Since 1924, the NHL has handed out the Hart Trophy to the most valuable player. But goalies and defensemen have 'the Great Bambino' to thank for how it's awarded.
The NHL's oldest and most important individual award turns 100 this season.
And a fresh probe of the origins of the Hart Trophy – bestowed annually since 1924 to the player judged most valuable to his team but often thought of as the prize for the NHL’s best player – has revealed an unexpected twist: that its donor originally intended for it to go to the player who scores the most goals or points every season.
It also appears the most popular player in MLB in the 1920s – legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth – played a key role in the fledgling NHL’s decision to redefine the Hart as an MVP accolade rather than a scoring prize.
The Hart centennial arrives in a year that has featured a lively debate around the top contenders. Finalists Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton) waited until the NHL Awards show, held June 27 in Las Vegas, to see who took home the honors. Kucherov and McDavid are both previous winners, with Kucherov taking it in 2019 and McDavid in 2017, 2021 and 2023. MacKinnon, meanwhile, was seeking his first MVP award.
But others were part of the Hart conversation. In the early going, Vancouver Canucks defenseman and Norris Trophy finalist Quinn Hughes looked well on his way to Hart candidacy. The sublime playmaker led NHL blueliners with 92 points, which was good for 15th overall, and he sat top 10 in time on ice. Lights-out goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck of Winnipeg and Thatcher Demko of the Canucks (both Vezina Trophy finalists this year) were also discussed as early Hart contenders.
But, ultimately, the NHL’s top three point-getters finished as the three Hart Trophy finalists. Kucherov’s 144 points led the way, followed closely by MacKinnon’s 140 and McDavid’s 132. The fact each finished far ahead of the second-highest scorers on their teams only strengthened their claims to league-MVP status.
Speculation about who might win the Hart is an annual hockey-talk staple from about December to June, when the league’s trophies are awarded at its year-end banquet.
Scoring prowess has always been a major factor in determining the NHL’s MVP over the past century. Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leader in goals and points, also won the Hart an unmatched nine times.
But the fact goalies and defensemen sometimes take the trophy means other measures of excellence are also at play. Of the 99 names engraved on the prize since its inception, eight belong to goaltenders and 13 belong to defensemen. The other 78 names belong to forwards. That includes players at each position who have won the Hart more than once.
One of those repeat winners is other-worldly blueliner Bobby Orr. In 1969-70, the Boston Bruins legend won not only the Hart but also took home the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, the Art Ross as its top scorer and the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. Orr remains a glaring outlier in discussions about positional advantage when selecting the NHL’s MVP.
Orr was also the first player to win the Hart three times in a row (1970, ’71 and ’72). He remains the only defenseman to have won the NHL scoring race, and he did that twice (1970 and ’75).
But all this was in a distant future on Nov. 29, 1923. As initially proposed at a Montreal banquet that evening by its namesake donor, Dr. David A. Hart (1844-1925), the Hart Trophy was meant to be a way to honor the NHLer exhibiting the greatest offensive prowess.
This revelation about the Hart Trophy’s origins comes from articles published in the Montreal Gazette and Montreal Star newspapers on Nov. 30, 1923, about a birthday bash held the night before to honor Dr. Hart’s son Cecil, then an executive with the Montreal Canadiens.
This was the moment when the idea of a Hart Trophy first came to public attention. The account of the event provided in the Gazette described Dr. Hart announcing his plan to donate a trophy for the league’s leading goal-scorer – something the NHL didn’t actually get around to until the 1999 creation of the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy.
The Star, meanwhile, reported that Dr. Hart’s proposal was to donate a trophy to be given to the NHL’s top point-producer. The league began honoring that achievement in 1948, when the Art Ross Trophy was first presented.
But between the time Dr. Hart announced the planned trophy in late November and the league’s formal acceptance of the offer in early February 1924, the proposal had transformed into the most valuable player prize that now marks its 100th season.
This is an excerpt from Randy Boswell's feature into the lengthy history of the Hart Trophy from The Hockey News' Champions 2024 Issue. It includes seminal figures in the timeline of the award becoming what it is today.
Adam Proteau discusses more about why points aren't the only factor in determining the NHL's MVP.
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