monahan. He was selected as No. 6 in 2013 and is one of the few players in the draft that can move to the NHL right away.
He was outstanding at the age of 18, scoring more than 20 goals and earning some votes as a rookie of the year candidate. It looks like the flames have drafted their future frontline center and for some time. He scored more than 20 goals in seven consecutive times, three with more than 30 goals. He hit a hurdle in the 2019-20 year, when his production dropped from a career high to a five-year low of 48. He was beaten by injury over the next two seasons, with only 18 goals and 51 points to 115 games. He just doesn’t look like himself.
Related: Zach Werenski of Blue Jacket Wins Norris Trophy
For someone they give, it’s too little to be their top line center. The Flames, who were hoping to be a Stanley Cup contender at the time, paid the first round pick and poured their salary into the bottom to feed the Montreal Canadians. In that moment, the era when Monahan became a productive top six-point center was behind him. He is destined to move forward at the bottom six or end the rest of his career. He turned the narrative over.
It started with a great season with a fledgling Canadiens. Then, in the leadership of the 2024 trade deadline, he went from being sold as a first-round pick to the Winnipeg Jets’ first-round pick. He finished a pretty good game but was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Monahan reunited with his best friend Johnny Gaudreau, who lives in Columbus since the Age of Fire.
It was an exciting summer as both and their young family had the opportunity to grow together, both under Columbus’ contract for the next five years. Then, this unimaginable tragedy that rocked the hockey world, the best friend was taken away in a horrible event. Just like when Monahan’s ice is together, everything collapses.
Despite everything he has experienced on and on ice, he could also be the best stats season of his career. He also dealt with more damage hardships due to wrist injuries throughout the season. Still, his 57 points in 54 games were the second time in his career to score at a pace per game. This also put him on track for 86 points, which will be the highest in his career. He is also one of the best overall lines in hockey, surrounding Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov.
Monahan’s career revival and returning to the front-line center form after a personal tragedy, undoubtedly qualifying him as Masterton Trophy. This is a strange phenomenon, this award. The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has to decide who is the worst hand that can still be broken. Monahan was named a finalist, which was recognized by people around the league, and what he could do was amazing, he definitely went to hell and regained respect.
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