The O'Brien Trophy was a National Hockey League trophy, retired following the 1949-50 NHL season . It was named after Canadian senator J. O'Brien for his son, J. Ambrose O'Brien, who was credited with the formation of the National Hockey Association, the forerunner to the NHL.
History
Donated by Senator O'Brien to the NHA in 1910, it represented the trophy of the NHA championship, and later, the NHL championship. The winners of these trophies would move on to face the winners of other leagues for the Stanley Cup. From 1924 to 1927, the O'Brien Trophy was retired in favor of the Prince of Wales Trophy, but was reintroduced in the 1927-28 NHL season as the equivalent of the Prince of Wales Trophy for the Canadian Division. The 1938-39 NHL season saw the NHL to a single division, and from that point to its second and final retirement in 1950 it was awarded to the Stanley Cup runner-up.
List of O'Brien Trophy winners