Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
SportIce hockey
Awarded forplayer adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability[1]
History
First award1924–25 NHL season
Most winsFrank Boucher (7)
Most recentJaccob Slavin
Carolina Hurricanes

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, formerly known as the Lady Byng Trophy, is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."[1] The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy has been awarded 89 times to 53 different players since it was first awarded in 1925. The original trophy was donated to the league by Lady Byng of Vimy, then–viceregal consort of Canada.

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 points system.[2] Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

History

The trophy is named in honour of Marie Evelyn Moreton (Lady Byng), wife of the Viscount Byng of Vimy, who commanded Canadian forces at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and who was Governor General of Canada from 1921 to 1926. Lady Byng, an avid hockey fan, decided to donate the trophy to the NHL in 1924–25.[3]

Lady Byng decided the trophy's first winner would be Frank Nighbor of the original Ottawa Senators. Late in the season, she invited Nighbor to Rideau Hall, showed him the trophy, and asked him if the NHL would accept it as an award for its most gentlemanly player. When Nighbor said he thought it would, Lady Byng, much to Nighbor's surprise, awarded him the trophy.[4][5]

After Frank Boucher of the New York Rangers won the award seven times within eight years, Lady Byng was so impressed that she gave him the original trophy to keep. She then donated a second trophy in 1935–36. When Lady Byng died in 1949, the NHL presented another trophy and changed the official name to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.[3] In 1962, the original trophy was destroyed in a fire at Boucher's home.[6]

Award winners

Besides Boucher, a number of players have won the award multiple times, including Wayne Gretzky who won it five times, Red Kelly and Pavel Datsyuk with four wins, and Bobby Bauer, Alex Delvecchio, Mike Bossy, Martin St. Louis, and Ron Francis with three each. Because of Boucher's seven wins, the New York Rangers join Detroit as the only two clubs who have won the award fourteen times, followed by Toronto with nine wins, Chicago and Boston tied with eight, and Los Angeles with six.[7] Adam Oates was a six-time finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy but never won.

Five players have won both the Lady Byng Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in the same season: Buddy O'Connor (1947–48), Bobby Hull (1964–65), Stan Mikita (1966–67 and 1967–68), Wayne Gretzky (1979–80) and Joe Sakic (2000–01). Mikita is also the only player to win the Hart, Art Ross, and Lady Byng trophies in the same season, doing so consecutively in the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons. Gretzky, Bobby Hull, and Martin St. Louis also won these three awards, but not in the same season. Bobby and Brett Hull are the only father–son combination to win the Hart and Lady Byng trophies.[8]

Bill Quackenbush, Jaccob Slavin, Red Kelly, and Brian Campbell are the only defensemen to have won the Lady Byng Trophy, with Kelly and Slavin being the only ones to win it multiple times. Kelly holds a record three as a defenseman (four overall). After Kelly, no defenseman won the award for a 58-year stretch, which ended in 2012 when Campbell received the honor, although Nicklas Lidstrom narrowly lost to Joe Sakic in 2001. No goaltender has ever won the award.

