Does Brian Elliott Deserve The Masterton?

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On Thursday April 2nd the news broke that St. Louis Blues first-string goalie Brian Elliott was nominated for the Masterton Trophy, an award given “to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey,” per the NHL. The Professional Hockey Writers Association nominates a candidate per team, and the St. Louis chapter chose Elliott for that honor.

Essentially the Masterton is the “comeback kid” award, which Elliott could certainly qualify for after his knee injury early in the season that kept him out for more than a month. While the Blues made headlines with their unusual goalie situation (and signing of Martin Brodeur to a one-year contract, which he later decided to turn into a one-year contract with the Blues’ front office) Elliott’s return was hard-fought.

According to the NHL’s website,

The trophy was presented by the NHL Writers’ Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars, who exhibited, to a high degree, the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, after an injury sustained during a game.

However, Elliott faces some stiff competition. Looking through the nominees, some have battled through multiple injuries (including one player with two broken legs), some have played an abnormally high amount of games and others have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their community as well as on the ice. Nominations are thick on the ground with every team having one player selected but not all seasons are created equal. We’ll take a look at five frontrunners for the Masterton.

Brian Elliott has been nominated for the Masterton Trophy by the St. Louis chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association @ThePHWA
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) April 2, 2015

The PWHA will announce the winner at the NHL Awards held June 24th in Las Vegas.

Next: The Arizona Coyotes Put Forth:

Mar 16, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19) reacts against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. The Kings defeated the Coyotes 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Coyotes: Shane Doan

Doan’s team, the Arizona Coyotes, have not had the season fans were hoping for.

PD’s Sean Leahy quotes Doan’s bio, put forth by the PHWA:

“Doan was almost immovable while recovering from the bacterial infection, which caused severe headaches, fever and muscle aches. At one point, he spent 18 hours in the hospital undergoing tests including a spinal tap. Even the U.S. government was monitoring the case to see if this was the start of an outbreak in Arizona.”

This is serious stuff here; what’s even more incredible is that he recovered and was back to playing in the NHL in under a month, December to January 4th. He’s had quite a season, facing down a tank from management, looking at his last couple of years as a Coyote and probably as an NHL player, and continuing to rally the troops while bidding adieu to a number of Coyotes assets is a difficult enough season in and of itself. Add Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to the mix, and you’ve got something else. He’s sure to win the Masterton, right?

Next: The Blackhawks Nominate...

Mar 29, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling (33) warms up prior to the game against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Blackhawks: Scott Darling

Minnesota Wild: Devan Dubnyk

Dubnyk might not have the most heartstrings-tugging story out of the thirty athletes nominated, but his story is one of dedication and perseverance unlike any other. He went from being a somewhat-unremarkable goalie on a tanking team to being consistently credited with the miraculous turn-around the Minnesota Wild experienced this season.

Dubnyk consistently performed at a .937 save percentage over 36 games, posting wins in 26 of them. He faced down 983 shots, letting in fewer than 70 and earning a goals-against average of 1.74 per game, literally the best in the league, beating out Carey Price for that honor. (Goalies who played fewer than 30 games were excluded.) In fact, he played so well that he pulled himself from approximately 30th place to third in the league in terms of save percentage — and that’s including his games played in Arizona where he posted a middling .916 save percentage over 19 games.

He’s been mentioned in Hart and Vezina contention, and frankly, if he doesn’t get either of those, the Masterton should go to him simply out of respect for what he did for the Minnesota franchise.

Next: Finally...

Mar 12, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliott (1) during the first period in the game between the St. Louis Blues and the Philadelphia Flyers at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis Blues: Brian Elliott

Brian Elliott has, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “demonstrated extreme perseverance in the sport.” He’s currently having one of the best seasons of his career, averaging a .916 save percentage over 41 games. In the league he stands at 19th in terms of sv% out of goaltenders who posted 40 games or more, making them the first-line goalie. He has spent the past eight seasons in the NHL (nine if you count his one game with the Senators in 2007), working for that opening spot. Despite this, Elliott has always been viewed as a backup goalie, and was passed over by the Avalanche in 2011, which led directly to his signing a two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues for $600,000 in the NHL, or $105,000 in the AHL.

For a goalie who had been in the NHL for four years at that point, it had to be quite a disappointment.

Despite that setback, Elliott dedicated himself to improving his game and beat out now-Edmonton Oilers first-string goalie Ben Bishop for the backup spot to now-Islander Jaroslav Halak. He posted not-inconsiderable save percentages of .940 against 972 shots, ending up with a goals-against average of only 1.56. I don’t need to tell you that’s phenomenal, but I’ll say it anyway: that’s phenomenal.

He’s continued to work himself to the bone for the Blues, even giving up his vacation this February with last-minute notice to make the NHL All-Star game. He was the Blues’ nominee for the trophy last year,

So how could he not win the Masterton?

Next: Who Should Win The Masterton?

Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of the arena floor before the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone…And No One

In the end, you can make a case for any one of these players to win the Masterton Trophy, Brian Elliott included. All of them have demonstrated the perseverance required when facing tremendous challenges and difficult odds.

But awarding the Masterton to any one player is essentially missing the point.

I understand the intentions of the PHWA awarding the Masterton to a player who played and even excelled in the NHL in the face of huge problems in their personal lives but the execution is flawed.

The trouble lies in the inherent idea of competition over who had the most difficult year while continuing to excel at their sport. For many the idea of rehashing their problems over the past season (or more) and having them brought up for comment in a public arena is too much. Even if all nominees are more than happy to be selected as competitors for the award, not all experiences are created equal. One story that read as less challenging than another’s on paper may have been the most difficult thing that athlete ever experienced, and vice versa. I, for example, lost my grandmother a few years ago. When I tell people that, it’s met with vague “oh”s and sort-of-sympathetic faces. They don’t know, however, that I grew up living with her, and that she was as much a parent to me as my mother was.

See? On paper, not that bad. For me, though, it was devastating.

There is no way to measure the impact traumatic experiences will have on someone.

Instead of playing a game of can-you-top-this with athlete’s personal stories the PHWA should rethink the awarding of the Masterton. I do believe that each chapter should have the opportunity to nominate an athlete who demonstrated said perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.

That, however, is where the similarities end.

The awarding of the Masterton has the opportunity to do even more good than it currently does, awarding a grant in the winning player’s name each year to the Masterton Scholarship Fund.

Each athlete would then get the opportunity to choose a charity of their choice for the PHWA to award an appropriate sum. Who wouldn’t vastly prefer to use their own struggles to help others going through something similar, or personal to them?

Next: Blues Playoffs Push: Five Key Players

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