Campbell gets Masterton nominee nod

Within the bigger picture of the Toronto Maple Leafs growing into a first-place, playoff-ready team is the story of Jack Campbell.

“It hasn’t been an easy road for him,” said teammate Jason Spezza. “He came in (the NHL) with very high expectations and that he’s persevered and almost reinvented himself as a goaltender, on top of how he is as a person and how he cares about his teammates ... there are no bad days with Soup.”

Monday was particularly rewarding. A decade after he was a first-round draft choice of the Dallas Stars, he was announced as the Leafs’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy by the Toronto Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

The award, honouring “perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey” underlined the 29-yearold’s role in propping up the faltering team midway through the season, partly due to inconsistency in net. Campbell emerged as their most dependable stopper, rising from his backup role to set an NHL record with 11 consecutive victories to start a season. In winning 16 of his first 20 decisions, the second-year Leaf also broke George Hainsworth’s club mark of 15 from 1934-35.

As of Monday, his save percentage of .923 ranked seventh among league goalies with 20 or more games played as the Leafs clinched their first division title in 21 years a couple of days ago.

But in helping the Leafs, Campbell also had to help himself. Notoriously critical of his game much of his career, he’s had to learn to step back, fixate on positives and find another channel for his kinetic energy. As a No. 1 for the first time in the NHL, heading to his first ever playoffs, Campbell has become the attitude adjuster in the room and on the ice.

Coach Sheldon Keefe has wanted to remove the goaltending asterisk that’s haunted the Leafs in recent playoff eliminations and Campbell will get that first opportunity.

“He’s been a terrific story for me and our team, something to rally around. He’s worked extremely hard, first to be ready to play regularly and succeed, and from my perspective, to see his growth from (arriving last year in the COVID-19 shortened season), through his injury and this crazy season.”

The Masterton Trophy was created in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton of the Minnesota North Stars, a highly respected player who died after an on-ice accident that year when his bare head struck the ice during a game.

The PHWA released all 31 nominees on Monday, including 40-something warhorses Zdeno Chara on Washington and Patrick Marleau on San Jose. The winner is voted on by the entire PHWA at the end of the regular season.