Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (National Hockey League)

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is a National Hockey League Trophy awarded annually to the player deemed to have exemplified the truest form of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct while displaying a high standard of play.

The Trophy

The modern newer version of the trophy boasts a large square base that showcases previous winners from the trophy’s earliest history, beginning with Frank Nighbor (Ottawa Senators) 1924-1925 to Edgar Laprade (New York Rangers) 1949-1950. The other three sides are each adorned with 20 small silver plaques with that year’s recipient’s name. The vase is inscribed “Viscountess Byng of Vimy Memorial Trophy/Replacing the Viscountess Byng of Vimy Challenge Cup presented to the National Hockey League in 1935 to promote sportsmanship. It is the second oldest award in the National Hockey League.

The trophy is named in honor of Marie Evelyn Moreton (Lady Byng), the Viscount Byng of Vimy’s wife. Lord Byng is known for commanding Canadian troops at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and was Governor-General of Canada from 1921 to 1926. Lady and Lord Byng were rabid hockey fans, attending many NHL games, mostly in Ottawa, while residing in Rideau Hall. During their time there, they became Frank Nighbor fans and admired him for his scoring prowess and gentlemanly play. Because of this, they felt compelled to honor him with a trophy that recognized these attributes.

As history records; Lady Byng invited Frank Nighbor to Rideau Hall near the end of the regular season to ask his opinion of whether or not he felt that the National Hockey League would accept such a trophy when Nighbor said he felt the league would, Lady Byng, surprised him by awarding him the trophy. Frank Nighbor would win the trophy again the following season.

Billy Burch of the New York Americans won the trophy in its third year after that; the trophy was won seven of the next eight years by Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers. Lady Byng was so impressed with Frank Boucher that after having won his seventh award, she gave him the silver wear to keep in 1935; she then had a new trophy made and donated it to the NHL. When Lady Byng died in 1949, the NHL commissioned another trophy and renamed it the Lady Byng Memorial trophy. Sadly in 1962, the original award was destroyed in a house fire at Boucher’s home.

The Winners

No player has ever equaled Frank Boucher’s seven awards of this silverware. Of the players that have won the hardware, Wayne Gretzky won it five times, Red Kelly and Pavel Datsyuk four times, and Alex Delvecchio, Bobby Bauer, Mike Bossy, Ron Francis, and Martin St. Louis have all won it three times.

It is interesting to note that this award is almost exclusively a forwards accolade. Since its inception, only three defensemen have won it Bill Quackenbush, Red Kelly, and Brian Campbell. Red Kelly won it three times as a defenseman and once as a forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs (1960-61). After Kelly last won the award as a defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings in (1953-54), it wasn’t until 2011-12 that another defenseman won the award, Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers, a fifty-eight-year gap. Since Campbell’s win in 2012, no other defenseman has won the Lady Byng. The most recent winner is Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes (2021). No goaltender has ever won the award.

Conclusion

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy has a stigma attached to it. Some in the hockey world, it is said, believe that winning the award is synonymous with being a soft player, and in a rough game like NHL hockey, that does not conform to the macho image of what a pro hockey player should be. This is a total misconception. If viewed from the perspective of what it means to be a smart hockey player who thinks of his team first, then that is what the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy should be recognized for. Its original intention was meant to honor a player of exceptional skill and integrity combined with sportsmanship; essentially, a player the play’s at a high level but within the game rules.

After all, who would you want on your team? A player who takes needless penalties one after the other and jeopardizes his team’s chances of winning because he is irresponsible to his teammates or a smart player who uses virtues such as self-restraint and accountability, further enabling his team’s chances for success.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Winners