The fourth in our 118-part series:
The Individual Trophies’ Names
There are a lot of things about hockey we point to as proof that it’s better than other sports — no free throws, no tuck rule, no, well, anything about baseball, really — but one of strongest arguments is the charm inherent in the names of the individual trophies. The NHL’s marvelous tradition and quirkiness starts with the Stanley Cup (no other major American sports league calls its championship by the trophy name) and echoes through every post-season award and individual accolade the league offers. Why have a blandly monikered “MVP Trophy” when you can have the Hart? Who would settle for “Defenseman of the Year” when they could be awarded the Norris instead? And what individual trophy name is more awe-inspiring than the Conn Smythe? In short, hockey is so much cooler than any other sport because, instead of having to call himself “Defensive Forward Of The Year” finalist Jay Pandolfo, Pando gets to put the much snappier “Selke finalist Jay Pandolfo” on his business cards. (What was that? Pando doesn’t have business cards? Shut up!)
