Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association after each teams nominates one player in competition. It is often awarded to a player who has come back from career- or even life-threatening illness or injury. A player can win this trophy only once in his career.

History
The trophy is named in honour of the late Bill Masterton, a Minnesota North Stars player who died on January 15, 1968, after sustaining an injury during a hockey game. During his playing career, Masterton exhibited "to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey". It was first awarded following the 1967–68 regular season. As of the end of the 2006–07 NHL season, players for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins have won the trophy 4 times each, while the Los Angeles Kings have won 3 times. Due to the nature of the award, no player has ever won it more than once.

Winners
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