Hart Memorial Trophy

Hart Memorial Trophy

Sport	Ice hockey
Awarded for	Most Valuable Player in regular season of the National Hockey League
History
First award	1924
Most wins	Wayne Gretzky (9)
Most recent	Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers

The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in 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 99 times to 61 different players since its beginnings in 1923–24.

History

The first winner of the original trophy, Frank Nighbor

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. With the exceptions of Tommy Anderson, Al Rollins, and Jose Theodore, every eligible player who won the Hart Trophy has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Wayne Gretzky won the award a record nine times during his career, eight consecutively. Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers teammate Mark Messier are the only players to win the Hart Trophy with more than one team.

There have only ever been two unanimous MVP wins. That being Wayne Gretzky during the 1981–1982 NHL season and Connor McDavid during the 2020–2021 NHL season.

Players from the Montreal Canadiens have won the award seventeen times; players from the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers are second with thirteen 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. 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.

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."

Winners

Nels Stewart, two-time winner

Bobby Clarke, three-time winner

Wayne Gretzky, record nine-time winner

Mario Lemieux, three-time winner

Sergei Fedorov, first European trained player to win it, one-time winner

Alexander Ovechkin, three-time winner

Sidney Crosby, two-time winner

Joe Thornton, the only player to switch clubs during his winning season, one-time winner

Connor McDavid, three-time winner

^	Denotes player who is still active in the NHL
*	Denotes player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
~	Denotes inactive player not yet eligible for Hockey Hall of Fame consideration
†	Denotes player whose team won the Stanley Cup that year
Player (X)	Denotes the number of times the player had won the Hart Trophy at that time
Team (X)	Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time

Season	Player	Position	Team
1923–24	Frank Nighbor*	Centre	Ottawa Senators
1924–25	Billy Burch*	Centre	Hamilton Tigers
1925–26†	Nels Stewart*	Centre	Montreal Maroons
1926–27	Herb Gardiner*	Defenceman	Montreal Canadiens
1927–28	Howie Morenz*	Centre	Montreal Canadiens (2)
1928–29	Roy Worters*	Goaltender	New York Americans
1929–30	Nels Stewart* (2)	Centre	Montreal Maroons (2)
1930–31†	Howie Morenz* (2)	Centre	Montreal Canadiens (3)
1931–32	Howie Morenz* (3)	Centre	Montreal Canadiens (4)
1932–33	Eddie Shore*	Defenceman	Boston Bruins
1933–34	Aurele Joliat*	Left wing	Montreal Canadiens (5)
1934–35	Eddie Shore* (2)	Defenceman	Boston Bruins (2)
1935–36	Eddie Shore* (3)	Defenceman	Boston Bruins (3)
1936–37	Babe Siebert*	Defenceman	Montreal Canadiens (6)
1937–38	Eddie Shore* (4)	Defenceman	Boston Bruins (4)
1938–39	Toe Blake*	Left wing	Montreal Canadiens (7)
1939–40	Ebbie Goodfellow*	Defenceman	Detroit Red Wings
1940–41†	Bill Cowley*	Centre	Boston Bruins (5)
1941–42	Tommy Anderson	Defenceman	Brooklyn Americans
1942–43	Bill Cowley* (2)	Centre	Boston Bruins (6)
1943–44	Babe Pratt*	Defenceman	Toronto Maple Leafs
1944–45	Elmer Lach*	Centre	Montreal Canadiens (8)
1945–46	Max Bentley*	Centre	Chicago Black Hawks
1946–47	Maurice Richard*	Right wing	Montreal Canadiens (9)
1947–48	Buddy O'Connor*	Centre	New York Rangers
1948–49	Sid Abel*	Centre	Detroit Red Wings (2)
1949–50	Chuck Rayner*	Goaltender	New York Rangers (2)
1950–51	Milt Schmidt*	Centre	Boston Bruins (7)
1951–52†	Gordie Howe*	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings (3)
1952–53	Gordie Howe* (2)	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings (4)
1953–54	Al Rollins	Goaltender	Chicago Black Hawks (2)
1954–55	Ted Kennedy*	Centre	Toronto Maple Leafs (2)
1955–56†	Jean Beliveau*	Centre	Montreal Canadiens (10)
1956–57	Gordie Howe* (3)	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings (5)
1957–58	Gordie Howe* (4)	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings (6)
1958–59	Andy Bathgate*	Right wing	New York Rangers (3)
1959–60	Gordie Howe* (5)	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings (7)
1960–61	Bernie Geoffrion*	Right wing	Montreal Canadiens (11)
1961–62	Jacques Plante*	Goaltender	Montreal Canadiens (12)
1962–63	Gordie Howe* (6)	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings (8)
1963–64	Jean Beliveau* (2)	Centre	Montreal Canadiens (13)
1964–65	Bobby Hull*	Left wing	Chicago Black Hawks (3)
1965–66	Bobby Hull* (2)	Left wing	Chicago Black Hawks (4)
1966–67	Stan Mikita*	Centre	Chicago Black Hawks (5)
1967–68	Stan Mikita* (2)	Centre	Chicago Black Hawks (6)
1968–69	Phil Esposito*	Centre	Boston Bruins (8)
1969–70†	Bobby Orr*	Defenceman	Boston Bruins (9)
1970–71	Bobby Orr* (2)	Defenceman	Boston Bruins (10)
1971–72†	Bobby Orr* (3)	Defenceman	Boston Bruins (11)
1972–73	Bobby Clarke*	Centre	Philadelphia Flyers
1973–74	Phil Esposito* (2)	Centre	Boston Bruins (12)
1974–75†	Bobby Clarke* (2)	Centre	Philadelphia Flyers (2)
1975–76	Bobby Clarke* (3)	Centre	Philadelphia Flyers (3)
1976–77†	Guy Lafleur*	Right wing	Montreal Canadiens (14)
1977–78†	Guy Lafleur* (2)	Right wing	Montreal Canadiens (15)
1978–79	Bryan Trottier*	Centre	New York Islanders
1979–80	Wayne Gretzky*	Centre	Edmonton Oilers
1980–81	Wayne Gretzky* (2)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (2)
1981–82	Wayne Gretzky* (3)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (3)
1982–83	Wayne Gretzky* (4)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (4)
1983–84†	Wayne Gretzky* (5)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (5)
1984–85†	Wayne Gretzky* (6)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (6)
1985–86	Wayne Gretzky* (7)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (7)
1986–87†	Wayne Gretzky* (8)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (8)
1987–88	Mario Lemieux*	Centre	Pittsburgh Penguins
1988–89	Wayne Gretzky* (9)	Centre	Los Angeles Kings
1989–90†	Mark Messier*	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (9)
1990–91	Brett Hull*	Right wing	St. Louis Blues
1991–92	Mark Messier* (2)	Centre	New York Rangers (4)
1992–93	Mario Lemieux* (2)	Centre	Pittsburgh Penguins (2)
1993–94	Sergei Fedorov*	Centre	Detroit Red Wings (9)
1994–95	Eric Lindros*	Centre	Philadelphia Flyers (4)
1995–96	Mario Lemieux* (3)	Centre	Pittsburgh Penguins (3)
1996–97	Dominik Hasek*	Goaltender	Buffalo Sabres
1997–98	Dominik Hasek* (2)	Goaltender	Buffalo Sabres (2)
1998–99	Jaromir Jagr~	Right wing	Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
1999–2000	Chris Pronger*	Defenceman	St. Louis Blues (2)
2000–01†	Joe Sakic*	Centre	Colorado Avalanche
2001–02	Jose Theodore	Goaltender	Montreal Canadiens (16)
2002–03	Peter Forsberg*	Centre	Colorado Avalanche (2)
2003–04†	Martin St. Louis*	Right wing	Tampa Bay Lightning
2004–05	Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06	Joe Thornton~	Centre	Boston Bruins (13) / San Jose Sharks
2006–07	Sidney Crosby^	Centre	Pittsburgh Penguins (5)
2007–08	Alexander Ovechkin^	Left wing	Washington Capitals
2008–09	Alexander Ovechkin^ (2)	Left wing	Washington Capitals (2)
2009–10	Henrik Sedin*	Centre	Vancouver Canucks
2010–11	Corey Perry^	Right wing	Anaheim Ducks
2011–12	Evgeni Malkin^	Centre	Pittsburgh Penguins (6)
2012–13	Alexander Ovechkin^ (3)	Right wing	Washington Capitals (3)
2013–14	Sidney Crosby^ (2)	Centre	Pittsburgh Penguins (7)
2014–15	Carey Price^	Goaltender	Montreal Canadiens (17)
2015–16	Patrick Kane^	Right wing	Chicago Blackhawks (7)
2016–17	Connor McDavid^	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (10)
2017–18	Taylor Hall^	Left wing	New Jersey Devils
2018–19	Nikita Kucherov^	Right wing	Tampa Bay Lightning (2)
2019–20	Leon Draisaitl^	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (11)
2020–21	Connor McDavid^ (2)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (12)
2021–22	Auston Matthews^	Centre	Toronto Maple Leafs (3)
2022–23	Connor McDavid^ (3)	Centre	Edmonton Oilers (13)

