Blue Jackets’ Sean Monahan Wins 2024-25 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Monahan beat out Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, whose dedication to the game and its players has been evident through the highs and lows of his 21-season career, and Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, who had been sidelined by injury since 2022 and played his first NHL game in 1,032 days on April 26.

How Monahan Fits the Masterton Criteria

While the Blue Jackets had a good campaign, almost making the playoffs for the first time post-COVID, it was a tough one off the ice. Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau’s untimely deaths loomed large over the season, and Monahan was heavily affected.

Monahan and Gaudreau were Calgary Flames teammates for nine seasons. The two were very close and often described as brothers. When Monahan became a free agent last summer, the opportunity to reunite with Gaudreau was a big reason he signed a long-term deal with the Blue Jackets. Tragedy prevented them from reuniting on the ice.

In addition, Monahan spent many seasons fighting through injuries to return to top-line center status. Just a couple of seasons ago, the Flames paid the Montreal Canadiens a first-round draft pick to get his salary off the books because his production had dropped, and he had suffered a myriad of injuries. Many thought his time as a top-six center was over. But, since then, his career has had a resurgence. This season, he scored at over a point-per-game pace and played over 19 minutes a night as one of the team’s most reliable pieces.

Presenting Blue Jackets’ Monahan With the Masterton

Instead of the formal awards ceremony that took place annually in Las Vegas, the league has decided to present their year-end awards just before the playoffs end in various ways. For the Masterton, the NHL asked Johnny Gaudreau’s widow, Meredith, to present him with the trophy at his home. They shared a video of the presentation with the formal announcement.

Meredith Gaudreau said, “Sean fits the description for this award. All the little things he does behind the scenes, and everything he means to the Blue Jackets, to the NHL, and to my family.” She elaborated on how important Monahan was to her as she dealt with the loss of her life partner in a very public setting. “When I was asked to be a part of this surprise, I was so honored, so excited. Sean stood by my side for every tribute, every walk-out, and I dragged him out there to cry with me on national television so many times,” Gaudreau said. “I’m excited about this one because this one celebrates Sean.”

In the presentation video, Monahan said, “Winning the Bill Masterton Trophy means a lot to me. It’s a real big honor. There’s a lot of special names on that trophy. The meaning behind it is something I take great pride in in my day-to-day life. Being on a team, being a father, a husband. It’s a special thing and obviously fresh right now, but something I’m definitely going to be reflecting on a lot.”

Monahan also reflected on what Johnny Gaudreau would have thought of him winning the award: “John knows I don’t like the spotlight or attention, so I feel like he’s probably watching down on that moment laughing at me.”

Monahan is the first Blue Jacket to win an NHL award since Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender in 2016-17. That was the same season that former Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s best coach.