NHL awards: The Conn Smythe Trophy’s admirable history
On May 1, 1965, the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded for the first time, and has been handed to some of the biggest names in hockey over the years. From Jean Beliveau back then to Ryan O’Reilly last season, the trophy’s history is one to appreciate.
55 years ago today, the Conn Smythe Trophy, named after the former Toronto Maple Leafs owner, GM, and coach, was awarded for the first time. It went to Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens, recognizing him as the playoffs’ most valuable player. Since then, the award has been handed out every year to the player most valuable to his team throughout the postseason.
Typically, this award goes to a player whose team wins the Stanley Cup, but in its history it has gone to a player on the losing team on five occasions: Roger Crozier (1966), Glenn Hall (1968), Reggie Leach (1976), Ron Hextall (1987), and Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003).
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The Conn Smythe Trophy has been presented to 47 different players over the years, with repeat winners including Bernie Parent, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Patrick Roy. All of these players have won the award twice, except Roy, who claimed it a record three times (1986, 1993, and 2001).
Sidney Crosby became the only active player to repeat as MVP when he won the award in consecutive years in 2016 and 2017. He was the first player to win the award multiple times since Roy claimed his third trophy in 2001, and the first to win consecutive MVPs since Lemieux did it in 1991 and 1992.
Goaltenders have earned the Conn Smythe Trophy 16 times in its history, with the most recent being Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2012. 10 times the trophy has been awarded to a defenseman, and the most recent winner on the blue line was Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.
When Jean Beliveau won the award 55 years ago, he did so with eight goals and eight assists. Since then, some MVPs have turned in remarkable offensive numbers in their respective postseason runs.
No Conn Smythe Trophy winner has more goals in a single postseason than Reggie Leach, who scored 19 in 1976. Wayne Gretzky holds the record for assists and points in one playoff season, racking up 31 helpers in 1988 and 47 points in 1985. He and Lemieux are the only players to eclipse 40 points in one run to the Stanley Cup.
The most impressive postseason by an MVP goalie came from Quick in 2012, as he put together a 16-4 record with a 1.41 GAA and a .946 SV%.
Responsible for some of the most iconic moments in hockey history, the players that have won this award have put together many impressive runs. All of these great individual efforts have made the Conn Smythe Trophy an award that we anticipate and speculate about from the start of every postseason.
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The Conn Smythe Trophy is an important part of the NHL’s history, and today it turns 55. Here’s to all of the MVP performances we have seen over the years, and all of those yet to come.