Gabriel Landeskog for the second consecutive season was named a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Monday.

The Masterton Trophy, awarded “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey,” will see its winner announced at a later date. Landeskog was a finalist last season but did not win. Voting had concluded by the time Colorado’s captain returned to action with the Avalanche in the playoffs.

The other two finalists for the award are Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin and Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews.

Everyone by this time is aware of Landeskog’s story. The 33-year-old winger missed three NHL seasons due to a right knee injury, on which he had a cartilage transplant in May 2023. He became the first player to return to the NHL after undergoing that procedure. After returning for five games during Colorado’s postseason run last year, Landeskog this season completed his first full NHL season since the 2021-22 campaign.

In 60 games, Landeskog picked up 14 points and 35 points for the Avalanche. In five playoff games, he’s picked up five points. What’s most remarkable about Landeskog’s return to the Avalanche is how much he has meant to the team. When you include the postseason games played thus far, the Avalanche are 50-7-8 with the captain in the lineup.

The Swede persevered through a few painful injuries this season. In January, he went full-speed into the goal posts in Florida and sustained broken ribs. He was able to return in time to captain Team Sweden at the Olympics. Just a few games after the Avalanche returned from the Olympics break, Landeskog took a Cale Makar slap shot to, in his own words, “the nuts.” The surgery he required from that shot caused him to miss another two weeks of hockey.

Landeskog and the Avalanche are up 1-0 in their series with the Minnesota Wild in the second round of the NHL playoffs. Game 2 is Tuesday.