- Trophy name: Mark Messier Leadership Award
- Established: 2006–07 NHL season
- Holder: Mats Sundin
- Awarded: Individual who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes.
The Mark Messier Leadership Award is a National Hockey League (NHL) award that recognizes an individual as a superior leader within their sport, and as a contributing member of society. The award honors an individual who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes. It was first awarded during 2006–07 NHL season and sponsored by Cold-fX, is given to a player selected by Mark Messier who best exemplifies leadership skills on and off the ice.
History[]
Sponsored by Cold-fX, the Mark Messier Leadership Award worked quite differently in its first season compared to most other trophies in the NHL. In 2006, five players were honored with monthly awards as selected by the NHL based on the qualification of potential recipients, while the final decision was made by Mark Messier. The league did not announce monthly winners in 2007. At the end of the regular season, one player is chosen as the Leader of the Year. The first winner of the annual award was Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings.
The award was named after Mark Messier, a longtime player in the NHL. Messier is, to date, the only person to be the captain of two different teams that won the Stanley Cup, doing so with the Edmonton Oilers in 1990 and the New York Rangers in 1994.
Winners[]
| Year | Winner | Team | Month | Monthly Recipient | Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Chris Chelios | Detroit Red Wings | November | Brendan Shanahan | December | Scott Niedermayer | ||
| January | Sidney Crosby | February | Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||
| March | Roberto Luongo | |||||||
| 2007 | Mats Sundin | Toronto Maple Leafs | — | |||||