Smythe feared that the league would not survive the loss of the Canadiens, and suggested that Gorman hire Irvin as coach.

Additionally, along with the Montreal Canadiens, Smythe purportedly did not wish to split Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ( CBC ) hockey revenues three ways rather than two.

In 1973, he had his best postseason ever, scoring 15 goals and tallying 10 assists in 17 games, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy following the Canadiens ' defeat of the Chicago Black Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.

When their effort failed to reach its goal, a new group, backed by Selke of the Canadiens and Conn Smythe of the Toronto Maple Leafs, was awarded the franchise.

In the 1967 Cup final, he shut down Jean Béliveau, the star centreman of the Montreal Canadiens, in the final two games and was voted the most valuable player of the playoffs, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy ( his eight points is the fewest ever by a non-goalie Conn Smythe winner ).

Selke and Smythe clashed when Selke traded Frank Eddolls to the Montreal Canadiens for the rights to Ted Kennedy in 1943.

Soon afterward, Smythe engineered Irvin's hiring as coach of the moribund Montreal Canadiens.

McLean went on to lead the league with five shutouts ( tied with the Chicago Blackhawks ' Ed Belfour, the Canadiens ' Patrick Roy and the Winnipeg Jets ' Bob Essensa ) and 38 wins in 65 games ( tied with the Red Wings ' Tim Cheveldae ), as Vancouver won their first Smythe Division title since 1975.

The Bruins traded his negotiation rights to the Canadiens, where he would play seven full seasons and part of an eighth, earning a Conn Smythe Trophy, Calder Memorial Trophy, five Vezina Trophies, five All-Star Game appearances, five First All-Star awards and six Stanley Cups.

In 1968 – 69, his second full NHL season, he led the Canadiens to a second consecutive Stanley Cup win, becoming the first defencemen to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs ' most valuable player.

But in the next four games, Huet and the Canadiens lost by scores of 2 – 1, 3 – 2, 2 – 1 and 2 – 1 and the series in goaltender duels with rookie Cam Ward, who had taken Martin Gerber's starting spot in the series, and who would later go on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Smythe was furious when he discovered the trade, creating a rift between the two which ultimately led Selke to leave Toronto to manage the Canadiens.

The Selke Trophy was the fifth and last of the major NHL awards to be introduced that have been named after General Managers and owners of the Original Six teams, the other awards being the Art Ross Trophy, James Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Jack Adams Award.

The purchase was only possible because of his gambling winnings, as the other Maple Leafs owners refused to pay the Senators ' then-high price, and only agreed when Smythe volunteered to use his own money.

From 1957 onwards, Conn Smythe along with other NHL owners including James D. Norris of the Chicago Black Hawks and his half brother Bruce Norris of the Detroit Red Wings were accused of union busting activities related to the attempt by Ted Lindsay and a group of NHL players to form an NHL Players Association.

At a meeting of the owners and governors, Conn Smythe resigned as Toronto's governor, to be replaced by his son, Stafford Smythe.

With six exceptions, the winners of the Conn Smythe Trophy have all been Canadian.

* Conn Smythe ( 1895 – 1980 ), was a Canadian builder in the National Hockey League best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens.

* John Smythe Hall ( 1853 – 1909 ), Canadian lawyer, politician, and editor

The mountain was named after Francis Sydney Smythe, an international mountaineer who climbed in the Himalaya, Alps and the Canadian Rockies.

Constantine Falkland Cary " Conn " Smythe, MC ( February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980 ) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing.

Smythe ran into the fight and killed three Germans and helped several wounded Canadian soldiers back to safety.

In the Second World War, at age 45, Smythe again served in the Canadian Army.

In 1964, Smythe opposed the Lester Pearson government's plan to replace the traditional Canadian flag with a completely new design.

The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League ( CHL ) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup Tournament.

* Lara Smythe, Canadian Dancer ( b. 1983 ) featured on So You Think You Can Dance Canada

They were part of the parliamentary faction ( the " country party " or " patriot party ") which was able to seize control of the finances from a rival group, the " court faction ", grouped around Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, on the one hand, and Sir Thomas Smith ( or Smythe ), also a prominent member of the East India Company, on the other hand.

The school remembers its founder every year on Skinners ' Day, and also remembers other benefactors such as Sir Thomas Smythe, Judd's grandson, who was governor of the East India Company for fifteen years and who took part in establishing the colony of Virginia ; as well as Henry Fisher, who founded a scholarship from Tonbridge to Brasenose College, Oxford ; and Sir Thomas White, founder of St John's College, Oxford and Merchant Taylors ' School, who gave Tonbridge a fellowship, later converted into a scholarship, at his college.

* Isabella Rich, married Sir John Smythe, son of Sir Thomas Smythe, first governor of the East India Company

Wingfield was involved in fundraising and was one of the biggest backers of the venture, with family friends, Sir Thomas Gates, Sir William Waad aka Wade ( Lieutenant-Governor of the Tower of London ), Sir Thomas Smythe ( Treasurer of the Virginia Company ), John Martin, Sr., his Stonely-Huntingdon neighbor Sir Oliver Cromwell and his London neighbor, Captain John Ratcliffe, aka Sicklemore.

In its first season in the new building, Smythe fired coach Art Duncan after five games and hired Dick Irvin to coach.

By 1940, Smythe believed that Irvin had taken the Leafs as far as he could, and decided to replace him with former Leafs captain Hap Day.

Smythe also knew that he would be away in the war and felt that Irvin would not be tough enough without Smythe to back him up.

Upon seeing his success as a coach, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe convinced Irvin to coach the Leafs.

By the end of the, Smythe felt that Irvin had taken the Leafs as far as he could and forced him to resign.

The Conn Smythe Trophy was introduced in 1964 by Maple Leaf Gardens Limited to honor Conn Smythe, the former owner, general manager, and coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.

However, Toronto Varsity Graduates coach Conn Smythe put together an ownership group of his own and made a $ 160, 000 offer for the franchise.

The coach of the losing team in 1915 was Frank J. Selke, who years later would work for Smythe at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Smythe applied to coach the Toronto St. Pats, but was rejected in favour of Mike Rodden.

J. P. Bickell, a part-owner of the St. Pats, contacted Smythe about taking over the team as coach, but Smythe turned him down.

That prominent coach turned out to be Smythe.

Smythe also took over as coach, and for the next three years he served as team governor, general manager and coach.

Former Leafs player, coach, and assistant general manager Hap Day would say that Clancy was paid to do nothing by both Smythe and Ballard.

The Oilers finished the season third in the Smythe Division, and then were eliminated by Gretzky's Kings in the first round of the playoffs in seven games, afterward Sather relinquished his title of head coach but remained general manager of the Oilers.

The " Battle of the Bulge " was a battle between head coach Conn Smythe and Turk Broda about Broda losing weight.

Conn Smythe realized the importance of finding the right line-mates for Kennedy, telling coach Hap Day in September 1945, " we must get something really rapid to team up with this guy and we'll be set for a decade with a first rate front line.

Midway through his first season, Maple Leafs co-owner / manager / coach Conn Smythe put Jackson and Conacher on a line with another young forward, Joe Primeau.

On the advice of Conn Smythe, Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach declined the deal, saying that a million dollars does not score goals, and Mahovlich would remain a Maple Leaf.