MONTREAL – The National Hockey League announced on Wednesday that the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) selected Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson as the team candidate for the Bill Masterton Trophy for the 2024-25 season.
Anderson has appeared in 77 games with the Canadiens this season, registering 15 goals and 12 assists in addition to 84 penalty minutes. The 30-year-old forward also played his 600th career NHL game on March 12 in Seattle.
The 6-foot-3, 226-pound forward has shown perseverance and dedication this season, serving as an inspiration for his teammates with his intense and physical style of play. He currently ranks fourth on the team with 160 hits. Anderson has also been an important part of the Canadiens’ special teams, logging the fourth-most average ice time per game on the penalty kill among Montreal forwards. Anderson and Christian Dvorak, with whom he played most of the season with on the penalty kill, have been instrumental to the team’s success on the PK, which is currently ranked 10th in the NHL.
Since 1968, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy has been awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The winner is selected by a poll among the 32 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season. The trophy commemorates the late Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars, who lost his life following an NHL game on January 15, 1968.
Six Canadiens players have been awarded with the Masterton Trophy since its inception; Carey Price (2021-22), Max Pacioretty (2011-12), Saku Koivu (2001-02), Serge Savard (1978-79), Henri Richard (1973-74), and Claude Provost (1967-68), who was the inaugural recipient of the award.
