Calgary Flames defenceman, Chris Tanev has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Calgary chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA).
The annual award goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Previous Flames who’ve won the trophy are Lanny McDonald in 1983 and Gary Roberts in 1996.
The Calgary chapter of the PHWA stated Tanev had some “tough luck” with injuries during his time in Vancouver, though once traded to Calgary in October 2020, the D-man hasn’t missed a single game in the past two seasons.
“That certainly doesn’t mean that the durable, dependable defenceman isn’t often playing through pain,” the news release stated.
“The 32-year-old is a mentor to his blue-line partners, a respected leader in the locker-room and the sort of under-rated player that you appreciate more and more when you see him in action every night.”
The Calgary writers go on to say he’s also a fearless shot-blocker, “consistently sacrificing his body” to help out his goaltender. Flames starter Jacob Markstrom showed his appreciation for the 2022 season with a mask that includes a tribute to Tanev’s one-of-a-kind hockey smile.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was first presented by the NHL Writers’ Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars who exhibited, to a high degree, the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
The player died on Jan. 15, 1968, after an injury sustained during a hockey game.
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