List of winners

Wayne Gretzky, five-time winner
Pavel Datsyuk, four-time winner
Martin St. Louis, three-time winner
Positions key
C Centre
RW Right wing
LW Left wing
D Defence
G Goaltender
  Player is still active in the NHL
  Eligible player not yet elected to Hockey Hall of Fame
  Inactive player not yet eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame
Seasonal Winner Team Position Win # GP PIM Avg
1924–25 Frank Nighbor Ottawa Senators C 1 26 18 0.69
1925–26 Frank Nighbor Ottawa Senators C 2 35 40 1.14
1926–27 Billy Burch New York Americans C 1 43 40 0.93
1927–28 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 1 44 15 0.34
1928–29 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 2 44 8 0.18
1929–30 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 3 42 16 0.38
1930–31 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 4 44 20 0.46
1931–32 Joe Primeau Toronto Maple Leafs C 1 45 25 0.56
1932–33 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 5 46 4 0.09
1933–34 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 6 48 4 0.08
1934–35 Frank Boucher New York Rangers C 7 48 2 0.04
1935–36 Elwin "Doc" Romnes Chicago Black Hawks C 1 48 6 0.13
1936–37 Marty Barry Detroit Red Wings C 1 47 6 0.13
1937–38 Gordie Drillon Toronto Maple Leafs RW 1 48 4 0.08
1938–39 Clint Smith New York Rangers C 1 48 2 0.04
1939–40 Bobby Bauer Boston Bruins RW 1 48 2 0.04
1940–41 Bobby Bauer Boston Bruins RW 2 48 2 0.04
1941–42 Syl Apps Toronto Maple Leafs C 1 38 0 0.00
1942–43 Max Bentley Chicago Black Hawks C 1 47 2 0.04
1943–44 Clint Smith Chicago Black Hawks C 2 50 4 0.08
1944–45 Bill Mosienko Chicago Black Hawks RW 1 50 0 0.00
1945–46 Toe Blake Montreal Canadiens LW 1 50 2 0.04
1946–47 Bobby Bauer Boston Bruins RW 3 58 4 0.07
1947–48 Buddy O'Connor New York Rangers C 1 60 8 0.13
1948–49 Bill Quackenbush Detroit Red Wings D 1 60 0 0.00
1949–50 Edgar Laprade New York Rangers C 1 60 2 0.03
1950–51 Red Kelly Detroit Red Wings D 1 70 24 0.34
1951–52 Sid Smith Toronto Maple Leafs LW 1 70 6 0.09
1952–53 Red Kelly Detroit Red Wings D 2 70 8 0.11
1953–54 Red Kelly Detroit Red Wings D 3 62 18 0.29
1954–55 Sid Smith Toronto Maple Leafs LW 2 70 14 0.20
1955–56 Earl Reibel Detroit Red Wings C 1 68 10 0.15
1956–57 Andy Hebenton New York Rangers RW 1 70 10 0.14
1957–58 Camille Henry New York Rangers LW 1 70 2 0.03
1958–59 Alex Delvecchio Detroit Red Wings LW 1 70 6 0.09
1959–60 Don McKenney Boston Bruins C 1 70 28 0.40
1960–61 Red Kelly Toronto Maple Leafs C 4 64 12 0.19
1961–62 Dave Keon Toronto Maple Leafs C 1 64 2 0.03
1962–63 Dave Keon Toronto Maple Leafs C 2 68 2 0.03
1963–64 Kenny Wharram Chicago Black Hawks RW 1 70 18 0.26
1964–65 Bobby Hull Chicago Black Hawks LW 1 61 32 0.52
1965–66 Alex Delvecchio Detroit Red Wings C 2 70 16 0.23
1966–67 Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks C 1 70 12 0.17
1967–68 Stan Mikita Chicago Black Hawks C 2 72 14 0.19
1968–69 Alex Delvecchio Detroit Red Wings C 3 72 8 0.11
1969–70 Phil Goyette St. Louis Blues C 1 72 16 0.22
1970–71 Johnny Bucyk Boston Bruins LW 1 78 8 0.10
1971–72 Jean Ratelle New York Rangers C 1 63 4 0.06
1972–73 Gilbert Perreault Buffalo Sabres C 1 78 10 0.13
1973–74 Johnny Bucyk Boston Bruins LW 2 76 8 0.11
1974–75 Marcel Dionne Detroit Red Wings C 1 80 14 0.18
1975–76 Jean Ratelle Boston Bruins C 2 80 18 0.23
1976–77 Marcel Dionne Los Angeles Kings C 2 80 12 0.15
1977–78 Robert "Butch" Goring Los Angeles Kings C 1 80 2 0.03
1978–79 Bob MacMillan Atlanta Flames C 1 77 14 0.18
1979–80 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C 1 79 21 0.27
1980–81 Rick Kehoe Pittsburgh Penguins RW 1 80 6 0.08
1981–82 Rick Middleton Boston Bruins RW 1 75 12 0.16
