It was a trophy introduced to the league in 1926-27 by the former owners of the Montreal Canadiens — Leo Dandurand, Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich — in memory of Canadiens’ goaltender Georges Vezina.
Vezina collapsed during a game on Nov. 28, 1925, passing from tuberculosis just a few months later. The trophy was originally given to the goaltender(s) who played a minimum of 25 games and allowed the fewest goals during the regular season — sometimes ending with multiple winners. That changed in 1980-81 when it started being voted upon by the NHL’s general managers and awarded to “the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at this position.”
Well, in 1926-27 when the Vezina Trophy was first awarded, it was about the fewest goals allowed. Ironically, that season, it was a Canadiens goalie who would go on to win the inaugural award.
Meet George Hainsworth.
Hainsworth Wins Inaugural Vezina Trophy
As a 31-year-old NHL rookie, Hainsworth made his debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 1926-27. A team coached by Cecil Hart and led offensively by Howie Morenz, this Canadiens team was destined to leave their mark on the league.
Little did everyone know at the start of the year, it wouldn’t be the team winning the Stanley Cup that made history — as they would go on to lose to the Ottawa Senators in the semi-finals. Rather, it was Hainsworth that would leave his mark in the league’s history books as the first goaltender in NHL history to win the Vezina Trophy.
Hainsworth kicked off the season on Nov. 16, 1926, with a loss to the Boston Bruins. It was a game in which he gave up four goals and it would’ve shocked anyone at the time if you had guess that he would go on to be the best goalie in the league that season.
He followed that up with two more games — both losses — in which he gave up two goals in each and that’s when things turned around.
Hainsworth grabbed his first NHL win against the New York Americans on Nov. 23, 1926. It was also his first career shutout and the start of something special for Hainsworth and the Canadiens.
His rookie season would close out with him logging a record of 28-14-2 in the regular season. He finished with a 1.47 goals against average (GAA) and 67 goals against. He also topped the NHL that season with 14 shutouts — surely a help in the year end award.
It was a close race, too. The Montreal Maroons gave up just 68 goals and Ottawa Senators gave up just 69, so one more bad game for Hainsworth and it could’ve been a different story for the Canadiens’ goaltender. Regardless, he closed out the year as the top goalie and took home the first ever Vezina Trophy.
Hainsworth Started A Trend for Canadiens
Ironically, the award was first introduced by the Canadiens in memory of a former Canadiens player. Since it’s introduction into the league, a Canadiens player has won the award an NHL-leading 29 times. The first, of course, being Hainsworth.
Unlike the Calder Trophy — which we have also revisited Calder seasons — the Vezina trophy rarely went to a player that dropped off after winning the award. It was no different for Hainsworth.
Related: Revisiting Calder Trophy Seasons – Carl Voss’ 1932-33 Season
As we’ll discuss, Hainsworth went on to have more Vezina-calibre seasons, including two more wins landing him tied for ninth all-time on most career Vezina Trophy wins.
Hainsworth remains one of just eight goaltenders to have served a their team captain — having done so with the Canadiens during the 1932-33 season. He was the second to do so at the time.
Hainsworth Remains Amongst the NHL’s Record Books
Along with his playoff shutout streak that spanned 270 minutes and eight seconds in 1929-30, Hainsworth also remains second all-time in goals against average — finishing his NHL career with a 1.93 GAA just one one-hundredth of a point behind Alex Connell (1.92).
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Hainsworth would go on to help the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups during his tenure as their goalie in 1930 and 1931. For all of his efforts, he was moved to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1933 for Lorne Chabot — a French-Canadian that the Canadiens wanted to put on their roster to drive up attendance
Hainsworth was eventually released by Conn Smythe on November 25, 1936, before rejoining the Canadiens for four more games. He was eventually inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame posthumously in 1961 and into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
While the end of his career might not have gone as scripted by Hainsworth, his will always be remembered as the first winner of the Vezina Trophy, the first rookie to win the award and the first to do so back-to-back-to-back.