The Los Angeles chapter of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Assocation has selected Vincent Lecavalier as the Los Angeles Kings‘ 2015-16 nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton is awarded to the player who best exemplifies “the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”
The 35-year-old centreman was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career last year, and after being relegated to the press box for much of the season in Philadelphia, he’s gotten a fresh start in LA and largely taken advantage of it. Lecavalier has eight goals and seven assists in 35 games, hasn’t been a healthy scratch yet, and (I can only assume) will try to be a playoff difference-maker for a major contender in his final season in the NHL. He probably won’t be a finalist — Mats Zuccarello, Pascal Dupuis, and Jaromir Jagr are probably the favorites — but it’s a well-deserved nod. (You can see the nominees, and the reasons they were nominated, here.)
For the record, here are LA’s Masterton nominees in this decade:
2011: Willie Mitchell
2012: Colin Fraser
2013: Jonathan Bernier
2014: Willie Mitchell
2015: Robyn Regehr
Three members of the Los Angeles Kings have won the Masterton Trophy: Butch Goring (1977-78), Bob Bourne (1987-88), and Dave Taylor (1990-91).