Only 2 To Win Both The Hart Trophy And George Leader Cup

The Hart Memorial Trophy has been awarded to the Most Valuable Player in the National Hockey League since the 1923-24 season. The George Leader Cup was awarded to the MVP of the Western Hockey League from 1948-49 to 1972-73. Of course, Wayne Gretzky has won the Hart Trophy more times than any other player. The George Leader Cup was dominated by Guyle Fielder who won the award five times. Just two players in the history of professional hockey have won both awards.

Walter ‘Babe’ Pratt

Babe Pratt played pro hockey from 1935-36 to 1951-52, in the NHL to 1946-47. In the NHL, he appeared with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. Pratt also played in the CAHL, AHL and PCHL. Over his NHL career, he played 517 regular season games, scoring 83 goals and assisting on 209 for 292 points. In 63 Stanley Cup playoff games, he scored 12 goals and assisted on 17 for 29 points.

In 1939-40, Babe helped the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup championship with a four games to two victory over the Maple Leafs. In 1944-45, he won his second and last Stanley Cup, this time with Toronto. The Maple Leafs took the full seven games to defeat the Detroit Red Wings. In 1966, Pratt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

In 1943-44, Pratt was awarded the Hart Trophy in his first full year with the Maple Leafs. Playing the full 50 game schedule, Babe scored 17 goals and assisted on 40 for 57 points. It was his NHL career high for assists and points. The assist total tied him for seventh in the league. Toronto finished third with an even 50 points in 50 games. The Maple Leafs met their cruel demise in the opening round of the playoffs as the Montreal Canadiens easily won the series 4-1. The Habs outscored Toronto 23-6, including a game five 11-0 trouncing.

Pratt was awarded the George Leader Cup in two consecutive seasons, 1948-49 and 1949-50, the first two years the trophy was handed out. Both years, he was a member of the New Westminster Royals of the PCHL. After 1951-52, the PCHL would become the WHL.

In 1948-49, he scored 18 and assisted on 48 for 66 points in 63 regular season games. He tied for fifth in the league for assists. The Royals placed first in the five team North Division and first overall in the ten team league with 83 points in 70 games. New Westminster reached the finals before losing to the San Diego Skyhawks, four games to two.

The following season, Pratt played just 59 of the team’s 71 games, scoring eight goals and adding 29 assists for 37 points. Babe also acted as the team’s head coach. The Royals placed first overall in the PCHL, which had shrunk to just six teams. In a closely fought final series, New Westminster captured the championship with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Monarchs. Each team scored 26 goals in the series. Two games were decided in overtime, including game seven.

Andy Bathgate

Bathgate won his Hart Trophy in 1958-59 as a member of the New York Rangers. He played the full 70 games, scoring 40 goals and totalling 88 points. He placed third in the NHL for goals, five behind the leader, Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens. He also placed third in points, eight behind leader Dickie Moore of the Canadiens. The Rangers finished fifth out of six and did not qualify for the post season.

In 1969-70, he was awarded the George Leader Cup as a member of the Vancouver Canucks of the WHL. Bathgate finished the regular season playing the full 72 game schedule. He scored 40 and added 68 assists for 108 points. Andy was fourth in goals and second in points, 19 behind Art Jones of the Portland Buckaroos. For Jones, a minor hockey legend, it was his fourth of six scoring titles in the WHL. The Canucks finished first in the seven team league with 102 points in 72 games. Vancouver won the championship with a four games to one victory over the Portland Buckaroos.

Andy Bathgate played in the NHL from 1952-53 to 1967-68 and returned for a year in 1970-71. Andy appeared with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. His only Stanley Cup victory came in 1963-64 as the Maple Leafs downed the Red Wings in seven games. In 1961-62, Bathgate tied Bobby Hull for the NHL lead with 84 points. However, Hull was awarded the Art Ross Trophy with more goals. Andy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978.

