Landeskog’s Gutty Season Pays Off With Messier Honor

Gabriel Landeskog’s latest run was never going to look clean on a stat sheet, but that was never the point. The award recognizes the kind of presence teams lean on when the room gets tense and the games get heavy, and Landeskog delivered plenty of that. For a player who had to grind through every shift, this is the sort of nod that says the league noticed what teammates already knew. In a sport that loves its heroics, leadership still matters when the legs are heavy and the margins are thin.