At age 36, Cal Clutterbuck is continuing to be the consistent player he's always been for the New York Islanders.
At age 36, Cal Clutterbuck is continuing to be the consistent player he's always been for the New York Islanders.
The Masterton Trophy is a prestigious award given to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.
The whole name of the award is the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, named after Bill Masterton, who was the only player in NHL history who had passed away due to an injury suffered in a game.
Each NHL team has one player selected to be a nominee, as they are voted on by the members of The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, which Stan Fischer is a member of.
The New York Islanders nominee this year is alternate captain Cal Clutterbuck.
The 17-year NHL vet has suited up in all 76 games for the Islanders this season, six games away from playing in all 82 for the first time in his career.
Clutterbuck has put together a solid season, with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points, which is his highest point total since the 2018-2019 season, when he had 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists).
Most notably for Clutterbuck this year was reaching the 1,000-game milestone on Nov. 22 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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On Mar. 28, Clutterbuck became the first player in NHL history to record 4,000 career hits in a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
The all-time hits leader in NHL history is in the final year of his contract with the Islanders, and his future is unknown.
Acquired by the Islanders in the summer of 2013 from the Minnesota Wild for Nino Neidereiter, he's played 712 games for the Blue & Orange with 81 goals and 102 assists for 183 points, with 2,5559 hits.
Members of the Islanders have won the Masterton Trophy three times, with Robin Lehner winning the most recent one in 2018-2019.