Carbonneau, Daneyko and Graves finalists for Masterton award

May 31, 2000

NEW YORK (AP) -- Guy Carbonneau, Ken Daneyko and Adam Graves are the finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy that goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Carbonneau, 40, is the oldest player in the league and after 18 seasons remains one of the key defensive players on the Dallas Stars, who are seeking their second straight Stanley Cup against the New Jersey Devils.

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is an annual award under the trusteeship of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The winner is selected in a poll of the 26 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season.

"It's always nice to be considered for an award, especially for that trophy," said Carbonneau, 40, who has been a major reason for Dallas' success. "Obviously, it's a great honor. Any time you are mentioned for a trophy, it means you did something," Carbonneau said. "I am sure my age had something to do with it. I've always said I enjoy playing and I enjoy competition, and I think that's what writers look for."

The 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 exhibited, to a high degree, the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, after an injury sustained during a hockey game.

A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.

The envelope, please: TSN's NHL award picks
By Larry Wigge - The Sporting News - 6/15/00

MASTERTON TROPHY (perseverance and dedication to hockey)
GUY CARBONNEAU, Dallas Stars

Stanley Cups follow him around on the ice, but off the ice he's just as well respected with the charitable work he never says no to. A real champion for the game.