The Conn Smythe Trophy was introduced in
1964 by
Maple Leaf Gardens Limited to honour
Conn Smythe, the former owner, general manager and coach of the
Toronto Maple Leafs and a member of the
Hockey Hall of Fame as a
builder. The base of the Conn Smythe Trophy has been expanded twice over the years to accommodate more winners. Although the 16 nameplates on the original base tier were filled up after
1980, a new tier was not added until the
1983–84 season. Following the
2000 Stanley Cup playoffs, the 20 nameplates on the new tier were filled, so the first nine winners' nameplates were moved up to the remaining three sides of the foundation tier. The remaining nameplates were shifted accordingly to keep the winners in chronological order. Due to the
cancellation of the 2004–05 season, the trophy was not filled again until
2010, after which a new tier was added, making room for 24 more names. The first winner of the trophy was
centre Jean Beliveau of the
Montreal Canadiens in
1965. The first player and only defenseman to win it twice was
Bobby Orr, who scored the Cup-clinching goals for the
Boston Bruins in
1970 and
1972.
Goaltender Bernie Parent (for the
Philadelphia Flyers) and centres
Wayne Gretzky (for the
Edmonton Oilers),
Mario Lemieux, and
Sidney Crosby (for the
Pittsburgh Penguins) have also won it twice each, with Parent, Lemieux, and Crosby each winning theirs back to back (
1974/
1975,
1991/
1992, and
2016/
2017 respectively). Goaltender
Patrick Roy is the only three-time Smythe winner and the only player to win the trophy as a member of two different teams (with the Canadiens in
1986 and
1993, and with the
Colorado Avalanche in
2001); his wins also fall into three different decades.
Ken Dryden, the
1971 Smythe winner, is the only NHL player to win this trophy before winning the
Calder Trophy as rookie of the year (in
1972): Montreal called him up to play only six regular season games.
Dave Keon is the only Maple Leafs player to win the trophy donated by his club's parent company, while his eight playoff points in
1967 is the fewest ever by a non-goalie Conn Smythe winner as he was a defensive forward. Though the trophy rewards a player who performed particularly well over the entirety of the playoffs, it has never been given to a player whose team did not at least reach the
Stanley Cup Final. The trophy has been awarded to members of the team that lost the Finals six times, most recently
Connor McDavid of the
Edmonton Oilers in 2024. The only two skaters to win the award while his team lost the final round are McDavid and Philadelphia's
Reggie Leach, the latter of which won it in
1976, as he had set a league record for most goals in the playoffs (19), which included a five-goal game in the semifinals and four goals in the Finals, even though the Canadiens swept his Flyers. McDavid set the all-time playoff record for assists in
2024 and led the playoffs in scoring by ten points, despite the
Florida Panthers defeating his Oilers in seven games. Ten players born outside of Canada have won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The non-Canadian winners are Americans
Brian Leetch, who won it in
1994,
Tim Thomas in
2011,
Jonathan Quick in
2012, and
Patrick Kane in
2013; Russians
Evgeni Malkin,
Alexander Ovechkin and
Andrei Vasilevskiy who won it in
2009,
2018 and
2021, respectively; and Swedes
Nicklas Lidstrom,
Henrik Zetterberg and
Victor Hedman, who won it in
2002,
2008 and
2020, respectively. Three players have won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the
Hart Memorial Trophy for
Most Valuable Player during the regular season in the same year: Orr in 1970 and 1972,
Guy Lafleur in
1977, and Wayne Gretzky in
1985. These three players also won the
Art Ross Trophy, having scored more points than any other player during the regular season (Orr only in 1970), while Orr also won the
James Norris Memorial Trophy as top defenceman to give him a record four individual original NHL awards in 1970. As of 2025, the Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded to centers 21 times, to goaltenders 17 times, to defencemen 12 times, and to right wingers eight times, while the only left wingers to have won the award are
Bob Gainey of Montreal in
1979 and Alexander Ovechkin of Washington in
2018. Players with the Montreal Canadiens have received the most Conn Smythe Trophies with nine. Players with the
Detroit Red Wings,
Pittsburgh Penguins, and Edmonton Oilers have each received five, and the Philadelphia Flyers and
New York Islanders have each received four. ==Winners==