Forward Sidney Crosby was selected as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by members of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The award recognizes “the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.”

In his 19th season, Crosby is the team’s leading scorer with 84 points (39 goals, 45 assists) in 76 games while averaging 20:05 of ice time per contest. On Monday, he recorded his 82nd point of the 2023-24 campaign and ensured he would finish the season with a point-per-game average for the 19th time in his career, tying a record initially established by the great Wayne Gretzky.

Crosby was previously selected as the Penguins’ nominee for the 2012-13 campaign and rose to being a finalist for the award that season after making his way back to the ice after a bout with concussion-related issues.

Forwards Mario Lemieux (1993) and Lowell MacDonald (1973) as well as defenseman Kris Letang (2023) are the only members of the Penguins to win the award.

Established 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 32 chapters of the PHWA nominate a player for the award before the association as a whole votes for a winner.

The nominees by chapter:

Anaheim Ducks - Urho Vaakanainen

Arizona Coyotes - Connor Ingram

Boston Bruins - Danton Heinen

Buffalo Sabres - Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Calgary Flames - Oliver Kylington

Carolina Hurricanes - Frederik Andersen

Chicago Blackhawks - Colin Blackwell

Colorado Avalanche - Jonathan Drouin

Columbus Blue Jackets - Zach Werenski

Dallas Stars - Matt Duchene

Detroit Red Wings - Alex Lyon

Edmonton Oilers - Vincent Desharnais

Florida Panthers - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Los Angeles Kings - Viktor Arvidsson

Minnesota Wild - Marco Rossi

Montreal Canadiens - Joel Armia

Nashville Predators - Michael McCarron

New Jersey Devils - Curtis Lazar

New York Islanders - Cal Clutterbuck

New York Rangers - Jonathan Quick

Ottawa Senators - Claude Giroux

Philadelphia Flyers - Sean Couturier

Pittsburgh Penguins - Sidney Crosby

San Jose Sharks - Justin Bailey

Seattle Kraken - Joey Daccord

St. Louis Blues - Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning - Mikey Eyssimont

Toronto Maple Leafs - Ilya Samsonov

Vancouver Canucks - Noah Juulsen

Vegas Golden Knights - Alex Pietrangelo

Washington Capitals - T.J. Oshie

Winnipeg Jets - Laurent Brossoit

Notes:

• The Penguins staged an optional practice in Cranberry on Friday. Those participating included:

Forwards - Emil Bemstrom, Jansen Harkins, Sam Poulin, Jesse Puljujarvi, Valtteri Puustinen

Defensemen - P.O Joseph, John Ludvig, Ryan Shea, Jack St. Ivany

Goaltender - Tristan Jarry

• Per Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, Harkins’ presence marked his first time in a full-contact capacity since he suffered a right hand injury on March 7. Currently designated to long-term injured reserve, Harkins is eligible to rejoin the active roster once he is fully healthy.

Players designated to long-term injured reserve must be sidelined for 10 games and 24 days on the NHL calendar. Harkins has exceeded each of those thresholds.

• Sullivan also indicated Ludvig is still “working through” an illness which has sidelined him for the past three games.

• Defenseman Ryan Graves, absent for the past four games due to a concussion, remains status quo according to Sullivan.

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