4 Hart Trophy Winners From The Detroit Red Wings

For the 1926-27 National Hockey League season, the Victoria Cougars were moved to Detroit, Michigan. The team remained the Cougars until a name change to the Falcons in 1930. In 1932, the team was renamed again, this time to the Red Wings. In that time, the franchise has had four different players awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL most valuable player. One of the four won the Hart on six occasions. Notably absent from this list is Steve Yzerman, probably the most deserving player to have a Hart Trophy sitting on his mantle. Yet, Yzerman was denied throughout his long and successful career with the Red Wings.

Ebbie Goodfellow

Ebbie Goodfellow was the first Detroit player to win the Hart Trophy. In 1939-40, the defenseman totaled 28 points in 43 regular season game, big numbers for a blue liner in the day. The Red Wings squeaked into the Stanley Cup playoffs, finishing sixth in the seven team NHL. Detroit beat the New York Americans in the first round before losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second.

Goodfellow played in the NHL from 1923-30 to 1942-43, all with the Detroit. His first year was with the Cougars, followed by two with the Falcons before becoming a true Red Wing. For two seasons in the early 1950’s, Ebbie coached the Chicago Black Hawks but the team won just 30 of 140 games with him behind the bench. In 1963, Ebbie Goodfellow was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Sid Abel

Sid Abel won the Hart Trophy in 1948-49 while leading the league in goals and finishing third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Sid scored 28 and totaled 54 points in 60 games for the Red Wings. Detroit finished first overall that season but was swept in the Stanley Cup finals by the fourth seed Toronto Maple Leafs.

Abel played with the Red Wings from 1938-39 until 1951-52 before spending two seasons as player/coach of the Chicago Black Hawks. Sid was nearly as unsuccessful behind the Chicago bench as Ebbie Goodfellow was. He returned to coaching in 1957-58 with the Red Wings and was head coach until the end of the 1967-68 season. During that time, Detroit lost in the Stanley Cup finals four times. Abel became a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

Gordie Howe

Along came Gordie Howe. Howe won his first of six Hart Memorial Trophies in 1951-52, the last year Sid Abel played for the team. Gordie won the Hart again the following year then in 1956-57, 1957-58, 1959-60 and 1962-63. On four of those occasions, Howe also won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top point producer.

Gordie played for Detroit from 1946-47 to 1970-71. He is considered by many to be the best hockey player of all-time. In 1971, Howe was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He returned to the game as a player in 1973-74 and spent six years in the World Hockey Association before a swan-song appearance with the NHL’s Hartford Whalers in 1979-80.

Sergei Federov

Sergei Federov is the most recent Red Wing to win the Hart Memorial Trophy. Federov earned the prize in 1993-94, while scoring 56 goals and accumulating 120 points. He finished third in goal scoring behind Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks and Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues. It was just Wayne Gretzky ahead of him in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, finishing ten points ahead.

Sergei played over 1,200 regular season and nearly 200 playoff games in the National Hockey League, many with Detroit.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Stan Mikita

Stan Mikita is one of the most decorated Chicago Blackhawk to ever play in the National Hockey League. Between 1959 and 1980, Mikita was an ever-present force in a Black Hawks uniform. After all, he spent his entire NHL career with Chicago. Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Stan Mikita with the following four trivia questions.

Q. How many times was Stan Mikita a ‘triple crown’ winner, taking home the Lady Byng, Art Ross and Hart Trophies all in the same season?

A. Mikita was a triple crown winner twice. He is the only NHL player to accomplish this and certainly the only NHL player to do it in consecutive seasons. In both 1966-67 and 1967-68, Stan won the Byng, Ross and Hart. He won the Byng in 1966-67, accumulating just 12 PIM. Just two years before, Mikita was a completely different player, sitting out 154 minutes in penalties.

