National Hockey League awards

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. [cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_splashstanleycup.htm|title=Stanley Cup history|work=legendsofhockey.net|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame|accessdate=2007-08-19]

History

The NHL's first championship trophy was the O'Brien Cup, 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.cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_splashobrien.htm|title=O'Brien Trophy|work=legendsofhockey.net|publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame|accessdate=2007-08-18] 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

Individual trophies and awards

The league has also given some ephemeral awards over the years, including the NHL/Sheraton Road Performer Award Winner, to be 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.

ee 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

References

External links

* [http://www.nhl.com/trophies/index.html NHL trophies] at [http://www.nhl.com nhl.com]
* [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_nhltro.htm NHL trophies] at [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/ legendsofhockey.net]