The National Hockey League has announced the nominations for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and Sabres’ forward Ryan O’Reilly is on that list.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is an annual award under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association and is given to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Only two Sabres have ever won the award since it first came out in 1968, with the most recent being Pat LaFontaine in 1995. The other was Don Luce in 1975.
After being traded to the Sabres on draft day and signing a seven-year, $52.5 million extension, O’Reilly crashed a 1951 Chevy into a Tim Hortons and fled before being arrested. However, he has been welcomed by the fans after all of his hard work this season.
O’Reilly has 52 points (17 goals, 35 assists) in 64 games and is one of the bright spots for a team in the bottom of the standings.
Some of the other nominations include: Pascal DuPuis (Pittsburgh), Michal Rozsival (Chicago), Jonas Gustavsson (Boston), Dmitry Orlov (Washington), Mats Zuccarello (Rangers), Mike Condon (Montreal), Brian Elliott (St. Louis), Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Zack Smith (Ottawa), and Shayne Gostisbehere (Philadelphia).
The trophy is awarded at the end of the NHL season.