Cancer survivor Oskar Lindblom of the Philadelphia Flyers has won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
The NHL announced Lindblom as the winner Tuesday night before Game 2 of the semifinals between the New York Islanders and host Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lindblom returned to play in the NHL after undergoing treatment for a rare form of bone cancer. Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in December 2019 and played two games for Philadelphia during the bubble playoffs in September 2020.
The 24-year-old Swede regained his regular spot in the Flyers’ lineup this season and played 50 of 56 games. He recorded 14 points averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time.
Lindblom completed treatment in July and was again declared cancer-free following another scan in March.
“It goes up and down every day,” Lindblom said at the time. “You can feel great one day, another day you feel like you haven’t played hockey for a while. You just have to battle through, try to be strong mentally and do your work every day and hopefully feel good.”
San Jose‘s Patrick Marleau and Minnesota‘s Matt Dumba were the other finalists for the award voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Marleau broke Gordie Howe’s career games played record at age 41, while Dumba continued his efforts to fight for more diversity in hockey.
The Flyers, among the more disappointing teams this season after a solid start, could be one of the more active teams in the offseason after failing to qualify for the postseason. But Lindblom figures to maintain his place up front. He has two years left on a deal that carried a $3 million annual price tag, and will hit restricted free agency at the end of the 2022-23 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.