In 1966-67, Stan totalled an NHL record (at the time) 97 points over 70 regular season games. He finished with 17 points more than teammate Bobby Hull, who finished in second. Hull led the league in goals with 52 while Mikita was second with 35. Stan obviously led the league with his 62 assists, 13 more than Phil Goyette of the New York Rangers.

In 1967-68, the first year of the 12 team National Hockey League, Mikita dropped to 87 points on 47 assists and 40 goals over 72 games. Stan led the league with just three more points than Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins. He came within four goals of league leader Bobby Hull and placed fourth for assists behind Esposito, Rod Gilbert and Alex Delvecchio. All four were within two assists.

Q. In 1966-67, Stan Mikita totalled 97 points. At the time, he tied an NHL record. Who did he share the NHL record for most points in a single season with?

A. Just the season before, Mikita’s teammate, Bobby Hull, set the league mark with 97 points. After the 1968-69 season, these numbers would become just distant memories with Phil Esposito shattering the mark with 126 points. Esposito would increase the record to 152 points in 1970-71 and that would be considered unreachable until a kid named Wayne Gretzky came along in the 1980’s.

Q. In 1980, the Chicago Black Hawks retired Stan Mikita’s jersey number. What number did he wear during his NHL career with Chicago?

A. Stan Mikita’s number 21 was retired at the start of the 1980-81 season. It was just a year after his final season in the National Hockey League. Mikita wore number 21 right from 1958-59 when he appeared in just three games with Chicago while still a junior with the St. Catherines Teepees of the OHA.

Q. In what year was Stan Mikita inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

A. Mikita was part of the HHOF class of 1983. Joining him was long-time teammate in Chicago, Bobby Hull and goaltending great Ken Dryden. Harry Sinden was inducted the same year in the builder category.

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1956-57	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	52	16	31	47	0
1957-58	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	52	31	47	78	0
1958-59	St. Catharines Teepees	OHA	45	38	59	97	0
1958-59	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	3	0	1	1	4
1959-60	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	67	8	18	26	119
1960-61	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	66	19	34	53	100
1961-62	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	70	25	52	77	97
1962-63	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	65	31	45	76	69
1963-64	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	70	39	50	89	146
1964-65	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	70	28	59	87	154
1965-66	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	68	30	48	78	58
1966-67	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	70	35	62	97	12
1967-68	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	72	40	47	87	14
1968-69	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	74	30	67	97	52
1969-70	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	76	39	47	86	50
1970-71	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	74	24	48	72	85
1971-72	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	74	26	39	65	46
1972-73	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	57	27	56	83	32
1973-74	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	76	30	50	80	46
1974-75	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	79	36	50	86	48
1975-76	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	48	16	41	57	37
1976-77	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	57	19	30	49	20
1977-78	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	76	18	41	59	35
1978-79	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	65	19	36	55	34
1979-80	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	17	2	5	7	12
	NHL Totals		1394	541	926	1467	1270

NHL Hockey Trivia: Boston Bruins and the Hart Trophy

The Hart Memorial Trophy was first handed out in 1923-24. The Boston Bruins began play in the National Hockey League the following season. Since that time, five different Boston players have won the Hart Trophy a total of 12 times in a time spanning from 1933 to 1974. Test and expand your knowledge of the Boston Bruins and the Hart Memorial Trophy with the following four hockey trivia questions and answers.

Q. What Boston Bruins player won the Hart Memorial Trophy on four occasions?

A. Eddie Shore won the Hart four times during the 1930’s, his first in 1932-33 and his last in 1937-38. The only other winners of the trophy during that decade either played for the Montreal Canadiens or the Montreal Maroons. Just Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe have won the Hart more times that Eddie Shore.

Shore played nearly his entire National Hockey League career with the Bruins. From 1926-27 until four games into the 1939-40 season, he played for Boston. He finished his NHL career that same year with ten games for the New York Americans. Eddie was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. The Eddie Shore Award is now given out to the top defenseman in the American Hockey League.

