Backup goaltender Casey DeSmith was named as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by members of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) on Monday.
The award recognizes “the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.”
Having spent nearly the entirety of the last regular season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) because of salary cap concerns, DeSmith has been on the Penguins’ NHL roster for all of this season, serving as the backup to starter Tristan Jarry.
In 20 games, the 29-year-old DeSmith has a 17-11-7 record, a 2.54 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and two shutouts.
Forwards Mario Lemieux (1993) and Lowell MacDonald (1973) are the only members of the Penguins to win the award.
First given out in 1968, the trophy is named after a Minnesota North Stars forward who died that year as a result of a head injury suffered during a game.
All 31 active chapters of the PHWA nominate a player for the award before the association as a whole votes for a winner.
Former Penguins forwards Phil Kessel, Patrick Marleau, Jordan Staal and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were among those nominated this season.
The full list of nominees:
Anaheim Ducks — David Backes, RW
Arizona Coyotes — Phil Kessel, RW
Boston Bruins — Kevan Miller, D
Buffalo Sabres — Dustin Tokarski, G
Calgary Flames — Milan Lucic, LW
Carolina Hurricanes — Jordan Staal, C
Colorado Avalanche — Valeri Nichushkin, RW
Columbus Blue Jackets — Zac Dalpe, C
Chicago Blackhawks — Andrew Shaw, RW
Dallas Stars — Roope Hintz, LW
Detroit Red Wings — Danny DeKeyser, D
Edmonton Oilers — Mike Smith, G
Florida Panthers — Chris Driedger, G
Los Angeles Kings — Matt Roy, D
Minnesota Wild — Matt Dumba, D
Montreal Canadiens — Corey Perry, RW
Nashville Predators — Pekka Rinne, G
New Jersey Devils — Scott Wedgewood, G
New York Islanders — Casey Cizikas, C
New York Rangers — Colin Blackwell, C
Ottawa Senators — Nick Paul, LW
Philadelphia Flyers — Oskar Lindblom, LW
Pittsburgh Penguins — Casey DeSmith, G
St. Louis Blues — Vladimir Tarasenko, RW
San Jose Sharks — Patrick Marleau, C
Tampa Bay Lightning — Steven Stamkos, C
Toronto Maple Leafs — Jack Campbell, G
Vancouver Canucks — Tyler Motte, C
Vegas Golden Knights — Marc-Andre Fleury, G
Washington Capitals — Zdeno Chara, D
Winnipeg Jets — Eric Comrie, G
