Several Canucks making Masterton nominee pick difficult

The Vancouver Canucks are not making it easy for the local chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to nominate a Bill Masterton Trophy candidate this year.
In past seasons, the Canucks had few legitimate candidates. But this season, it can be argued, they have a number of worthy nominees. Some of the obvious choices include: forwards Alex Burrows, Henrik and Daniel Sedin and defenceman Alex Edler. Rearguard Chris Tanev and goalie Eddie Lack are also in the discussion.
Unfortunately, only one nominee can be selected, causing some angst among voters as Monday’s deadline for the chapter’s final pick draws near.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, named after the late Minnesota North Star who died of an on-ice injury, is an annual award under the trusteeship of the PHWA and is given to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season. But first, each chapter nominates a candidate.
Often, injuries or other personal or family healthy woes suffered in the previous season – and ensuing comebacks – factor into the selection process. New York Rangers forward Dominic Moore won the Masterton in 2013-14, when he returned after taking a leave of absence from the NHL in the spring of 2012 to care for his wife, Katie, after she had been diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer. She passed away at the age of 32 in January of 2013. After resuming his career, Moore played a leading role on a Rangers team that placed second in the Metropolitan Division with 96 points and reached the Stanley Cup finals.
In 2012-13, Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding earned the honours after battling Multiple Sclerosis – although, sadly, he has been out of the NHL all of this season because of effects of the disease and a foot injury suffered in the minors.
Comebacks are likely to influence the voting heavily again this year – and the Canucks have no shortage of players who have bounced back from injury and adversity.
If Vancouver winger Alex Burrows had his way, Henrik and Daniel Sedin would be in the running.
“The twins are always (good candidates) every year,” said Burrows. “They do so much in the community. They’re such great teammates. They show perseverance every year and they don’t miss games. They lead the way for us. I think they’re always good candidates.”
In a unique twist, one voter wanted to make the two Sedins one entry, because it’s hard to differentiate their individual accomplishments from each other. Alas, a two-horse entry is allowed in horseracing – the Sedins’ other favourite sport – but not in the Masterton voting process, so that idea was nixed. Each writer must select three potential nominees – and, even in the case of the Sedins, there are no two-for-one deals.
It says here that Henrik is a slightly better choice than Daniel because the Canucks captain played three fewer games last season while battling injuries much of the season.
“(Henrik) is always up there,” said Burrows. “He leads the way for us on and off the ice. He’s so good on the ice, but people don’t get the chance to see behind the scenes what he does, how he prepares, how he carries the load and shows everybody, the young guys, how to be a true professional. I’m sure he’d be another good candidate.”
But the decision of one Sedin over the other is highly debatable. Heading into Saturday’s game against Dallas, the twins shared the club’s scoring lead with 66 points after they both dealt with injuries last season. Henrik had one more goal (17) while Daniel had one more assist (50).
But Bieksa disputes the notion that Henrik, who saw his career consecutive-game streak end in 2013-14, has had a bounceback season.
“I wouldn’t say that Henrik had a bad season by any stretch last year,” said Bieksa. “His point totals were down, but so were everybody’s. Certainly, this year, him and Danny have stayed healthy, and they lead the charge offensively when they’re going.”
Burrows would be a worthy candidate based on the fact that he has thrived this season after battling injuries and struggling under former coach John Tortorella who, according to multiple reports, wanted the club to buy out his contract. Prior to Saturday’s game, Burrows had 14 goals and 14 assists, and his 28 points were almost double last season’s total of 15. Perhaps more significantly, he has managed to regain his place on the top line with the Sedins – while seeing duty on all four lines at different times of the season. Also, he has been used in all situations and improved his plus-minus mark to one (before Saturday) from minus-nine in 2013-14.
While again battling injury, he has helped the Canucks hold a playoff position for most of the season.
“Burrows has had a really good year,” said Bieksa. “I think he’s been healthy, which has made a big difference. He couldn’t get healthy, couldn’t stay healthy last year, got hurt, broke his foot, so I think that’s a key thing, being able to stay in game shape. Burr’s a heart-and-soul guy, too, so when he’s going, a lot of guys around him are following him. He’s contagious in that way.”
And then there’s Edler. He placed last in the NHL in 2013-14 with a minus-39 mark, despite being limited to 45 games due to a back injury that required surgery. But he had a plus-nine mark before Saturday’s contest and his 23 points exceeded last season’s total of 22. He had also logged an average 24:04 of ice time while helping to ease the strain on an injury-riddled defence corps.
“Edler has had a steady season as well,” said Bieksa. “He’s battled a few injuries at different times, but he’s just been real solid, steady.”
In other words, Edler also makes it difficult to choose a Canucks representative for the Masterton.
But all of the angst might not matter, because there are some obvious candidates elsewhere. Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins ranks among the league’s top-scoring defencemen after suffering a stroke, while Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk has revived his career. Dubnyk drew his 35th consecutive start for the Wild on Saturday after being traded to the Wild from Arizona early in the season and playing with Edmonton, Nashville and Montreal’s AHL farm team in Hamilton in 2013-14.
“I said right at the start of the year coming into the beginning of the year that I was just really going to enjoy every chance that I got to play again,” said Dubnyk while passing through Vancouver. “Every 60 minutes I just got to play, I was just going to not think past it and just really enjoy that 60 minutes that I got.”
He has enjoyed himself immensely – while not making it easier for writers to identify Masterton nominees elsewhere.
In the end, the Vancouver PHWA chapter’s difficulties will likely be moot, because no Canuck has ever won the award.
And, it appears unlikely that a Canuck will take it home this season.