WINNIPEG, May 4, 2026 – The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club, in conjunction with the National Hockey League, announced that forward Jonathan Toews is among the three finalists for the 2025-26 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton Trophy is awarded annually “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.”
Toews, 38, was selected as a nominee by the Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) for his ability to endure a multi-year, health-related absence from the NHL and persevere to make his comeback for his hometown Jets for the 2025-26 season. The winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA.
Toews played all 82 games for Winnipeg this season and recorded 29 points (11G, 18A) and 38 penalty minutes. Toews, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, was among the NHL’s leaders in faceoff percentage (62.1%) in 2025-26 and posted his 16th consecutive double-digit goal season. He has played 1,149 career NHL games and tallied 921 points (383G, 529A) and 645 PIMs. Toews has already won several marquee NHL awards: the 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, the 2012-13 Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward, and the 2014-15 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.
Toews stepped away from hockey at the end of the 2022-23 season after dealing with numerous health issues, including Long COVID and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, that had plagued him since 2020. In addition to his play on the ice, Toews has been a valuable mentor to his Jets teammates and contributed to a variety of causes in the community.
The Masterton Trophy was first presented by the NHL Writers' Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars, who was originally from Winnipeg and exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15/68 from an injury he sustained during a hockey game. A grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, MN, in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.
-#####-
