This Day in Hockey History – May 1, 1965 – Conn Smythe to Jean Béliveau

May 1, 2019

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The Conn Smythe Trophy is named for Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, known around the National Hockey League as Conn Smythe. He is best known as being the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, originally known as the Toronto St. Patricks until the sale in February 1927 to the group that included Smythe.

Elected now by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is not just the player who was the best in the final game, at which the trophy will be awarded, but his overall performance throughout all games played during the playoff season.

Conn Smythe Trophy (Photo: T3h wookiee [CC BY-SA 3.0]

The first year that the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded those voting were the Governors of the six NHL teams or their representatives.

During Game Five on April 27 of the 1965 Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks, Jean Béliveau of the Canadiens stepped up with solid play in their impressive 6-0 routing of the Hawks.

“Big Jean Beliveau, who contributed two goals and two assists to the cause, was the centre of attention and somebody asked him if he was thinking about the Conn Smythe Trophy as the best Stanley Cup performer,” reported Ted Blackman of the Montreal Gazette. “’Right now I’m thinking about another trophy, the Stanley Cup,’ he replied. ‘That’s more important.’”

Whoever asked the question wasn’t the only one who thought that Béliveau was in the running. “One governor who does the voting was heard to say the Conn Smythe Trophy was between [Bobby] Hull and Beliveau,” reported the Ottawa Journal on April 29th.

The series would end up going the full seven games, but the Canadiens would win their first Stanley Cup in five years, on May 1, 1965. However, along with the silver chalice that hockey players put their bodies on the line for, another award accompanied it onto the ice for presentation. And the first ever recipient of the Conn Smythe was indeed the captain of the Canadiens – Béliveau.

“Probably the happiest player in the madhouse that was Montreal Canadiens’ dressing room Saturday night was team captain Jean Beliveau. The veteran centre-ice star was declared the initial winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the outstanding performer in the Stanley Cup playoffs, following Canadiens 4-0 victory over Chicago Black Hawks. In becoming the first winner of professional hockey’s newest trophy, Beliveau receives $2,000, made up of $1,000 from the National Hockey League and a similar amount from Canadiens’ management,” reported The Leader-Post of Regina, Saskatchewan on Monday, May 3rd.

In fact, Béliveau finished the postseason one point behind the Black Hawks’ Hull. His 12th season in the NHL, certainly didn’t start out good and certainly didn’t seem like he would make history as the first recipient of a trophy to honor the playoffs best performer. He struggled mightily in the first half of the 1964-65 season, though as the second half continued he was considered a key player in the Canadiens’ getting to the playoffs.

Management of the Montreal Canadiens knew they wanted the Trois Rivieres native who made his NHL debut in 1950 with Montreal, though he apparently wasn’t immediately keen on signing on full time with the bleu, blanc et rouge. Because the Canadiens owned his rights, he couldn’t play for another professional team, so he settled for playing with the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Senior Hockey League, an amateur team. Montreal ultimately purchased the entire league, turned it professional, and ultimately got Béliveau on the Canadiens roster for good. Béliveau finally signed with the Canadiens in 1953, for what was then a staggering $100,000 contract for five years. In addition to his brief appearances in the 1950-51 and 1952-53 seasons, Béliveau played an additional 18 seasons as a Canadien and hoisted the Stanley Cup ten times with them. He also served ten of those seasons as the Canadiens’ captain. He played 1,125 regular season NHL games, in which he notched 507 goals and had a total of 1,219 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

Additional Sources:

Mike Commito, Hockey 365, Daily Stories from the Ice, Kindle version.
Ted Blackman, “Ferguson’s TKO Of Nesterenko Took Steam Out of Black Hawks,” The Gazette (Montreal), April 28, 1965, p. 35, col. 1-4.
The Ottawa Journal, April 29, 1965, p. 17, col. 1-2.
The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan), May 3, 1965, p. 24, col. 1-4.
Legends of Hockey: Jean Béliveau Biography