List of National Hockey League awards

Trophies on display at the 2006 NHL Awards Ceremony.

The National Hockey League presents numerous annual awards and trophies to recognize its teams and players. The oldest, and most recognizable, is the Stanley Cup. First awarded in 1893, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the NHL's playoff champion. The Stanley Cup is the third trophy to be used as the league's championship, as for the first nine years of the NHL's existence, it remained a multi-league challenge cup.^[1]

History

Team trophies

The NHL's first championship trophy was the O'Brien Trophy, which was created by the National Hockey Association in 1910 and transferred to the NHL in 1918, after which it was awarded to the playoff champion until 1927. Following the demise of the Western Hockey League after the 1926 season, the Stanley Cup became exclusive to the NHL, and the O'Brien Trophy became the trophy awarded to the NHL Canadian Division champion. After the 1938 season, the league reverted to one division, and the O'Brien Trophy was awarded to the Stanley Cup runners-up, until it was retired in 1950.

The Prince of Wales Trophy was introduced in 1925 as an award for the NHL's playoff champion (alongside the O'Brien Trophy). It soon became the NHL American Division trophy following the 1927–28 season, until the 1937–38 season, when the league reverted to one division. It then became the award for best regular season record, before becoming the East Division trophy in 1967–68. The Prince of Wales Trophy remains an active award. It is awarded to the playoff champion of the Eastern Conference.

The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl was created in 1967 to serve as the Western Division counterpart to the Prince of Wales Trophy. It is now awarded to the Western Conference champion.

The youngest team trophy is the Presidents' Trophy, which has been awarded to the NHL's regular season champion since 1986.

Individual trophies

The first individual trophy was the Hart Trophy, first awarded in 1924 to the league's most valuable player. This trophy was replaced by the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1960 when the original Hart trophy became too unwieldy.^[2] The Lady Byng Trophy followed in 1925, a year later, awarded to the most gentlemanly player in the league. Two years later, the Vezina Trophy was created for the NHL's top goaltender. The Conn Smythe Trophy was first awarded to the NHL's playoff most valuable player in 1965. Presently, the NHL has 18 annual individual trophies and awards, the most recently created being the Mark Messier Leadership Award, first awarded in 2007, and the NHL General Manager of the Year Award which was inaugurated in 2010.

Out of the original individual NHL trophies that were awarded prior to expansion (which would be followed by the creation of more individual awards), several players are tied with three awards in the same season. Stan Mikita won the Hart, Art Ross, and Lady Byng trophies, doing so consecutively in the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons.^[3] Guy LaFleur and Wayne Gretzky have each won the Art Ross, Hart, and Conn Smythe trophies, as well as the Cup, in 1976-77 and 1984–85, respectively. Bobby Orr won the Hart, Norris, and Conn Smythe trophies, along with the Stanley Cup, in 1969–70 and 1971-72. In 1970, Orr also won the Art Ross which makes him the only player to capture four original NHL awards in a single season (Orr also earned a NHL First Team selection, and the only honor which he was eligible for but did not win was the Lady Byng due to his physical style of play).^[4][5]

In addition, the First and Second All-Star Teams have been named since the 1930–31 NHL season to honor the best performers over the season at each position, as well as the NHL All-Rookie Team from 1983 onwards.

Most of the individual trophies and all-star selections are presented at an annual awards ceremony held in late June after the conclusion of the playoffs. Some of these trophies are automatically awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season. Other individual trophies are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association or the team general managers.

Team trophies

Image	Award	Created	Description	Current holder
	Stanley Cup	1893	Awarded to the NHL playoff champion. Previously it was a challenge cup (1893–1914) and then an interleague championship trophy (1915–1926)[6]	Chicago Blackhawks (2014–2015)
	Prince of Wales Trophy	1925	Awarded to the Eastern Conference playoff champion. Previously awarded as the NHL playoff championship (1925–1927), the American Division Champion (1928–1938), the regular season championship (1939–1967), East Division championship (1968–1974) and Wales Conference championship (1975–1993)[7] It was first awarded to the winner of the first game in Madison Square Garden in 1925.[8]	Tampa Bay Lightning (2014–2015)
	Clarence S. Campbell Bowl	1968	Awarded to the Western Conference playoff champion Previously awarded as the West Division title (1968–1974) and Campbell Conference championship (1975–1993)[9]	Chicago Blackhawks (2014–2015)
	Presidents' Trophy	1986	Awarded to the club finishing the regular season with the best overall record (based on points)[10]	New York Rangers (2014–2015)
	O'Brien Trophy	1910	Awarded by the National Hockey Association (1910–1917) and NHL (1918–1927) to the league playoff champion, Canadian Division regular season champion (1928–1938), and Stanley Cup runner-up (1939–1950)[11]	Retired in 1950 Last winner: New York Rangers

