Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

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.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Sport	Ice hockey
Awarded for	player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability[1]
History
First award	1924–25 NHL season
Most wins	Frank Boucher (7)
Most recent	Jaccob Slavin Carolina Hurricanes

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

• List of National Hockey League awards
• List of NHL players
• Violence in sports
• NHL violence
• List of awards presented by the governor general of Canada
• List of awards named after governors general of Canada
• Best and fairest awards in Australian sport

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. "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. "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.