Wild’s Spurgeon nominated for Masterton Trophy

Minnesota Wild defenseman and captain Jared Spurgeon has been nominated for a major award. Twin Cities affiliate KSTP made the report Monday.

The Twin Cities chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) on Monday announced that Spurgeon was nominated for the NHL’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is given to a player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Spurgeon has recorded 39 points (10-29=39) this season, leading all Wild defensemen in scoring and goals. He also is second on the team in plus/minus rating and tied for fourth in assists.

He also became the franchise’s all-time leader in games played by a defenseman on March 3, surpassing Nick Schultz’s 743 games.

Spurgeon is the second full-time captain in team history and ranks at or near the top of several statistical categories in franchise history, including goals, power-play goals, game-winning goals, shots on goal and blocked shots by a defenseman.

The Masterton Trophy winner is selected through a poll among the 32 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season. The award was first presented in 1968 in honor of the late Bill Masterton, who played for the Minnesota North Stars before he died on Jan. 15, 1968, as a result of head injuries suffered during a game.

Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was a finalist for the trophy last year. Former Wild goalies Josh Harding (2013) and Devan Dubnyk (2015) won the award.