Red Wings’ Marc Staal Nominated For Masterton Trophy

Detroit Red Wings veteran defenseman Marc Staal is the team’s nominee for the Masterton Trophy. Local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association nominate a player from the team they cover.

All members of the PHWA are then eligible to vote on the award, which goes to one player judged to be above others in perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to his sport.

Writers began awarding the trophy in 1968 to memorialize the late Bill 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.

Congrats on the nomination, Staalsie!

Selected by @ThePHWA, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game. 👏 pic.twitter.com/p3fkPcI0x4

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 25, 2022

Staal, 33, is one of the Red Wings respected by his teammates for how hard he competes in every practice and every game. Even though the Red Wings are a rebuilding team, the Red Wings will consider re-signing him for next season. The Red Wings’ management staff appreciates his attitude and the work he does mentoring younger players. He has set a good work ethic example for rookie Moritz Seider.

A Red Wings player has never won the award. Philadelphia Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom won last season.

1,000-Game Club

Staal played his 1,000th NHL game this season, joining his brother Jordan (Carolina Hurricanes) and Eric (out of hockey) on that special list. This marks the first time that three brothers have played 1,000 games.

Eric, the oldest at 37, has played 1,293 games. Jordan’s games-played number is 1,091 and growing. Marc Staal’s total is now 1,019.

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“(The record is) pretty special,” Marc Staal said. “I haven’t really talked to my brothers about it yet. Our family growing up, we loved the game, we played it, and we kept following each other up the ranks. For us to be able to play as long as we have in this league has been special and something we don’t take for granted. We’re very aware of how lucky we are. It’s a cool thing for sure.”