For Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog, the road back to playing in the NHL was an arduous journey over the last three years after suffering a knee injury that kept him from even walking at times throughout the recovery. While the dust is still settling around the Avs' unceremonious exit from the Stanley Cup race after being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, Landeskog has two new pieces of hardware to put in the cabinet as the 2026 winner of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier Award.
The Masterton Memorial Trophy is voted on and awarded to the player found to best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey by the PHWA. Landeskog played in his first extended regular season action since 2022, and in 60 games this year had 35 points with 14 goals and 21 assists.
The Avalanche, this year's Presidents’ Trophy winners, went 45-7-8 when Landeskog was in the lineup and 10-9-3 when he was not. Landeskog missed 22 games this year, some due to broken ribs suffered in January. The big Swede did recover enough in time to represent Sweden at the Olympics, and was back in action for Colorado as soon as he got back from Milan.
Meanwhile, the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award is assembled from information provided by league personnel and staff while being decided by NHL legend Mark Messier and is presented to the player who best demonstrates leadership for his team both on and off ice. Landeskog took to the ice as the first player to skate in the NHL after having his knee cartilage replaced last year in the playoffs, and this year returned to his team, even in sometimes a reduced, third line role, and took charge as the Avs made their deepest postseason run since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022 with Landeskog at the helm.