Toronto Maple Leafs: NHL Awards Past and Present

The Toronto Maple Leafs are finished for the season, but the fun is not over just yet, with the 2019 NHL Awards and the Draft both happening this week.

In the spirit of the ceremony, let’s look back at how the awards have gone for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the past.

The NHL Awards haven’t always been such an event, and have only been held in Las Vegas for the past ten years— but they continuously grow grander, and this year should be no exception.

On the list of award nominees for the 2018-2019 season, not a single Leafs player’s name appears, although this doesn’t mean that the team hasn’t been awarded quite a few times. Despite the Leafs long Stanley Cup drought, there have been over fifty individual awards given to players in the franchise throughout the years.

Awards

Hart Memorial Trophy

The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded to the Most Valuable Player since 1924. Last year’s award winner was Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils. The last Toronto Maple Leaf to have won the Hart Trophy is Ted Kennedy in 1955.

The Calder Memorial Trophy

This award is the most recent award to be handed to a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Auston Matthews received it in his 2016-2017 rookie season. The Calder is awarded to the most notable rookie in the league. Before Matthews, the last Leafs  player to receive it was Brit Selby in 1965-1966.

Frank J. Selke Trophy

The Selke goes to the forward who excels best in the defensive aspect of the game. The award has famously gone to Bruins center, Patrice Bergeron, multiple times— but in the 1992-1993 season it was awarded to Doug Gilmour, the same year that the Leafs lost the Clarence Campbell Conference Final to the Kings.

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

This award for gentlemanly conduct has gone to a handful of Toronto Maple Leafs in the past, such as Red Kelly (1951, 1953, 1954, 1961) and most recently Alexander Mogilny in 2003.

This year’s nominees include St. Louis’ Ryan O’Reilly, Florida’s Alexander Barkov, and Calgary’s Sean Monohan. (Barkov won).

King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Awarded to players whose leadership qualities extend on and off the ice, as well as contributing throughout their community, and named after the player and coach, King Clancy, this trophy last went to the Sedin Brothers in a record first joint awarding.

Previously, it went to Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph in 2000.

Vezina Trophy

The goalie specific award,  given to the best overall goalie .

The most recent member of the Toronto Maple Leafs to win this award also changed the rules of the award; in the 1964-1965 season, the NHL allowed the award to be split between Johnny Bower and teammate Terry Sawchuk.

Sawchuk had played 36 games with a GAA of 2.56 and had been deemed the winner of the award under the previous criteria.

In the same season, teammate, Bower had played 34 games and had a GAA of 2.38. The two had made an agreement to split the cash prize if either won. Ultimately, Sawchuk announced he would refuse to accept the trophy if Bower was not also included.

This changed the criteria for the award that would allow any goaltender on the team who allowed the fewest goals against would also qualify for the award if he had played at least 25 games; this criteria was in place until the 1980-1981 season, when the William M Jennings award was introduced and the Vezina was re-evaluated as the award for best overall performance as a goalie.

Mark Messier Leadership Award

The award with the namesake of retired player Messier, who is one of three players in NHL history to captain three different teams, and the only player to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup. The award is the youngest of all awards given, and in its second year, 2008, was awarded to Mats Sundin.

Jack Adams Award

This award is handed to the top coach during the regular season; it’s been won once by a Leafs coach; Pat Burns in the 1993 season. He would be the coach to lead the leafs to one of their best playoffs runs since their championship win in 1967.

James Norris Memorial Award

This award has not been received by any Toronto Maple Leaf’s players, but in large public opinion this seasons performance by Morgan Rielly is the most deserving of any.

One of the hardest workers on the team and the breaker of franchise as well as personal records, Rielly was snubbed of the recognition he deserved.

Conn Smythe Trophy

The award for the most valuable player in the playoffs, this has not been handed out to a Toronto Maple Leafs player since 1967 when they last won The Cup. It was given to David Keon, who was later in 2016 named the best player in the teams history, as well as named one on the top 100 NHL players in history.

The awards are fun event right after the playoffs are done and an excuse for the players to dress up and go to Vegas.

Note: Nominees for this years award from NHL.com

The show itself is always littered with comedy and guest appearances that make for an all around good time. There’s never really a disappointment [for me, personally] in who wins, more so an excellent way to reflect on the past season.