Hart Memorial Trophy

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Hart Memorial Trophy
Hhof hart.jpg
SportIce hockey
Awarded forMost Valuable Player in regular season of the National Hockey League
History
First award1924
Most winsWayne Gretzky (9)
Most recentConnor McDavid
Edmonton Oilers

The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy is an annual award for the most valuable player of the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donated to the league in 1923 by David Hart, the father of Cecil Hart, the longtime head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. The Hart Trophy has been awarded 92 times to 56 different players since its beginnings in 1923–24.

History[edit]

The first winner of the original trophy, Frank Nighbor[1]
Elmer Lach with the original trophy in 1945

The Hart Memorial Trophy is named in honour of Canadian Dr. David Hart. Dr. Hart, who donated the original trophy to the NHL, was the father of Cecil Hart, a former Coach and General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens. The trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 1923–24 NHL season to Frank Nighbor of the original Ottawa Senators. The original Hart Trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, and the NHL began presenting a new trophy, which was dubbed the Hart Memorial Trophy in its place.[2] With the exceptions of Tommy Anderson, Al Rollins, and Jose Theodore, every eligible player who won the Hart Trophy (and retired) has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Wayne Gretzky won the award a record nine times during his career, eight consecutively. He has been named MVP more times than any other player in the history of other three North American major professional leagues (Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association, and National Football League). Barry Bonds is second, having won the MVP award seven times in the National League of Major League Baseball (The American League also awards an MVP), although until the 1930s baseball players were only permitted to win the award one time which limited the number of times Babe Ruth could win. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the NBA MVP award six times, and before Gretzky, Gordie Howe held the record for the NHL having won the Hart 6 times. Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers teammate Mark Messier are the only players to win the Hart Trophy with more than one team.[3] Peyton Manning won the NFL MVP 5 times. Only 5 players have won as many as 3: Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers.

Players from the Montreal Canadiens have won the award sixteen times; players from the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers are tied for second with twelve winners. Joe Thornton became the only Hart Trophy winner to have switched clubs during his winning campaign during the 2005–06 season, having played for both the Bruins and San Jose Sharks that year. The defenseman with the most trophy victories is Eddie Shore, who has four. By contrast, it is rare for a goaltender to win the award, which has happened only eight times in its history by 7 different goaltenders; Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek is the only two-time winner.

The voting is conducted at the end of the regular season by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10-7-5-3-1 point(s) system.[4] Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs. The closest the voting for the Hart Trophy has ever come was in the 2001–02 season, when Jose Theodore and Jarome Iginla tied in the total voting. The tiebreaker for choosing the Hart Trophy winner in such a case is number of first-place votes: Theodore claimed it, who had 86 first-place votes to Iginla's 82.[5]

In 2008, the NHL's official online shop came under criticism after they placed a T-shirt advertising Alexander Ovechkin as the award winner on sale a week before the results were revealed. A spokesperson for the league said "in an effort to offer our fans the merchandise they want in a timely manner following an event such as the NHL Awards, our licensees prepare product for all possible outcomes. In this situation, the link for one of the possible products became live early through an error by our e-commerce provider."[6] Ovechkin was later confirmed to be the winner.

Winners[edit]

