1923-Present
The Hart Memorial Trophy is named after Cecil Hart. The trophy was donated to the NHL in 1923 by Dr. David Hart, father of Cecil. It is the oldest trophy awarded by the NHL. David Hart was a remarkable individual. In addition to being a Jewish Doctor, he was also the first president of Montreals Zionist Society. He was a captain in the Prince of Wales Fusiliers during the Fenian Raids of (1866-1870) and was a distinguished Mason. In 1921 his son Cecil was instrumental in engineering the Montreal Canadians’ sale and was later named a director to the team. In 1924 Cecil had a short tenure as a general manager with the cross-town rival Montreal Maroons; due to infighting within the organization, he was forced to resign. Cecil coached the Canadians from 1926-1932, winning two Stanley Cups in 1930 and 1931. He retired at the end of the 1932 season but was coerced into returning to the team in 1936, retiring from coaching due to illness and the team’s decline in the standings during the 1938-39 season; Hart died the following year in 1940.
Trophy Design
The original Hart Trophy was constructed of a square wooden base that supported an elongated silver vase with two handles on either side. Each side of the square base adorned 9 square silver plaques with the winning player’s name inscribed. Early tradition has it that any player who accomplishes a “hat trick” of wins can be granted ownership of the trophy: which would be presented to that player by Dr. David Hart to the National Hockey League for the most valuable player/that won it three times before a player can own the trophy.
In 1960 the original Hart Trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame; in its place, the league established the Hart Memorial Trophy. The new award looks nothing like the original; the new revamped version has an octagon-shaped base with each side containing eight rectangular plaques with the winner’s names inscribed. Affixed to the base is a narrow stem with a large silver heart wrapped partially in gold leaves.
The first winner of the award was Frank Nighbor of the Ottawa Senators in 1923-24; he won it by a single vote over Montreal Canadians Sprague Cleghorn. In 2001-02 goaltender Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadians tied in voting with Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, requiring a tie-breaker which Theodore won due to receiving 86 first-place votes to Iginla’s 82. The hard-ware has been awarded 92 times to 56 different players since its inception in 1924. The winner is determined by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association who vote on which player was the most valuable to his team during the regular season.
Every player who won the Hart and has since retired has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame with three exceptions, Tommy Anderson, Al Rollins, and Jose Theodore.
Wayne Gretzky won the Hart award every year from 1979-80 until 1986-87, Mario Lemieux broke the streak, winning in 1987-88. In 1988-89, Wayne Gretzky won the Hart for a record ninth time, this time with the Los Angeles Kings; Gretzky and former team-mate Mark Messier are the only two players to have ever won the Hart Award with two different teams.
The Winners List, the Hart Trophy.
Season | Winner | Team | Position | Win # |
---|---|---|---|---|
1923–24 | Frank Nighbor | Ottawa Senators | C | 1 |
1924–25 | Billy Burch | Hamilton Tigers | C | 1 |
1925–26 | Nels Stewart | Montreal Maroons | C | 1 |
1926–27 | Herb Gardiner | Montreal Canadiens | D | 1 |
1927–28 | Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | C | 1 |
1928–29 | Roy Worters | New York Americans | G | 1 |
1929–30 | Nels Stewart | Montreal Maroons | C | 2 |
1930–31 | Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | C | 2 |
1931–32 | Howie Morenz | Montreal Canadiens | C | 3 |
1932–33 | Eddie Shore | Boston Bruins | D | 1 |
1933–34 | Aurele Joliat | Montreal Canadiens | LW | 1 |
1934–35 | Eddie Shore | Boston Bruins | D | 2 |
1935–36 | Eddie Shore | Boston Bruins | D | 3 |
1936–37 | Babe Siebert | Montreal Canadiens | D | 1 |
1937–38 | Eddie Shore | Boston Bruins | D | 4 |
1938–39 | Toe Blake | Montreal Canadiens | LW | 1 |
1939–40 | Ebbie Goodfellow | Detroit Red Wings | D | 1 |
1940–41 | Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | C | 1 |
1941–42 | Tommy Anderson | Brooklyn Americans | D | 1 |
1942–43 | Bill Cowley | Boston Bruins | C | 2 |
1943–44 | Babe Pratt | Toronto Maple Leafs | D | 1 |
1944–45 | Elmer Lach | Montreal Canadiens | C | 1 |
1945–46 | Max Bentley | Chicago Black Hawks | C | 1 |