Multi-time winners

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
	Connor McDavid	Edmonton Oilers	2016–17, 2020–21, 2022–23
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

Teams

Awards	Teams	Years
17	Montreal Canadiens	1926–27, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1944–45, 1946–47, 1955–56, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1976–77, 1977–78, 2001–02, 2014–15
13	Edmonton Oilers	1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1989–90, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022-23
12	Boston Bruins	1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1940–41, 1942–43, 1950–51, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1973–74
9	Detroit Red Wings	1939–40, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1962–63, 1993–94
7	Chicago Blackhawks	1945–46, 1953–54, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 2015–16
	Pittsburgh Penguins	1987–88, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2006–07, 2011–12, 2013–14
4	New York Rangers	1947–48, 1949–50, 1958–59, 1991–92
	Philadelphia Flyers	1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1994–95
3	Toronto Maple Leafs	1943–44, 1954–55, 2021–22
	Washington Capitals	2007–08, 2008–09, 2012–13
2	Montreal Maroons	1925–26, 1929–30
	New York Americans	1928–29, 1941–42
	St. Louis Blues	1990–91, 1999–2000
	Buffalo Sabres	1996–97, 1997–98
	Colorado Avalanche	2000–01, 2002–03
	Tampa Bay Lightning	2003–04, 2018–19
1	Ottawa Senators (original)	1923–24
	Hamilton Tigers	1924–25
	New York Islanders	1978–79
	Los Angeles Kings	1988–89
	San Jose Sharks	2005–06
	Vancouver Canucks	2009–10
	Anaheim Ducks	2010–11
	New Jersey Devils	2017–18
0	Arizona Coyotes	None
	Calgary Flames
	Carolina Hurricanes
	Columbus Blue Jackets
	Dallas Stars
	Florida Panthers
	Minnesota Wild
	Nashville Predators
	Ottawa Senators (current)
	Seattle Kraken
	Vegas Golden Knights
	Winnipeg Jets

See also

• Ted Lindsay Award
• List of NHL statistical leaders

References

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. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. 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