A worthy nominee

Some years, when those of us at the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association debate who to nominate for the Masterton Trophy, there is a clear favorite. This wasn't necessarily one of those years.

There were a few candidates bandied about, but we ended up settling on Rod Brind'Amour, and the more I think about it, the better I feel about that choice.

The Masterton has become a sort of who's-been-hurt-worst award of late, and not to belittle in the least those who have played through cancer or with only one working eye, but that's not entirely the original spirit of the award, which was to honor perseverance and dedication to hockey.

There's no one who better epitomizes those qualities than Brind'Amour, particularly this season, which for four months was a train wreck.

Athletes typically take a year to fully recover from torn ACLs like the one Brind'Amour suffered last February, although they also often return in less than six months. So he was under the gun from the start, unable to pursue his usual maniacal summer workout routine.

Then, running in Pete Friesen's preseason 5K, he tore cartilage in the same knee and went back under the knife. He was back in the lineup for Carolina's final preseason game.

And then, as all of that took its toll on his play and he stumbled through an absolutely miserable first half, he never complained, never asked for a night off, never wavered even when his plus-minus was the worst in the NHL — a veritable disgrace for a two-time Selke Trophy winner as the best defensive forward in hockey.

Finally, the Canes sent him home from Vancouver to deal with a nagging groin injury, and the treatment and time off seemed to revitalize him.

Since then: 23 games (through Florida on March 25), six goals, 12 assists, plus-9. The Canes, not coincidentally, are 15-6-2 over that span. He also became the fourth player to appear in 600 games for two different teams (all four have won Stanley Cups).

That's perseverance. That's dedication. That's what the Masterton Trophy is all about.

HURRICANES MASTERTON NOMINEES
2009 Rod Brind'Amour
2008 Glen Wesley
2007 Erik Cole
2006 Bret Hedican
2005 no season
2004 Brind'Amour
2003 Kevin Weekes
2002 Ron Francis (NHL finalist)
2001 Glen Wesley
2000 Sean Hill
1999 Arturs Irbe
1998 Kevin Dineen