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.

History

The NHL's first championship trophy was the O'Brien Trophy, which was created by the National Hockey Association in 1910 and was acquired by the NHL in 1918, after which it was awarded to the playoff champion until 1923. The O'Brien Trophy was retired in favour of the Prince of Wales Trophy in 1924, which became the league's championship until the demise of the Western Hockey League following the 1926 season, leaving the Stanley Cup exclusively in the hands of the National Hockey League.

The Prince of Wales Trophy remains an active award. It is presently awarded to the playoff champion of the Eastern Conference, while the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, created in 1967, is currently 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.

The first individual trophy was the Hart Trophy, first awarded in 1924 to the league's most valuable player. The Lady Byng Trophy followed 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 17 annual individual trophies and awards, the most recently created being the Mark Messier Leadership Award, first awarded in 2007.

Team trophies

	Award	Created	Description	Current holder
	Stanley Cup	1893	Awarded to the NHL playoff champion since 1927. Previously it was a challenge cup (1893-1914) and then an interleague championship trophy (1915-1926)	Anaheim Ducks
	Prince of Wales Trophy	1924	Awarded to the Eastern Conference playoff champion, since 1994. Previously awarded as the NHL playoff championship (1924-1926), the regular season championship (1927, 1939-1967), the American Division championship (1928-1938), East Division championship (1968-1974) and Wales Conference championship (1975-1993)	Ottawa Senators
	Clarence S. Campbell Bowl	1968	Awarded to the Western Conference playoff champion, since 1994. Previously awarded as the West Division title (1968-1974) and Campbell Conference championship (1975-1993)	Anaheim Ducks
	Presidents' Trophy	1986	Awarded to the club finishing the regular season with the best overall record (based on points)	Buffalo Sabres
	O'Brien Trophy	1910	Awarded by the National Hockey Association (1910-1917) and NHL (1918-1923) to the league playoff champion, Canadian Division regular season champion (1927-1938), and Stanley Cup runner-up (1939-1950)	Retired in 1950

Individual trophies and awards

Image	Award	Created	Description	Current holder
	Hart Memorial Trophy	1924	Awarded to the league's most valuable player	Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
	Lady Byng Memorial Trophy	1925	Awarded to the player who exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability	Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings
	Vezina Trophy	1927	Awarded to the league's top goaltender	Martin Brodeur New Jersey Devils
	Calder Memorial Trophy	1937	Awarded to the league's most outstanding rookie player	Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins
	Art Ross Trophy	1948	Awarded to the player who leads the league in total points at the end of the regular season	Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
	James Norris Memorial Trophy	1954	Awarded to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position	Nicklas Lidström Detroit Red Wings
	Conn Smythe Trophy	1965	Awarded to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs	Scott Niedermayer Anaheim Ducks
	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy	1968	Awarded to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey	Phil Kessel Boston Bruins
	Lester B. Pearson Award	1971	Awarded to the NHL's outstanding player as selected by the members of the NHL Players Association	Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins
	Jack Adams Award	1974	Awarded to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success	Alain Vigneault Vancouver Canucks
	Frank J. Selke Trophy	1978	Awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game	Rod Brind'Amour Carolina Hurricanes
	William M. Jennings Trophy	1982	Awarded to the goalkeeper(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it in the regular season	Niklas Backstrom & Manny Fernandez Minnesota Wild
	NHL Plus/Minus Award	1983	Awarded to the player with the highest plus/minus statistic in the regular season	Thomas Vanek Buffalo Sabres
	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	Saku Koivu Montreal Canadiens
	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	Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche
	Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy	1999	Awarded to the top goal scorer in the regular season	Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay Lightning
	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	Niklas Backstrom Minnesota Wild
	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	Chris Chelios Detroit Red Wings
	Scotiabank Fan Fav Award	2009	Awarded to a National Hockey League player based on fan voting.	Roberto Luongo Vancouver Canucks

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
• Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of All-Star First-Team NHL hockey players

External Links

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