Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

NHL award
trophy_name = Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

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Established= 1924-25 NHL season
Holder = Pavel Datsyuk
Awarded = player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing abilityThe 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".cite web|url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_splashladybyng.htm|title=Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history|accessdate=2007-08-20|publisher=Legendsofhockey.net] The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy has been awarded 82 times to 50 different players since it was first awarded in 1925. The voting is conducted at the end of the season by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

History

The trophy is named in honour of Marie Evelyn Moreton (Lady Byng), wife of Viscount Byng of Vimy, a Vimy Ridge war hero who was Governor General of Canada from 1921 to 1926. Lady Byng, who was an avid hockey fan, decided to donate the trophy to the NHL in 1925.cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/trophies/ladybyng.html|title=Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history|accessdate=2007-08-20|publisher=NHL.com]

She decided the trophy's first winner would be Frank Nighbor of the Ottawa Senators. Late in the season, Lady Byng 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. [cite book |title=Champions: The Illustrated History of Hockey's Greatest Dynasties |last=Hunter |first=Douglas |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1997 |publisher=Triumph Books |location=Chicago |isbn=1572432166] [ [http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=P194703&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByName#photo Frank Nighbor] at the Hockey Hall of Fame site]

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. Lady Byng 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.

Besides Boucher, a number of players have won the award multiple times, including Wayne Gretzky who won it five times, Red Kelly with four wins, and Bobby Bauer, Alex Delvecchio, Mike Bossy, Ron Francis and Pavel Datsyuk with three each. Because of Boucher's seven wins, the New York Rangers have won the award the most out of any club, fifteen times, followed by Detroit with thirteen, Toronto with nine, Chicago and Boston tied with eight, and Los Angeles with five.cite web|url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004454|title=Lady Byng Trophy history|accessdate=2007-08-20|publisher=canadianencyclopedia.com]

Four players have won both the Lady Byng Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP in the same season: Bobby Hull (1964–65), Stan Mikita (1966–67 and 1967–68), Wayne Gretzky (1979–80) and Joe Sakic (2000–01).cite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/trophies/hart.html|title=Hart Memorial Trophy history|accessdate=2007-07-31|publisher=NHL.com]

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. [cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/jon_dolezar/news/2003/04/01/dolie_insider/|title=Foppa shows the most Hart|accessdate=2007-08-01|date=2003-04-20|author=Jon Dolezar |publisher=SI.com] Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs.

No goaltender has ever won the award; Bill Quackenbush and Red Kelly are the only defensemen to do so, and no defenseman has won in over fifty years.

Winners

References

;General
* [http://www.nhl.com/trophies/ladybyng.html Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history] at NHL.com
* [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_splashladybyng.htm Lady Byng Memorial Trophy history] at Legends of Hockey.net;Specific

ee also

*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