The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by 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 ...

and

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to

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 h ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, coaches, officials, and other personnel outside the NHL. The trophy is named after

Lester Patrick Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (Western Hockey League after 1924), and ...

(1883–1960), player and longtime coach of the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

, who was a developer of ice hockey.

History

The Lester Patrick Trophy was presented by the

in 1966. It honors the late

, who was a general manager and coach of the club. It is presented annually for "outstanding service to hockey in the United States". Players, coaches, referees, and executives are eligible to receive the trophy, and are chosen by a committee including the

(NHL) commissioner and a governor, a representative of the New York Rangers; and a previous inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame's builder section, Hockey Hall of Fame player's section, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, NHL Broadcasters' Association, and the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey sports journalism, journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 vot ...

. The trophy's first recipient was

Jack Adams John James Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Toronto Arenas, Vancouver Millionair ...

. 108 individuals, and three teams, have been given the trophy. The trophy has been given to women on two occasions; in 1999, the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team was presented the trophy along with

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of T ...

, and in 2007,

Cammi Granato Catherine Michelle Granato (born March 25, 1971) is an American former ice hockey player and one of the first women to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2010. She currently works as an assistant general manager for the Vancou ...

individually won the trophy. Granato was also a member of the 1998 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team that received the trophy in 1998.

Recipients

''^† - Trophy was awarded posthumously.'' Clarence Campbell Stanley Cup 1957

Notes and references

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Lester Trophy National Hockey League trophies and awards Awards established in 1966