1982–83 Mike Bossy New York Islanders RW 1 79 20 0.25
1983–84 Mike Bossy New York Islanders RW 2 67 8 0.12
1984–85 Jari Kurri Edmonton Oilers RW 1 73 30 0.41
1985–86 Mike Bossy New York Islanders RW 3 80 14 0.18
1986–87 Joe Mullen Calgary Flames RW 1 79 14 0.18
1987–88 Mats Naslund Montreal Canadiens LW 1 78 14 0.18
1988–89 Joe Mullen Calgary Flames RW 2 79 16 0.20
1989–90 Brett Hull St. Louis Blues RW 1 80 24 0.30
1990–91 Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings C 2 78 16 0.21
1991–92 Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings C 3 74 34 0.46
1992–93 Pierre Turgeon New York Islanders C 1 83 26 0.31
1993–94 Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles Kings C 4 81 20 0.25
1994–95 Ron Francis Pittsburgh Penguins C 1 44 18 0.41
1995–96 Paul Kariya Mighty Ducks of Anaheim LW 1 82 20 0.24
1996–97 Paul Kariya Mighty Ducks of Anaheim LW 2 69 6 0.09
1997–98 Ron Francis Pittsburgh Penguins C 2 81 20 0.25
1998–99 Wayne Gretzky New York Rangers C 5 70 14 0.20
1999–2000 Pavol Demitra St. Louis Blues C 1 71 8 0.11
2000–01 Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche C 1 82 30 0.37
2001–02 Ron Francis Carolina Hurricanes C 3 80 18 0.23
2002–03 Alexander Mogilny Toronto Maple Leafs RW 1 73 12 0.16
2003–04 Brad Richards Tampa Bay Lightning C 1 82 12 0.15
2004–05 Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings C 1 75 22 0.29
2006–07 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings C 2 79 20 0.25
2007–08 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings C 3 82 20 0.24
2008–09 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings C 4 81 22 0.27
2009–10 Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning RW 1 82 12 0.15
2010–11 Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning RW 2 82 12 0.15
2011–12 Brian Campbell Florida Panthers D 1 82 6 0.07
2012–13 Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning RW 3 48 14 0.29
2013–14 Ryan O'Reilly Colorado Avalanche C 1 80 2 0.03
2014–15 Jiri Hudler Calgary Flames RW 1 78 14 0.18
2015–16 Anze Kopitar Los Angeles Kings C 1 81 16 0.20
2016–17 Johnny Gaudreau Calgary Flames LW 1 72 4 0.06
2017–18 William Karlsson Vegas Golden Knights C 1 82 12 0.15
2018–19 Aleksander Barkov Florida Panthers C 1 82 8 0.10
2019–20 Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche C 1 69 12 0.17
2020–21 Jaccob Slavin Carolina Hurricanes D 1 52 2 0.04
2021–22 Kyle Connor Winnipeg Jets LW 1 79 4 0.05
2022–23 Anze Kopitar Los Angeles Kings C 2 82 4 0.05
2023–24 Jaccob Slavin Carolina Hurricanes D 2 81 8 0.10

See also

References

General
  • Boucher, Frank; Frayne, Trent (1973). When The Rangers Were Young. New York, NY: Dodd, Mead & Company. ISBN 0-396-06852-9.
  • Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine at NHL.com
  • Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history at Legends of Hockey.net
Specific
  1. ^ a b "Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history". Legendsofhockey.net. Archived from the original on 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  2. ^ Jon Dolezar (2003-04-20). "Foppa shows the most Hart". SI.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  3. ^ a b "Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  4. ^ Hunter, Douglas (1997). Champions: The Illustrated History of Hockey's Greatest Dynasties. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-213-6.
  5. ^ Frank Nighbor Archived 2004-08-04 at the Wayback Machine at the Hockey Hall of Fame site.
  6. ^ Boucher, p. 12.
  7. ^ "Lady Byng Trophy". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  8. ^ "Hart Memorial Trophy history". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2007-07-31.