Jonny Brodzinski named Rangers nominee for Masterton Trophy: ‘Hard work, perseverance pays off’
Jonny Brodzinski was named the New York Rangers nominee for the 2024-25 Bill Masterton Trophy on Wednesday He is among 32 nominees for the annual award, one from each NHL team.
Since 1968, the Masterton Trophy has been awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Each individual chapter nominates one player from each team and then the entire PHWA votes on the winner.
The award is named after former NHL forward Bill Masterton, who died from head injuries sustained in a game on Jan. 13, 1968, when playing for the Minnesota North Stars.
With five games still on the schedule, Brodzinski has an NHL career-high 10 goals in 46 games this season. He’s tied for eighth on the Rangers in goal scoring, and had a pair of two-goal games, the first of his NHL career.
After years of bouncing between the NHL and minor leagues, this is the first time the 31-year-old forward was on an NHL roster the entire season. Along the way, he played his 200th NHL game on March 28 against the Anaheim Ducks.
Last season, Brodzinski appeared in 56 games with the Rangers and had a career-best 19 points (six goals, 13 assists). However, he started the season with Hartford of the American Hockey League.
“It’s great. It’s a huge honor,” Brodzinski said Wednesday morning. “You know, been playing this game for a very long time and had to go through a lot of hoops and up and down a bunch of times. It’s a great honor.”
Brodzinski’s played up and down the lineup in a variety of roles for the Rangers, and also endured stretches sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch. Despite that, he’s grown into a respected leader and a model for younger players to follow.
On a recent road trip to his home state of Minnesota, Brodzinski and his wife invited several of the younger players on the Rangers roster to his home for dinner the night before a game against the Wild. The former Hartford captain has made it his mission to help the kids transition as smoothly as possible into the NHL.
“When I first signed in New York (before the 2020-21 season), I was fully anticipating only being an American League guy, just being a leader for the younger guys, just being a good captain down in the American League,” Brodzinski explained. “And then found my way back to the NHL just by doing that. Was never expecting to get back to this point, but hard work and perseverance pays off.”
Related: ‘It sucks to be in this position’: Jonny Brodzinski speaks out on Rangers failed playoff push
Jonny Brodzinski’s value has grown on, off the ice for Rangers this season
This season hasn’t been kind to the Rangers. It’s been one of the most disappointing in franchise history, especially coming off winning the Presidents’ Trophy a year ago and coming within two wins of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
The Rangers (36-34-7) are eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. Their tragic number to be eliminated from contention is three. They host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
Brodzinski’s become an important voice on the Rangers during their struggles this season. He’s an upbeat presence, but one that still provides honest and thoughtful takes.
He cut to the chase Monday night, after the Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1, just their latest failed bid to stay alive in the East playoff race.
“I think we just need to win out now. It’s no longer kind of a waiting it out kind of thing where we win a game and wait to see what they [the Montreal Canadiens] do. We have to win out and we need some help, too,” Brodzinski explained. “It sucks to be in this position. None of us wanted to be in it. It definitely sucks.”
Jonathan Quick was the Rangers nominee for the Masterton Trophy last season. Earlier this week, the 39-year-old was named the winner of the annual Rod Gilbert Mr. Ranger award.
Dominic Moore is the most recent Rangers player to win the Masterton Trophy, doing so in 2014. Jean Ratelle (1971), Gilbert (1976), Anders Hedberg (1985) and Adam Graves (2001) also won the award when playing for the Rangers.
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