Individual trophies and awards

Image	Award	Created	Description	Current holder
	Hart Memorial Trophy	1924	Awarded to the league's most valuable player[12]	Carey Price Montreal Canadiens
	Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	1925	Awarded to the player who exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability[13]	Jiri Hudler Calgary Flames
	Vezina Trophy	1927	Awarded to the league's top goaltender[14]	Carey Price Montreal Canadiens
	Calder Memorial Trophy	1937	Awarded to the league's most outstanding rookie player[15]	Aaron Ekblad Florida Panthers
	Art Ross Trophy	1948	Awarded to the player who leads the league in total points at the end of the regular season[16]	Jamie Benn Dallas Stars
	James Norris Memorial Trophy	1954	Awarded to the defenseman who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position[17]	Erik Karlsson Ottawa Senators
	Conn Smythe Trophy	1965	Awarded to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs[18]	Duncan Keith Chicago Blackhawks
	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	1968	Awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey[19]	Devan Dubnyk Minnesota Wild
	Ted Lindsay Award	1971	Awarded to the NHL's outstanding player as selected by the members of the NHL Players Association (called the Lester B. Pearson Award from 1971 to 2009)[20]	Carey Price Montreal Canadiens
	Jack Adams Award	1974	Awarded to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success[21]	Bob Hartley Calgary Flames
	Frank J. Selke Trophy	1978	Awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game[22]	Patrice Bergeron Boston Bruins
	William M. Jennings Trophy	1982	Awarded to the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it in the regular season[23]	Corey Crawford / Carey Price Chicago Blackhawks / Montreal Canadiens
	NHL Plus-Minus Award	1983	Awarded to the player with the highest plus/minus statistic in the regular season[24]	Last awarded in 2008
	King Clancy Memorial Trophy	1988	Awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community[25]	Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings
	NHL Foundation Player Award	1998	Awarded to the player who applies the core values of hockey to enrich the lives of people in his community[26]	Brent Burns San Jose Sharks
	Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy	1999	Awarded to the top goal scorer in the regular season[26]	Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals
	Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award	2000	Awarded to the goaltender who has played a minimum of 25 games in the regular season and has the highest save percentage[27][28]	Last awarded in 2007
	Mark Messier Leadership Award	2007	Awarded to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season (awarded by Mark Messier, himself)[29]	Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks
	NHL General Manager of the Year Award	2010	Awarded to the top National Hockey League General Manager[30]	Steve Yzerman Tampa Bay Lightning
	E.J. McGuire Award of Excellence	2015	Awarded to the draft prospect who best exemplifies the commitment to excellence through strength of character, competitiveness and athleticism (awarded by NHL Central Scouting)[31]	Travis Konecny Philadelphia Flyers

The league has also given some ephemeral awards over the years, including:

• NHL/Sheraton Road Performer Award – awarded to the player who accrued the most road points during the regular season. It was awarded to Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche in 2004 and not subsequently.
• Scotiabank/NHL Fan Fav Award – awarded to a National Hockey League player based on fan voting. It was awarded to Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks in 2010 and not subsequently.
• NHL Lifetime Achievement Award – awarded to a National Hockey League veteran in recognition of their overall contributions to the league and sport. It has been awarded twice, first to Gordie Howe in 2008 and then to Jean Beliveau in 2009.

See also

• Lester Patrick Trophy - presented, in part by the NHL, for contributions to hockey in the United States, but not considered an NHL award
• Best NHL Player ESPY Award - presented by the American sports television network ESPN to NHL players
• Hockey Hall of Fame
• Sports Illustrated NHL All-Decade Team (2009)

References

External links

• NHL trophies at nhl.com
• NHL trophies at legendsofhockey.net