Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has been named the NHL’s 2025-26 recipient of both the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership Award, the league announced Tuesday, capping a season that marked one of the most remarkable returns in recent NHL memory.
The Masterton Trophy is awarded annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association to the player who best represents “qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey,” according to the NHL. The Messier Award, selected solely by Hall of Famer Mark Messier, goes to the player who best “exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice during the regular season.”
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Taken together, the two honors underline just how significant Landeskog’s season truly was—both in his return to full-time play and in how he carried himself through it.
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, Landeskog missed three consecutive regular seasons due to lingering complications from a skate-blade cut over his right knee suffered in the 2020 bubble. The injury led to a long rehabilitation process that included four surgeries, most notably a cartilage transplant in May 2023.
He eventually worked his way back through a conditioning stint with the AHL Colorado Eagles in April 2025, before returning to NHL action in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, appearing in five games during Colorado’s first-round loss to Dallas.
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This season, Landeskog returned to the regular-season lineup for the first time since 2021-22 and played 60 games, finishing with 14 goals and 35 points. He followed that with a strong playoff run, adding six goals in 13 games as the Avalanche reached the Western Conference Final, where they were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights.
The season, however, was far from smooth.
In early January, Landeskog broke several ribs after catching an edge against the Florida Panthers on January 4 and crashing into the net. He missed the final 14 games before the Olympic break while recovering, but still returned in time to represent Sweden at the Milan Olympics.
Later in the season came another setback on March 6, when he was struck in the groin area on a shot during a sequence involving teammate Cale Makar. Landeskog later described the moment bluntly as hitting him “the nuts.” He underwent surgery and returned several weeks later, closing out the year in the lineup.
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Despite the injuries, his impact when available was undeniable. Colorado went 45-7-8 with Landeskog in the lineup compared to 10-9-3 without him.
After being named a Masterton finalist again this year, Landeskog spoke candidly about the recognition but made it clear his perspective on the journey was unchanged.
“It’s humbling and a great honor and there’ve been amazing players with incredible stories and perseverance that have been nominated or accepted the award,” he said last month. “But for me and what I’ve gone through, it’s just so far beyond what anybody else is going to be able to label it or not. Whether I win the Masterton or not, it doesn’t change anything for me. … For me the ultimate prize I’ve already won, and that’s to continue working and getting to play hockey.”
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Winnipeg Jets forward Jonathan Toews were the other Masterton finalists.
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Landeskog, who has spent his entire 12-year NHL career in Colorado, became the first player in franchise history to win either award. After everything he’s been through—multiple surgeries, long absences, and an uncertain return path—the dual honors serve less as a surprise and more as confirmation of what his season already showed: when he’s on the ice, he still sets the standard for leadership and perseverance in Colorado.
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