1946–47 | Maurice Richard | Montreal Canadiens | RW | 1 |
1947–48 | Buddy O’Connor | New York Rangers | C | 1 |
1948–49 | Sid Abel | Detroit Red Wings | C | 1 |
1949–50 | Chuck Rayner | New York Rangers | G | 1 |
1950–51 | Milt Schmidt | Boston Bruins | C | 1 |
1951–52 | Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | RW | 1 |
1952–53 | Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | RW | 2 |
1953–54 | Al Rollins | Chicago Black Hawks | G | 1 |
1954–55 | Ted Kennedy | Toronto Maple Leafs | C | 1 |
1955–56 | Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | C | 1 |
1956–57 | Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | RW | 3 |
1957–58 | Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | RW | 4 |
1958–59 | Andy Bathgate | New York Rangers | RW | 1 |
1959–60 | Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | RW | 5 |
1960–61 | Bernie Geoffrion | Montreal Canadiens | RW | 1 |
1961–62 | Jacques Plante | Montreal Canadiens | G | 1 |
1962–63 | Gordie Howe | Detroit Red Wings | RW | 6 |
1963–64 | Jean Beliveau | Montreal Canadiens | C | 2 |
1964–65 | Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | LW | 1 |
1965–66 | Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | LW | 2 |
1966–67 | Stan Mikita | Chicago Black Hawks | C | 1 |
1967–68 | Stan Mikita | Chicago Black Hawks | C | 2 |
1968–69 | Phil Esposito | Boston Bruins | C | 1 |
1969–70 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | D | 1 |
1970–71 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | D | 2 |
1971–72 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | D | 3 |
1972–73 | Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | C | 1 |
1973–74 | Phil Esposito | Boston Bruins | C | 2 |
1974–75 | Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | C | 2 |
1975–76 | Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | C | 3 |
1976–77 | Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | RW | 1 |
1977–78 | Guy Lafleur | Montreal Canadiens | RW | 2 |
1978–79 | Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | C | 1 |
1979–80 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 1 |
1980–81 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 2 |
1981–82 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 3 |
1982–83 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 4 |
1983–84 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 5 |
1984–85 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 6 |
1985–86 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 7 |
1986–87 | Wayne Gretzky | Edmonton Oilers | C | 8 |
1987–88 | Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | C | 1 |
1988–89 | Wayne Gretzky | Los Angeles Kings | C | 9 |
1989–90 | Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | C | 1 |
1990–91 | Brett Hull | St. Louis Blues | RW | 1 |
1991–92 | Mark Messier | New York Rangers | C | 2 |
1992–93 | Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | C | 2 |
1993–94 | Sergei Fedorov | Detroit Red Wings | C | 1 |
1994–95 | Eric Lindros | Philadelphia Flyers | C | 1 |
1995–96 | Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | C | 3 |
1996–97 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | G | 1 |
1997–98 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | G | 2 |
1998–99 | Jaromir Jagr | Pittsburgh Penguins | RW | 1 |
1999–2000 | Chris Pronger | St. Louis Blues | D | 1 |
2000–01 | Joe Sakic | Colorado Avalanche | C | 1 |
2001–02 | Jose Theodore | Montreal Canadiens | G | 1 |
2002–03 | Peter Forsberg | Colorado Avalanche | C | 1 |
2003–04 | Martin St. Louis | Tampa Bay Lightning | RW | 1 |
2004–05[a] | — | — | — | — |
2005–06 | Joe Thornton | Boston Bruins/San Jose Sharks | C | 1 |
2006–07 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | C | 1 |
2007–08 | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | LW | 1 |
2008–09 | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | LW | 2 |
2009–10 | Henrik Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | C | 1 |
2010–11 | Corey Perry | Anaheim Ducks | RW | 1 |
2011–12 | Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh Penguins | C | 1 |
2012–13 | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | RW | 3 |
2013–14 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | C | 2 |
2014–15 | Carey Price | Montreal Canadiens | G | 1 |
2015–16 | Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks | RW | 1 |
2016–17 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | C | 1 |
2017–18 | Taylor Hall | New Jersey Devils | LW | 1 |
2018–19 | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning | RW | 1 |
2019–20 | Leon Draisaitl | Edmonton Oilers | C | 1 |