Conn Smythe Trophy

Conn Smythe Trophy
	Stanley Cup Playoffs
History
First award	1964–65 NHL season
First winner	Jean Beliveau
Most wins	Patrick Roy (3)
Most recent	Jonathan Marchessault; Vegas Golden Knights

The Conn Smythe Trophy (

NHL Commissioner before the presentation of the Stanley Cup and only the winner is announced, in contrast to most of the other NHL awards which name three finalists and are presented at a ceremony. Vote tallies for the Conn Smythe Trophy were released starting in 2017.^[2]

Unlike the playoff MVP awards presented in the other

NBA Finals MVP, the MLS Cup MVP and the World Series MVP

), the Conn Smythe is based on a player's performance during the entire NHL postseason instead of just the championship game or series.

The most recent winner is Jonathan Marchessault.^[3]

History

The Conn Smythe Trophy was introduced in

builder.^[1] The centrepiece of the trophy is a stylized silver replica of Maple Leaf Gardens, the arena built under Smythe's ownership of the Maple Leafs, and their home from 1931 to 1999. Backing the arena replica is a large silver botanically accurate maple leaf. The arena replica and leaf are set atop a square wooden foundation, the front of which bears a dedication plaque. Additional tiers below the foundation, sloping outward, contain maple leaf-shaped plates bearing the inscriptions of the winners' names.^[4]

The base of the Conn Smythe Trophy has been expanded twice over the years to accommodate more winners. Although the 16 nameplates on the original base tier were filled up after 1980, a new tier was not added until the 1983–84 season. Following the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs, the 20 nameplates on the new tier were filled, so the first nine winners' nameplates were moved up to the remaining three sides of the foundation tier. The remaining nameplates were shifted accordingly to keep the winners in chronological order. Due to the cancellation of the 2004–05 season, the trophy was not filled again until 2010, after which a new tier was added, making room for 24 more names.

The first winner of the trophy was

1971 Smythe winner, is the only NHL player to win this trophy before winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year (in 1972): Montreal called him up to play only six regular season games, which is not enough to qualify as a rookie season. Dave Keon is the only Maple Leafs player to win the trophy donated by his club's parent company, while his eight playoff points in 1967

is the fewest ever by a non-goalie Conn Smythe winner as he was a defensive forward.

Though the trophy rewards a player who performed particularly well over the entirety of the playoffs, it has never been given to a player whose team did not at least reach the

1976 as he had set a league record for most goals in the playoffs (19), which included a five-goal game in the semifinals and four goals in the Finals, even though the Canadiens swept his Flyers.^[5]

Ten players born outside of Canada have won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The non-Canadian winners are Americans

Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Victor Hedman, who won it in 2002, 2008 and 2020

, respectively.

Three players have won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the

1977, and Wayne Gretzky in 1985. These three players also won the Art Ross Trophy, having scored more points than any other player during the regular season (Orr only in 1970), while Orr also won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as top defenceman to give him a record four individual original NHL awards in 1970.^[1]^[6]

As of 2023, the Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded to centers 19 times, to goaltenders 17 times, to defencemen 12 times, and to right wingers eight times, while the only left wingers to have won the award are Bob Gainey of Montreal in 1979 and Alexander Ovechkin of Washington in 2018. Players with the Montreal Canadiens have received the most Conn Smythe Trophies with nine. Players with the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins have each received five, and the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Islanders have each received four.

Winners

Positions key
C	Centre
LW	Left wing
D	Defence
RW	Right wing
G	Goaltender

Player is still active in the NHL (‡)

Player was a member of the defeated team in the Stanley Cup Final (§)

Player is inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame

Player is not yet eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame

Conn Smythe Trophy winners
Year	Winner	Team	Position	Win #
1965	Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	C	1
1966	Roger Crozier	Detroit Red Wings^§	G	1
1967	Dave Keon	Toronto Maple Leafs	C	1
1968	Glenn Hall	St. Louis Blues^§	G	1
1969	Serge Savard	Montreal Canadiens	D	1
1970	Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	D	1
1971	Ken Dryden	Montreal Canadiens	G	1
1972	Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	D	2
1973	Yvan Cournoyer	Montreal Canadiens	RW	1
1974	Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	G	1
1975	Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	G	2
1976	Reggie Leach	Philadelphia Flyers^§	RW	1
1977	Guy Lafleur	Montreal Canadiens	RW	1
1978	Larry Robinson		D	1
1979	Bob Gainey		LW	1
1980	Bryan Trottier	New York Islanders	C	1
1981	Butch Goring		C	1
1982	Mike Bossy		RW	1
1983	Billy Smith		G	1
1984	Mark Messier	Edmonton Oilers	C	1
1985	Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	C	1
1986	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	G	1
1987	Ron Hextall	Philadelphia Flyers^§	G	1
1988	Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	C	2
1989	Al MacInnis	Calgary Flames	D	1
1990	Bill Ranford	Edmonton Oilers	G	1
1991	Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	1
1992	Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	2
1993	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	G	2
1994	Brian Leetch	New York Rangers	D	1
1995	Claude Lemieux	New Jersey Devils	RW	1
1996	Joe Sakic	Colorado Avalanche	C	1
1997	Mike Vernon	Detroit Red Wings	G	1
1998	Steve Yzerman	Detroit Red Wings	C	1
1999	Joe Nieuwendyk	Dallas Stars	C	1
2000	Scott Stevens	New Jersey Devils	D	1
2001	Patrick Roy	Colorado Avalanche	G	3
2002	Nicklas Lidstrom	Detroit Red Wings	D	1
2003	Jean-Sebastien Giguere	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim^§	G	1
2004	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay Lightning	C	1
2005^[a]	—
2006	Cam Ward	Carolina Hurricanes	G	1
2007	Scott Niedermayer	Anaheim Ducks	D	1
2008	Henrik Zetterberg	Detroit Red Wings	C	1
2009	Evgeni Malkin^‡	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	1
2010	Jonathan Toews^‡	Chicago Blackhawks	C	1
2011	Tim Thomas	Boston Bruins	G	1
2012	Jonathan Quick^‡	Los Angeles Kings	G	1
2013	Patrick Kane^‡	Chicago Blackhawks	RW	1
2014	Justin Williams	Los Angeles Kings	RW	1
2015	Duncan Keith	Chicago Blackhawks	D	1
2016	Sidney Crosby^‡	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	1
2017	Sidney Crosby^‡	Pittsburgh Penguins	C	2
2018	Alexander Ovechkin^‡	Washington Capitals	LW	1
2019	Ryan O'Reilly^‡	St. Louis Blues	C	1
2020	Victor Hedman^‡	Tampa Bay Lightning	D	1
2021	Andrei Vasilevskiy^‡	Tampa Bay Lightning	G	1
2022	Cale Makar^‡	Colorado Avalanche	D	1
2023	Jonathan Marchessault^‡	Vegas Golden Knights	RW	1

^ No winner due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout

By position

Conn Smythe Trophy winners by position

Position	Total
Centre	19
Goaltender	17
Defenceman	12
Winger	10

Jean Beliveau, first recipient of the award, in 1965
Patrick Roy, the only three-time winner and, as of 2024, the only player in NHL history to win the award with more than one team
Bernie Parent, two-time winner and the first player to win the award in consecutive years
Mario Lemieux, two-time winner and the second player to win the award in consecutive years
Sidney Crosby with the trophy, two-time winner and third player to win the award in consecutive years
Jonathan Marchessault, the 2023 award winner