Gabe Landeskog made the kind of history that will help define his legacy in this city and in his sport.
The Colorado Avalanche captain became the first player to return to the NHL after having knee cartilage replacement surgery, part of a grueling process that cost him more than 1,000 days of being a hockey player. The Professional Hockey Writers Association on Tuesday named him as the 2026 recipient of the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy, in part because of the lengths he went to get back to this team.
He also won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, which is chosen by the former Oilers, Rangers and Canucks star.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded to the player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.” It is not meant to be solely a comeback player of the year award, but it would be impossible to argue that Landeskog has not personified those qualities over the past four seasons.
He is the first winner in franchise history. Colorado Rockies goaltender Glenn “Chico” Resch also won in 1982.
“I think it’s so well deserved,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said when Landeskog was named a finalist in early May. “I think he’s going to win it. I think he should win it. … There’s not many guys in the history of the NHL that have been able to kind of go through something like that for that length of time, and that much of a rigorous rehab, and wears on you mentally, physically, and to be able to come through the other side and still be the player that he is … and be the leader he is.”
Landeskog knew he was going to win the Messier leadership award, but his family surprised him with the Masterton Trophy during a filmed segment on ESPN’s pregame show ahead of Game 4 of the 2026 Stanley Cup final.
The Masterton Trophy was presented to Landeskog after he watched a short video with messages from Dr. Matthew Jordan, teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, his father Tony and his wife, Melissa.
Landeskog knew he was going to miss some time after helping the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2022. He embodied the sacrifice winning an NHL championship can demand, accepting the Cup from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly on June 26, 2022. The Avs captain lifted the trophy towards the sky with one healthy knee, while the other was just beginning to betray him.
The final total was four procedures on his knee, the last major one being cartilage replacement surgery. Other hockey players have had the procedure, but none have returned to the NHL. For most people, the surgery is something that improves future quality of life, not a path back to being a competitive professional athlete.
Landeskog’s return, first with the Colorado Eagles and then the Avs during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, was the stuff of storybooks. He was nominated for the Masterton Trophy a year ago, but had barely played any games when it was time for the PHWA to vote.
The next unknown was how Landeskog’s knee would react to the day-to-day of a full season again. The adrenaline of the playoffs was one thing, but the grind of a long campaign was something very different.
Landeskog’s first full year back was an incredible success. He helped the Avalanche win the Presidents’ Trophy, a near wire-to-wire run as the league’s best team in the regular season.
It was remarkable that Landeskog did not miss a game because of his knee. There were no nights off for maintenance or rest.
It was even more remarkable that Landeskog had to deal with a pair of incredibly painful injuries, a further testament to his perseverance. Landeskog sustained broken ribs after crashing into a goal post. He took a Cale Makar slap shot to the groin that needed surgery as part of the recovery process.
Despite all of it, Landeskog finished with 14 goals and 35 points in 60 games in the regular season. That was the most games he’d played in a regular season since 2018-19. He scored at a 26-goal, 57-point pace over his final 44 games after an understandably slow start.
Then came the playoffs, when Landeskog reminded everyone of his ability to produce at the most important time of the year — six goals, 11 points in 13 postseason games. He scored three of his team’s seven goals against Vegas in the conference final.
Landeskog has not only personified the best qualities of a deserving recipient of the Masterton Trophy, but he has also redefined the limits of being the archetype as a leader and a warrior in hockey.
