The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey. Defenseman Michal Kempny is the Capitals 2019-20 season nominee.

Kempny suffered a season-ending injury in March of last year in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. During a fight with Cedric Paquett, Kempny lost his balance, fell awkwardly to the ice and tore the back thigh muscle in his left leg. He re-joined the Capitals on October 18, 2019.

FROM NHL MEDIA RELEASE

A player from each team is nominated by the local chapter. Those nominations were revealed Tuesday. The list will be narrowed to three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.

Below is a list of the nominees for the 2019-20 season:

Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Miller, G
Arizona Coyotes: Conor Garland, F
Boston Bruins: Kevan Miller, D
Buffalo Sabres: Curtis Lazar, F
Calgary Flames: Mark Giordano, D
Carolina Hurricanes: James Reimer, G
Chicago Blackhawks: Corey Crawford, G
Colorado Avalanche: Ryan Graves, D
Columbus Blue Jackets: Nathan Gerbe, F
Dallas Stars: Stephen Johns, D
Detroit Red Wings: Robby Fabbri, F
Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid, F
Florida Panthers: Noel Acciari, F
Los Angeles Kings: Jonathan Quick, G
Minnesota Wild: Alex Stalock, G
Montreal Canadiens: Shea Weber, D
Nashville Predators: Jarred Tinordi, D
New Jersey Devils: Travis Zajac, F
New York Islanders: Thomas Hickey, D
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, G
Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan, F
Philadelphia Flyers: Oskar Lindblom, F
Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin, F
San Jose Sharks: Joe Thornton, F
St. Louis Blues: Jay Bouwmeester, D
Tampa Bay Lightning: Alex Killorn, F
Toronto Maple Leafs: Zach Hyman, F
Vancouver Canucks: Jacob Markstrom, G
Vegas Golden Knights: Shea Theodore, D
Washington Capitals: Michal Kempny, D
Winnipeg Jets: Mark Letestu, F

Kempný is playing in his fourth NHL season. In May 2016, as an undrafted free agent, he signed a one-year two-way contract with Chicago and went to North America after a year’s engagement in Omsk, Russia. Chicago traded him to Washington in February 2018, where he joined the ranks and, after winning the Stanley Cup, signed a four-year $ 10 million contract with the Capitals.

Michal Kempny announces he will be making his season debut tonight #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/ZPxjKJypug

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 18, 2019

In the NHL, he has 232 games and 61 points for 14 goals and 47 assists. In the playoffs, he scored five points in two games for two goals and three assists.