The Mark Messier Leadership Award is a National Hockey League (NHL) award presented by Mark Messier that recognizes an individual as a superior leader within their sport and as a contributing member of society.
The award is given to a player selected by Mark Messier to honor an individual who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes.
It was first awarded during the 2006–07 NHL season and sponsored by Cold-fX.
History[]
In its first season, the Mark Messier Leadership Award was awarded quite differently from most other trophies in the NHL.
In 2006–07, five players were honored with monthly awards as selected by the NHL based on the qualification of potential recipients while the final decision was made by Mark Messier.[1] The league did not announce monthly winners in 2007–08.
At the end of the regular season, one player is chosen as the Leader of the Year. The first winner of the annual award was Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings.
To date, Mark Messier is the only person to lead two separate franchises to the Stanley Cup as captain, accomplishing this with the Oilers in 1990 and with the Rangers in 1994.
Winners[]
| Year | Winner | Team | Month | Monthly Recipient | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Chris Chelios | Detroit Red Wings | November | Brendan Shanahan | New York Rangers |
| December | Scott Niedermayer | Anaheim Ducks | |||
| January | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | |||
| February | Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | |||
| March | Roberto Luongo | Vancouver Canucks | |||
| 2007–08 | Mats Sundin | Toronto Maple Leafs | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Jarome Iginla | Calgary Flames | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Zdeno Chara | Boston Bruins | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Shane Doan | Phoenix Coyotes | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Daniel Alfredsson | Ottawa Senators | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Dustin Brown | Los Angeles Kings | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Shea Weber | Nashville Predators | — | ||