Blue Jackets Sean Monahan Wins Masterton Trophy; Presented To Him By Johnny Gaudreau's Widow
The award is given to the player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey
One of the most special awards that the NHL gives out is the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded each season to the player who is deemed to have demonstrated perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
The award — which honors Masterton, the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries sustained in a game — can be given to a player for any number of reasons, but is usually awarded to a player who overcame an injury, illness, or dealt with some sort of ice issue in their personal life.
On Thursday, it was announced that Columbus Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan was this year's recipient.
Monahan was best friends with late Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau and signed with Columbus last summer to play with his friend and former Calgary Flames teammate again.
However, Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were tragically killed before the season, so the two were never able to take the ice together.
The Blue Jackets played this season with heavy hearts and nearly made a run into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The league shared the emotional moment that Gaudreau's widow, Meredith, surprised him with the award.
"John knows I don't like the spotlight or attention, so I feel like he's probably watching down on that moment and laughing at me," Monahan said, per NHL.com. "Having Meredith come down, having three kids at home to surprise me is something that I'll be thankful for forever. Was a lot of emotions right away and very special for her to come and make the effort to come present that to me."
Man… is someone cutting onions in here?
The Masterton Trophy is one of those awards where anyone nominated — and each team nominates a player — is deserving of it.
The other finalists for this year's award were Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landskog, who returned to NHL action this postseason for the first time in three years after sustaining a serious knee injury back in 2022.