Nels Stewart, two-time winner
Bobby Clarke, three-time winner
Wayne Gretzky, nine-time winner
Mario Lemieux, three-time winner
Sergei Fedorov, first European trained player to win it, one-time winner
Taylor Hall, one-time winner
Alexander Ovechkin, three-time winner
Sidney Crosby, two-time winner
Joe Thornton, only player to switch clubs during his winning season, one-time winner
Positions key
C Centre
LW Left Wing
D Defence
RW Right Wing
G Goaltender
  Player is still active in the NHL
  Eligible player not yet elected to Hockey Hall of Fame
  Inactive player not yet eligible for Hockey Hall of Fame
Season Winner Team Position Win #
1923–24 Frank Nighbor Ottawa Senators C 1
1924–25 Billy Burch Hamilton Tigers C 1
1925–26 Nels Stewart Montreal Maroons C 1
1926–27 Herb Gardiner Montreal Canadiens D 1
1927–28 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens C 1
1928–29 Roy Worters New York Americans G 1
1929–30 Nels Stewart Montreal Maroons C 2
1930–31 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens C 2
1931–32 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens C 3
1932–33 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins D 1
1933–34 Aurele Joliat Montreal Canadiens LW 1
1934–35 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins D 2
1935–36 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins D 3
1936–37 Babe Siebert Montreal Canadiens D 1
1937–38 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins D 4
1938–39 Toe Blake Montreal Canadiens LW 1
1939–40 Ebbie Goodfellow Detroit Red Wings D 1
1940–41 Bill Cowley Boston Bruins C 1
1941–42 Tommy Anderson Brooklyn Americans D 1
1942–43 Bill Cowley Boston Bruins C 2
1943–44 Babe Pratt Toronto Maple Leafs D 1
1944–45 Elmer Lach Montreal Canadiens C 1
1945–46 Max Bentley Chicago Black Hawks C 1
1946–47 Maurice Richard Montreal Canadiens RW 1
1947–48 Buddy O'Connor New York Rangers C 1
1948–49 Sid Abel Detroit Red Wings C 1
1949–50 Chuck Rayner New York Rangers G 1
1950–51 Milt Schmidt Boston Bruins C 1
1951–52 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings RW 1
1952–53 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings RW 2
1953–54 Al Rollins Chicago Black Hawks G 1
1954–55 Ted Kennedy Toronto Maple Leafs C 1
1955–56 Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens C 1
1956–57 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings RW 3
1957–58 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings RW 4
1958–59 Andy Bathgate New York Rangers RW 1
1959–60 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings RW 5
1960–61 Bernie Geoffrion Montreal Canadiens RW 1
1961–62 Jacques Plante Montreal Canadiens G 1
1962–63 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings RW 6
1963–64 Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens C 2
1964–65 Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks LW 1
1965–66 Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks LW 2
1966–67 Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks C 1
1967–68 Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks C 2
1968–69 Phil Esposito Boston Bruins C 1
1969–70 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D 1
1970–71 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D 2
1971–72 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D 3
1972–73 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers C 1
1973–74 Phil Esposito Boston Bruins C 2
1974–75 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers C 2
1975–76 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers C 3
1976–77 Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens RW 1
1977–78 Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens RW 2
1978–79 Bryan Trottier New York Islanders C 1
1979–80 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 1
1980–81 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 2
1981–82 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 3
1982–83 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 4
1983–84 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 5
1984–85 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 6
1985–86 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 7
1986–87 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 8
1987–88 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins C 1
1988–89 Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings C 9
1989–90 Mark Messier Edmonton Oilers C 1
1990–91 Brett Hull St. Louis Blues RW 1
1991–92 Mark Messier New York Rangers C 2
1992–93 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins C 2
1993–94 Sergei Fedorov Detroit Red Wings C 1
1994–95 Eric Lindros Philadelphia Flyers C 1
1995–96 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins C 3
1996–97 Dominik Hasek Buffalo Sabres G 1
1997–98 Dominik Hasek Buffalo Sabres G 2
1998–99 Jaromir Jagr Pittsburgh Penguins RW 1
1999–2000 Chris Pronger St. Louis Blues D 1
2000–01 Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche C 1
2001–02 Jose Theodore Montreal Canadiens G 1
2002–03 Peter Forsberg Colorado Avalanche C 1
2003–04 Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning RW 1
2004–05[a] — — — —
2005–06 Joe Thornton Boston Bruins/San Jose Sharks C 1
2006–07 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins C 1
2007–08 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals LW 1
2008–09 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals LW 2
2009–10 Henrik Sedin Vancouver Canucks C 1
2010–11 Corey Perry Anaheim Ducks RW 1
2011–12 Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins C 1
2012–13 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals RW 3
2013–14 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins C 2
2014–15 Carey Price Montreal Canadiens G 1
2015–16 Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks RW 1
2016–17 Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers C 1
2017–18 Taylor Hall New Jersey Devils LW 1
2018–19 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning RW 1
2019–20 Leon Draisaitl Edmonton Oilers C 1
2020–21 Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers C 2
  1. ^ The trophy was not awarded in the 2004–05 season due to the league's lockout.

Multi-time winners[edit]

Awards Player Team(s) Years
9 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers (8) / Los Angeles Kings (1) 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89
6 Gordie Howe Detroit Red Wings 1951–52, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1962–63
4 Eddie Shore Boston Bruins 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38
3 Howie Morenz Montreal Canadiens 1927–28, 1930–31, 1931–32
Bobby Orr Boston Bruins 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins 1987–88, 1992–93, 1995–96
Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 2007–08, 2008–09, 2012–13
2 Nels Stewart Montreal Maroons 1925–26, 1929–30
Bill Cowley Boston Bruins 1940–41, 1942–43
Jean Beliveau Montreal Canadiens 1955–56, 1963–64
Bobby Hull Chicago Blackhawks 1964–65, 1965–66
Stan Mikita Chicago Blackhawks 1966–67, 1967–68
Phil Esposito Boston Bruins 1968–69, 1973–74
Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens 1976–77, 1977–78
Mark Messier Edmonton Oilers (1) / New York Rangers (1) 1989–90, 1991–92
Dominik Hasek Buffalo Sabres 1996–97, 1997–98
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 2006–07, 2013–14
Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers 2016–17, 2020–21

See also[edit]

References[edit]

General
  • "Hart Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  • Hockey Hall of Fame. "Legends of Hockey - NHL Trophies - Hart Memorial Trophy". Legends of Hockey. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  • "NHL Hart Memorial Trophy Winners". Hockey Reference. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  • Hollander, Zander; Bock, Hal, eds. (1970). The Complete Encyclopedia of Ice Hockey. Prentice-Hall Inc. ISBN 0-13-159905-4.
Specific
  1. ^ "Hart Memorial Trophy". Official website of Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ^ Hollander & Bock 1970, p. 311.
  3. ^ "99 Reasons Why Wayne Gretzky is "The Great One"". National Hockey League. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
  4. ^ Dolezar, Jon (April 20, 2003). "Foppa shows the most Hart". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved August 4, 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Hart Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  6. ^ "Did NHL Shop Reveal Ovechkin as Hart Winner?". The Sports Network. June 6, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved August 4, 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

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