The O'Brien Trophy, or O'Brien Cup, as labelled on the trophy itself, is a retired trophy that was awarded in the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

(NHA) and the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL)

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

leagues of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from 1910 to 1950. It was originally donated to the NHA by

Canadian Senator The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...

M. J. O'Brien Michael John O'Brien (19 September 1851 – 26 October 1940) was a railway builder, industrialist and philanthropist. He was named to the Senate of Canada in 1918. He was a founder of the town of Renfrew, Ontario.J.P. Bickell: The Life, the Leafs, ...

in honour of his son,

Ambrose O'Brien John Ambrose O'Brien (May 27, 1885 – April 24, 1968) was a Canadian industrialist and sports team owner. He was a founder of the National Hockey Association (NHA), owner of the Renfrew Millionaires and the founding owner of the Montreal Canad ...

. The Cup was fabricated using silver from an O'Brien mine. The Cup has been awarded under four definitions. From 1910 through 1917, it was awarded to the NHA champion. In 1921, the Cup was transferred to the NHL and awarded to the NHL playoff champion until 1926–27. From 1927–28 until 1937–38, it was awarded to the Canadian Division regular season champion. Starting with the 1938–39 season, it was awarded to the NHL playoff runner-up. After 1949–50, the Cup was retired and has not been awarded since. In total, the Cup has been awarded in 41 seasons to twelve different teams. The Cup is now in the collection of the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

History

The Cup was donated to the

by Canadian Senator Michael J. O'Brien in honour of his son,

, who was credited with the formation of the

, the forerunner to the NHL. The Cup was originally to be given to the NHA's championship team. Made entirely from silver from the O'Brien mine, the trophy's value was estimated at (over CA$ in dollars). Like the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, trustees were named for the trophy. These were NHA executives

Harry Trihey Henry Judah "Flip" Trihey (December 25, 1877 – December 9, 1942) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player and executive in the era before professional ice hockey. Trihey played the centre forward position for the Montreal Shamrocks from 1897 ...

Emmett Quinn Thomas Emmett Quinn (September 10, 1877 – February 9, 1930) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, coach and referee. Quinn served as president of the National Hockey Association (NHA), the predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL). Hi ...

and T. Yates Foster. Later, Stanley Cup trustee

William Foran William Michael Foran (February 4, 1871 – November 30, 1945) was an ice hockey executive, Stanley Cup trustee and government official. For over 50 years, he was secretary of the Board of Civil Service Examiners and its follow-up organizatio ...

would become the sole trustee of the O'Brien Cup. On December 2, 1911, the NHA officially designated the trophy as the league's championship trophy. When the NHA was suspended in 1917, the Cup was held by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. It remained in their care until 1921. In November 1921, it was announced that the Cup would be given over to the

to be awarded annually to the NHL playoff champions. NHL president

Frank Calder Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete. Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...

arranged with Ambrose O'Brien a new deed of gift. The Cup, which Calder had secured following the death of Montreal President

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academ ...

, was then presented to the NHL champion

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. In 1925, the NHL inaugurated the

Prince of Wales Trophy The Prince of Wales Trophy, also known as the Wales Trophy, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), it has been awarded for diffe ...

, which also was presented to the NHL playoff champions. From 1927–28 onwards, one year after the NHL expanded to two divisions in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, the Cup was awarded to the winner of the Canadian Division, while the Prince of Wales Trophy was awarded to the winner of the American Division. It would be awarded under this definition until the end of the 1937–38 season. The

1938–39 NHL season The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the final series. Leagu ...

saw the NHL move back to a single division, and from that point on the Cup was awarded to the playoff runner-up. The Cup was not formally awarded from 1939 to 1943 and it would not be until 1944 that the winning teams from that period were inscribed on the trophy. At the end of the 1949–50 NHL season, the trophy was retired and has not been awarded since. It is now in the collection of the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada and is on display with other historic trophies in the entrance to the Panasonic Hometown Hockey exhibit. The

have won it the most, having won the Cup eleven times. The

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

have won it the second most, a total of eight times, six as the Maple Leafs, once as the St. Patricks and once as the Torontos. The

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

have won the Cup the most times of any American team, having won it five times.

Winners

;Key ** = Defunct Teams *^ =

NHA champion

NHL playoff champion

NHL Canadian Division champion

NHL playoff runner-up

Source: Fischler(1983), p. 34.

Notes

*A. The Toronto club was operated by Arena Co., and had no nickname for the 1917-18 season. *B. The trophy was not awarded during these years, but the Hockey Hall of Fame list these teams as the winners. *C. These years are listed on page 34 of Fischler(1983), but are not listed on the Hockey Hall of Fame website. However, the team pictures for the 1925-26 Maroons and the 1926-27 Senators show the O'Brien Cup as one of the trophies they won in those seasons. *D. These totals include the years for when the trophy was not awarded, but are included in the wins listed by the Hall of Fame. *E. These totals include the years for when the trophy was awarded, but are not included in the wins listed by the Hall of Fame.

References

* * * ;General * * ;Specific {{Featured list National Hockey League trophies and awards National Hockey Association Awards established in 1910 Awards disestablished in 1950