Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was named the Bill Masterton Trophy and Mark Messier Leadership Award winner for the 2025-26 NHL season on Tuesday.
The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.”
The Mark Messier Leadership Award is awarded “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
Landeskog captained the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, but missed the following three regular seasons after undergoing multiple knee surgeries.
He returned for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and then played in his first regular season since the 2021-22 campaign this year.
The 6-foot-1 winger registered 14 goals and 35 points in 60 games despite also missing 14 games with broken ribs earlier in the season.
Landeskog helped lead the Avalanche to an NHL-best 55-16-11 record, capturing the Presidents’ Trophy.
He added six goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games before his team was eliminated in the Western Conference Final.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native also captained his country at Milano Cortina 2026, registering two goals and four points in five games during a seventh-place finish.
The Bill Masterton Trophy is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and a member from all 32 NHL teams is nominated for the award. Landeskog joined Buffalo Sabres defenceman Rasmus Dahlin and Winnipeg Jets forward Jonathan Toews as finalists for the trophy.
The Mark Messier Leadership Award is decided by Messier himself. The Hall of Fame forward solicits suggestions from team and league personnel to compile a list of candidates but Messier is the final decision maker.
Drafted second overall by the Avalanche in 2011, Landeskog has 262 goals and 606 points in 798 career games.
He became one of the youngest captains in NHL history in 2012 at just 19 years and 286 days old.
Landeskog has captained the Avalanche to nine straight playoff appearances and claimed five division titles during his tenure..
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan won the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2025 after overcoming the death of his best friend and teammate Johnny Gaudreau the prior summer.
Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin claimed the Mark Messier Leadership Award last season after he claimed the NHL’s all-time goals record, surpassing the legendary Wayne Gretzky and captaining his team for 16 seasons and counting.
