New Jersey Devils: Brian Boyle Is Winning Bill Masterton Trophy
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils announced that Brian Boyle is their nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy. He is the only player who should have a chance.
The Bill Masterton Trophy is an interesting award in the NHL. It’s awarded to the player who “best embodies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game of hockey.” There is no player in the entire league that does that like New Jersey Devils center Brian Boyle.
There are some decent nominees this season. Carter Hutton is a good one on the St. Louis Blues. Tyler Myers with the Winnipeg Jets went through a nightmare season in 2016-17, so he’s deserving after the season he’s had. Kris Letang came back from a neck injury, and earned his nomination for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
These are all great nominees, and in other seasons would be great winners. This isn’t a normal year for the Masterton Trophy.
Brian Boyle is fighting cancer. Quite possibly the scariest disease in existence. Despite that, he’s playing an entire hockey season and lifting his teammates to a surprise run towards the playoffs.
Boyle was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia right before the preseason started. He wasn’t able to hit the ice until the end of October, and didn’t make his debut in the Devils lineup until November. Despite that, he’s on pace to have more goals and point than the last two seasons. He was a driving force during the Devils best times. He always seemed to score when they needed him most.
He’s been in a bit of a scoring slump, but that’s never been what he was supposed to do for this team. Also, fighting cancer while going through a full NHL season has to take all the energy out of someone. Yet, you never hear Boyle complain. Not once did Boyle use his condition as an excuse.
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No offense to the other nominees on the list, but Boyle is the only nominee that matters. Craig Anderson won the award last season because of what he dealt with off the ice. His wife went through a very public battle with cancer herself. He was more than deserving.
Take that blueprint, but put the player on the ice as the one fighting cancer. Has anyone ever shown perseverance and dedication to hockey like that? It reminds you of the 90s when Mario Lemieux was going through his own cancer fight, yet didn’t skip a beat on the ice.
Boyle is the winner. There’s no real argument. I really do sympathize with the players going through injuries or other personal issues to make their hockey career work, but fighting cancer goes beyond that. This is life or death. That’s why Brian Boyle will be your winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy.