Rasmus Dahlin, Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Toews are the finalists for the NHL's Masterton Trophy.
The NHL revealed the three finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Monday.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, Colorado Avalanche left winger Gabriel Landeskog and Winnipeg Jets center Jonathan Toews are the final three players standing for the award.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."
Last year, Columbus Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan was presented with the trophy to commend him for his perseverance through the loss of teammate and close friend Johnny Gaudreau.
For this year, here is why each finalist deserves the honor.
Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres
Dahlin and his family have gone through some scary and life-changing experiences over the course of last summer and throughout this season.
During a vacation in France last summer, Dahlin's fiancee, Carolina Matovac, suffered heart failure, requiring her to spend several weeks on life support. She later received a heart transplant and spent months rehabbing and recovering in the hospital from the physical toll of the delicate operations.
Matovac eventually revealed the loss of her and Dahlin's unborn child, adding to the devastation of the experience the two have gone through.
For a week in November, Dahlin took a leave of absence to accompany Matovac and attend her periodic medical checkups in Sweden.
Later in March, Matovac was considered healthy enough to rejoin Dahlin in Buffalo and even get back to attending Sabres games.
Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
Landeskog is a finalist for the Masterton Trophy for the second straight season as part of his impressive comeback to the highest level of hockey.
The Avalanche captain missed three regular seasons after dealing with an unforgiving knee injury. He played through that injury during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Colorado won the Cup.
However, this injury was serious enough to have him go through four different major operations on his knee after it was accidentally cut by Cale Makar's skate blade in the 2020 playoffs. The long-term effect of this incident caused damage to his knee cartilage and forced him to get a transplant in May 2023.
But after all that time off, he made his return to the NHL in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, and he played 60 games during the 2025-26 season. He even suffered broken ribs after crashing into the net in January and returned from that. He's played all five playoff outings for Colorado so far.
Jonathan Toews, Winnipeg Jets
The idea of Toews returning to the NHL seemed highly unlikely after he saluted the Chicago Blackhawks crowd at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Since that season, Toews has dealt with multiple health issues, keeping him off the ice for about two-and-a-half years. The former Blackhawks captain has been dealing with long COVID-19 and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome since 2020.
He sought different options and ways to improve his health and immune system, including time spent in India for Ayurvedic Treatment.
Eventually, his health improved, and he signed a one-year contract with his hometown Jets. Not only did he return, but he played all 82 games for Winnipeg this year. He scored 11 goals and 29 points in his return season to cap off a remarkable and inspiring return to the NHL.
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