The NHL has a rich history of player and team awards -- but not every award has withstood the test of time. Here are a few awards that have faded into history.
Not every trophy has the staying power of the Stanley Cup. Here’s a look at some forgotten NHL awards that have faded into history:
1. THE O’BRIEN CUP
First Won By: Montreal Wanderers, 1910
Last Won By: New York Rangers, 1950
Named after National Hockey Association founder Ambrose O’Brien, this trophy was awarded to the NHA champion from 1910 to 1917.
Back then, teams had to first win their leagues before they could compete for the Stanley Cup. When the NHA folded and reformed as the NHL in 1917, the O’Brien Cup became the NHL’s top prize.
Once the other pro leagues disbanded, the Stanley Cup became the NHL’s title trophy, so the purpose of the O’Brien Cup changed. From 1928 to 1938, it was given to the NHL’s Canadian Division winner, while the American Division winner received the Prince of Wales Trophy. When the league returned to a one-division circuit in 1938-39, the O’Brien Cup was given to the Stanley Cup runner-up until 1950. That’s right – for a 12-year span, the Stanley Cup loser received the O’Brien Cup as a consolation prize.
2. NHL PLUS-MINUS AWARD
First Won By: Charlie Huddy, 1983
Last Won By: Pavel Datsyuk, 2008
Plus-minus became an official NHL stat in 1967 – and fans have been debating its merit ever since. Regardless, for a 25-year span, the NHL acknowledged the plus-minus leader with his own trophy.
From 1983 to 1988, it was called the Emery Edge Award. In 1989, the trophy didn’t have a sponsor and was simply the Plus-Minus Award. The Bayer pharmaceutical company sponsored the award for the next seven years, calling it the Alka-Seltzer Plus Award from 1990 to 1996. Budweiser became the award’s final sponsor, labelling it the Bud Ice Plus-Minus Award in 1997 and 1998, then the Bud Light Plus-Minus Award from 1999 to 2008.
After that, the NHL dropped the award – perhaps because five other awards had been introduced by then.
3. NHL FOUNDATION PLAYER AWARD
First Won By: Kelly Chase, 1998
Last Won By: Travis Hamonic, 2017
This award was given to the NHL player who “applies the core values of hockey…to enrich the lives of people in his community.” In other words, the player who gave back to the community, usually as a large monetary donation. The winner also received $25,000 to donate to the charity of his choice.
After the 2016-17 season, the NHL Foundation Player Award was discontinued, with the prize money now going to a charity chosen by the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
This is an excerpt from Sal Barry's story in The Hockey News' 2024 Champions Issue, in which he profiled seven awards in total that have faded into history.
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