Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke recently told a reporter that he doesn’t want a Lady Byng player on his roster.
"It's something I don't particularly want to see on my team," he told Randy Youngman of the Orange County Register.
Youngman reported “the Lady Byng is the only NHL postseason award (Burke) "won't give a bonus for" when negotiating incentive clauses in contracts.
According to NHL.com, the Lady Byng trophy “is an annual award given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.”
The trophy dates back to 1925 and over the years many illustrious players have won it. The NY Rangers Frank Boucher won it a record 7 times. Hall of Famers like Toe Blake, Syl Apps, Red Kelly, Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Gilbert Perreault, Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy have all earned it.
Yet it seems that in recent years the Byng has become an award to be shunned, or to be barely recognized as a legitimate award. Players who win it accept it almost sheepishly, as if they’re embarrassed.
That’s probably because the spirit of “gentlemanly play” as typified back in the day when it meant something to win the Lady Byng no longer exists.
General managers and coaches nowadays prefer players who “get their noses dirty”, who aren’t afraid of the rough stuff, particularly when it comes to chuckin' knuckles.
Toughness has always been valued in the NHL, but in the past players could play a gentlemanly style and still be respected by their peers.
Those days appear long gone now. Toughness is considered more of a factor than ever. Burke’s views are widely shared around the NHL, although I'm not certain how many of his fellow GMs feel the same way regarding incentives for winning the Byng.
Even though GMs and coaches would love to have players as talented as recent winners like Brad Richards, Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya, they still prefer their players to be rough, tough, guys with talent; Jarome Iginla clones with fists to match their other great skills.
The Byng has also in recent years garnered the stigma of almost being a "lifetime achievement" award, a means of honoring once-great but fading stars, such as when Wayne Gretzky received it in 1999, Alexander Mogilny in 2003 and Ron Francis in 2002.
In those instances, it was as though those who awarded it were thinking that they wanted to honor those players but there were no other major awards available other than the Byng.
As the Byng fades in importance as an individual honor one is left to wonder how much longer the league will keep handing out this award, especially if more GMs emulate Burke’s attitude.
I've always viewed the Lady Byng as an award for the biggest sissy goalscorer. Granted there are some gritty guys who have been nominated for it in the past, but you'll never see anyone like Donald Brashear win it.
Come to think of it, guys like Brashear are generally unrewarded at the awards ceremony. Maybe they should replace the Byng with an award for top enforcer. Measure it by total mentions in box scores, tallying goals, assists, and penalties. Call it the Gordie Howe award, and use a Tough Guy shotglass as the trophy.
Often enough this award goes to a player who racks up tons of points and very little penalty minutes. It is a bit of a #### award. Instead this award should be awarded to someone who's got the full package. Someone who puts up great numbers and plays a great physical game. That's sportsmanship in hockey because that's what hockey is about. It's about the Gordie Howe hat trick.
Since the NHL is willing to reduce fighting more and more I don't think they will even think about creating an award for the top enforcer. Don't get me wrong: im my opinion fighting belongs to hockey like goal scoring does and I like it, but for some reason it seems to become less popular in the NHL headquarter.
The thing we must all remember about this is that hockey has always had a certian amount of class about it. There is something to be said for players that stay out of the box and don't put their team on a disadvantage. I don't think that at anytime "sportsmanship" should be viewed as sissy or degrading. All too often penalty minutes are looked at as a measure of toughness, when in fact, a good number of those minutes are collected by hooking, holding, tripping, etc. which in most cases are more on the lines of stupid than tough. There is nothing tough about making a constant path to the box every time you hit the ice, that is why players like that don't get much ice time. I think the name "Lady" is where the trouble with this award lies. I say change the name, but don't take the sportsmanship and class out of it and replace it with goonery or not recognize it at all. I like the toughness in hockey, but I don't think there should be an award for the biggest goon with the most penalty minutes ever.
Gretzky, Kurri, Kariya, Sakic, Bossy, Dionne, Francis... If any player is embarrassed to be on the same list as these players, then they're fooling themselves. None of these players were sissies. Great leadership and respect for eachother on the ice deserves recognition. This doesn't mean you don't get your nose dirty, it just means you don't pull a scott nichol and lose your respect. As for the enforcer trophy, it would only last 2 or 3 years since they're almost phased out.
I think enforcers will be around for a long time. The game's headed in a speed-first direction, but there's something beautiful about elegance combined with brute force in our game. Guys like Ovechkin, for example, are fast and can put up the points. However, he can also hit. He seems pretty fearless, and willing to hit just about anyone. So what happens when he hits a big guy who's already aggravated? Why, said big guy turns around and breaks his face. Or, you know, enforcers can step in and now we have a fair fight instead of a one-sided beatdown. Personally, I'd rather watch two big goons trade knuckles than one goon beat the tar out o####reat player.
As long as emotions exist in hockey, so will there be the need for enforcers.
Personally, if you cannot appreciate the Lady Byng Trophy and what it means, then you really don't appreciate the fullness of Hockey, and that's a shame. You know, you can play the game hard-nosed and tough and still play it fair, honourably and with great skill. Past Byng winners Stan Mikita, Mike Bossy and Jari Kurri are great examples of that kind of player.
If players are sheepish about collecting an award given out in part for being considered gentlemen, society is in a sorry state indeed.
Forget this Rory Fitzpatrick all-star business, here's a real crusade: Let's promote Teemu Selanne for the Byng this year, just to tick-off Burke!
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on December 27th at 8:52 AM.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
