Conn Smythe Trophy
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The Conn Smythe Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. The winner is chosen by the vote of members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is not necessarily a member of the Cup-winning team. The vote is conducted during the 2nd period of an elimination game in the Stanley Cup Finals. If the finals is not over in the game, the votes will be discarded and the procedures will be repeated until a Stanley Cup winner is decided. The trophy is handed out prior to the presentation of the Stanley Cup by the commissioner, not during the NHL Awards the following week.
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[edit] History
The trophy was named for Conn Smythe (1895-1980), a Hockey Hall of Fame builder and owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and as such, the trophy depicts the old Maple Leaf Gardens. The first trophy was awarded to Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens for his performance in the 1965 Stanley Cup playoffs. Since then, Patrick Roy has won it three times, more than any other player in history and Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, and Bernie Parent have each won it twice. As for teams, it has been won 9 times by assorted Canadiens, and 4 times each by players from the Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders.
The trophy has been awarded to members of a losing team five times, the most recent being Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2003. Ron Hextall won the trophy in the 1987 Stanley Cup finals while playing for the losing team, Philadelphia Flyers. The only non-goaltender to win the award in a losing cause is Philadelphia's Reggie Leach, who won it in 1976 when Montreal swept his Flyers.
With two exceptions, the winners of the Conn Smythe Trophy have all been Canadian. The two non-Canadian winners are Brian Leetch of the United States (when the New York Rangers won in 1994) and Sweden's Nicklas Lidström (when the Detroit Red Wings won in 2002). Both Leetch and Lidstrom play defence.
[edit] Conn Smythe Trophy Winners
* Member of team defeated in Stanley Cup Finals