Q. Over the 12 times a Boston Bruins player has won the Hart Trophy, only twice has the team won the Stanley Cup in the same season. Which one of the Bruins was the recipient of the Hart Trophy in both those years?

A. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1969-70 and 1971-72. In both years, Bobby Orr won the Hart Memorial Trophy. He also won in 1970-71 and is one of only two NHL players to win on three or more consecutive occasions. The other, of course, is Wayne Gretzky. Orr played for Boston from 1966-67 to 1975-76 in an injury shortened Hockey Hall of Fame career.

Q. Which Hart Trophy winner from the Boston Bruins went on to coach the team for eleven years after retiring as a player?

A. Milt Schmidt won the Hart Trophy in 1950-51. He began the 1954-55 season as a player and took over the head coaching role midway through the season. He coached the Bruins until the end of the 1965-66 season. He returned to coach in the NHL one last time in 1974-75, standing behind the Washington Capitals bench for just seven games.

Q. Who is the only Boston Bruins player to win the Hart Trophy but not have his jersey number retired by the team?

A. Bill Cowley won the Hart in 1940-41 and 1942-43. He was a point per game player over his career that spanned from 1935-36 to 1946-47. Cowley is enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Yet, the Bruins have not honoured his number 10.

Hockey Trivia: You Gotta Have Hart

The Hart Memorial Trophy has been handed out to the National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player since 1924. The trophy was donated to the NHL by Doctor David Hart, who was the father of Cecil Hart, former coach and general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge with these following questions regarding the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Q. What Philadelphia Flyers player won the Hart in 1994-95?

A. Eric Lindros won the Hart Trophy in 1995. Lindros tied Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins for most points during the shortened 1994-95 NHL season. Lindros and Jagr both had 70 points, five more than Alexei Zhamnov of the Winnipeg Jets. Jagr was awarded the Art Ross Trophy because he had more goals.

After a junior career with the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League, Lindros played 760 regular season games in the National Hockey League from 1992-93 to 2006-07 with the Flyers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. His numbers were impressive with 372 goals and 493 assists for 865 points.

Q. Who is the only NHL goalie to win consecutive Hart Trophies?

A. Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres won the Hart Trophy in 1996-97 and 1997-98. Hasek and Jose Theodore are the only goalies to win the Hart since Jacques Plante won it in 1962.

Hasek started his NHL career humbly with the Chicago Blackhawks, appearing in just five games in 1990-91 and 20 the following season. However, once he was sent to the Buffalo Sabres for the 1992-93 season, Dominik’s NHL career took off. He played with the Sabres until the end of 2001-02 before joining the Detroit Red Wings. Hasek also played a year with the Ottawa Senators along with pro hockey in the Czech Extraliga and the Russia based KHL before retiring after the 2010-11 season.

Q. Other than Wayne Gretzky, who was the only player to win the Hart Trophy during the 1980’s?

A. Mario Lemieux won the Hart in 1988 while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky won the previous eight as a member of the Edmonton Oilers and won again the year following Lemieux as a member of the Los Angeles Kings.

The first overall pick at the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, Lemieux won the Hart Trophy two more times over his career. He played his entire NHL career with the Penguins from 1984-85 to 2005-06 with a three year layoff between 1997-98 and 1999-00.

Q. Who was the first player to win the Hart Trophy when it was introduced in 1924?

A. Frank Nighbor of the Ottawa Senators won the first ever Hart Trophy. Nighbor was also the first ever recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy when it was introduced the following year. In that 1923-24 season, Frank scored ten goals and assistsed on three for 13 points over 20 games. Ottawa placed first overall in the four team league over the 24 game regular season schedule. The Senators then fell to the Montreal Canadiens in a two game total goal Stanley Cup final.

Nighbor played with the Senators from 1915-16 until a midseason traded sent him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1929-30, his final year in the NHL. Frank was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. It was just the second round of inductions with 1945 being the first.