Matthew Robertson named Rangers nominee for Masterton Trophy
It didn’t take Matthew Robertson long to make his mark with the New York Rangers now that he’s finally in his first full NHL season. On Wednesday, Robertson was named the Rangers nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy.
Since 1968, the Masterton Trophy has been awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Each individual chapter nominates one player from each team and then the entire PHWA votes on the winner.
The award is named after former NHL forward Bill Masterton, who died from head injuries sustained in a game on Jan. 13, 1968, when playing for the Minnesota North Stars.
Robertson earned the nomination after becoming a lineup regular in his rookie season with the Rangers. That followed four up-and-down seasons of playing with Hartford of the American Hockey League, where he went from a top prospect within the organization to an afterthought due to inconsistent play and injuries.
The 25-year-old defenseman had his best minor-league campaign in 2024-25, earning his first NHL game action at the end of last season. Robertson nearly scored on his first shift in his NHL debut against the Florida Panthers last April, and landed a two-year contract with the Rangers as a restricted free agent last summer.
Robertson openly credits working with a sports psychologist for helping him navigate the difficult times and disappointments along the way. And it’s all paid off for the 2019 second-round draft pick (No. 49 overall), who not only made the New York’s opening-night roster, but emerged as a reliable fixture on the defense corps.
“It’s really worked for me,” Robertson told The Athletic. “Physically, I feel like I have the abilities to be a NHL player. It’s just the mental side that was holding me back with consistency and my approach. I’m still working on it, but I think it’s helped me a lot.”
Averaging 17:30 of ice time over 68 games this season, Robertson is fourth among Rangers defensemen with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists), and has a solid 50.40 percent expected goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. His overtime goal against the Boston Bruins in late January after a scintillating end-to-end rush is one of the Rangers’ true highlights of the season.
Largely playing in the bottom four at even strength, and taking on an important penalty-killing role. Robertson is also third among Rangers defensemen with 101 hits and fourth with 78 blocked shots.
Simply, Robertson’s been a net positive for the Rangers in what’s been an extremely disappointing season for the team overall. And it appears that he’s in good standing as the Rangers retool their roster moving forward.
His is quite the story of redemption, making Robertson a very deserving nominee for the Masterton Trophy.
Dominic Moore is the most recent Rangers player to win the Masterton Trophy, doing so in 2014. Jean Ratelle (1971), Rod Gilbert (1976), Anders Hedberg (1985) and Adam Graves (2001) also won the award when playing for the Rangers.
Jonny Brodzinski was the Rangers nominee for the Masterton Trophy last season.
