What's the most prestigious individual award

[DannyGallivan]

The Hart, the Lindsay or the Conn Smythe?

For me, it's this...

1. Lindsay: Best player voted on by the players in the regular season, where everybody has an equal chance to shine.

2. Conn Smythe: Most valuable player when it counts the most. The major issue is that players who may have had better playoffs may have been eliminated earlier and therefore didn't get a sniff at the award.

3. Hart: Historically, voters could never make up there mind whether it was for "MVP" or "Most Outstanding Player". Sometimes Orr and Esposito would win it because voters went the MOP route, other times Bobby Clarke would beat a much more impressive Orr or Lafleur because the voters decided to go the MVP route. That happened again this year. "Most Valuable" essentially means best player on a weak playoff team with little supporting staff. All of a sudden, this award looks pretty vague.

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[Damisoph]

Hart

 

[McDavidCrushedLarkin]

Lindsay because the players vote on it and not armchair quarterbacks using strange conditions.

 

[Godzilla]

Ted Lindsay.

 

[Laineux]

All of them have major flaws if you use them as your basis for player evaluation.

 

[Nostradumbass]

Conn Smythe, because of usually what's associated with it.

 

[Stuzchuk]

to me, Smythe, Hart, Lindsay

EDIT: actually, removed the Norris from there, the Norris aint what it use to be, now it's more like the best Offensive DMan

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Lindsay, because individual players are awarded for individual talent, rather than held back by the team they play for

 

[Field of Dreams]

The good deeds cup

 

[Seanaconda]

to me, Smythe, Hart, Lindsay

EDIT: actually, removed the Norris from there, the Norris aint what it use to be, now it's more like the best Offensive DMan

They did add a new trophy for best defensive dman now but ek has lost a couple times and green didn't win

 

[Oilslick941611]

Lindsay is "better" than Hart. Unless you value the opinions of pundits over the players in judging their own peers

 

[oXo Cube]

Oilers fan here, Hart trophy.

People will try to argue that the Lindsay is voted on by peers or whatever but it's not the one that people remember after a player is retired.

The Conn Smythe has lost a lot of its prestige for me personally over the last few seasons.

 

[Laineux]

I bet that if McDavid isn't the best player next year but rather top 3 or so but gets Oilers to playoffs they will vote him for the Hart. They'll feel that he's "due".

 

[SovietWings]

Mark Messier Leadership Award

(It's Hart, AINEC)

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Hart
Lindsay
Smythe

 

[Weztex]

Historically, the Lindsay has been so heavily biased toward forwards that it kept it to overcome the Hart in my opinion. In nearly 50 years only 4 defensemen and goalies combined have won it. There's no way the most outstanding player isn't a forward only barely 10% of the time. There's no way Bobby Orr was that player only once.

That said the winners have got it right in recent years (2010, 2013, 2018).

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Oilers fan here, Hart trophy.

People will try to argue that the Lindsay is voted on by peers or whatever but it's not the one that people remember after a player is retired.

The Conn Smythe has lost a lot of its prestige for me personally over the last few seasons.

The Lindsay isn’t remembered after you retire? I think you have hart and Lindsay backwards

 

[La Bamba]

From a fan perspective the Hart for sure. If I was a player I'd be happier to win the Ted Lindsay and have that respect from my peers.

 

[SotasicA]

Conn Smythe. Because it's the only trophy that guarantees that you also just won the most prestigious trophy in all of sports.

After that, Hart. Then Norris. Then Vezina. Then Selke. The Hart is the one with the most history and prestige. And you need (team) success to contend. The Lindsay suffers from being a little redundant. A side award.

 

[DannyGallivan]

Conn Smythe. Because it's the only trophy that guarantees that you also just won the most prestigious trophy in all of sports.

After that, Hart. Then Norris. Then Vezina. Then Selke. The Hart is the one with the most history and prestige. And you need (team) success to contend. The Lindsay suffers from being a little redundant. A side award.

Any trophy that recognizes the best player of the past season is the most relevant, in my opinion. Based on criteria, the Lindsay is the closest to that.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Used to be the Hart. Then the writers started to overthink their vote. If they keep doing that, its going to be the Lindsay. I think the players care more about the Lindsay than fans do.

 

[ManofSteel55]

to me, Smythe, Hart, Lindsay

EDIT: actually, removed the Norris from there, the Norris aint what it use to be, now it's more like the best Offensive DMan

The Norris has been that way for 30 years. The only time a shut down d-man has won it has been Langway I believe.

 

[SotasicA]

Any trophy that recognizes the best player of the past season is the most relevant, in my opinion. Based on criteria, the Lindsay is the closest to that.

But it's a regular season award. In the game of hockey, you can't really win anything significant during the regular season.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The Hart has actual prestige, in the sense that it is the one people pay more attention to. Historically it’s also the one that tracks the best with the greatest players.

That said, in recent years there’s a solid case that the Lindsay is the real MVP award. This year in particular, the Lindsay looks like the better barometer of greatness.

 

[DannyGallivan]

But it's a regular season award. In the game of hockey, you can't really win anything significant during the regular season.

I like the Conn Smythe, but as an individual award there are some issues. In many cases, the best player in the playoffs didn't even make the finals.