Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter
The Hart Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in NHL history. It is awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team and, if you are lucky enough to receive the coveted Hart, it all but guarantees a player being inducted into the NHL’s Hockey Hall of Fame.
Originally awarded after the 1923-'24 season, only seven defensemen have won the Hart: Herb Gardiner of the Montreal Canadiens (1926-27), Eddie Shore of the Boston Bruins (1932-33, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1937-38), Ebbie Goodfellow of the Montreal Canadiens (1939-40), Tommy Anderson of the Brooklyn Americans (1941-42), Babe Pratt of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1943-44), Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins (1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72) and Chris Pronger of the St.Louis Blues (1999-200).
When you think about the number of high-quality defenseman that have been left off this list—Scott Niedermayer, Al MacInnis, Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque, to name a few—clearly, it is a monumental accomplishment for a D-Man to make the cut.
At the beginning of the 2009-'10 NHL season, the odds on favorites to win the Hart Trophy were forwards Alex Ovechkin, S ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mark Ritter
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November 9th, 2009 by Mark Ritter Leave a reply »
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