Who won the first Hart Trophy awarded by the NHL in 1924?

Frank Nighbor won the first Hart Trophy awarded by the NHL in 1924.

Nighbor received the inaugural award for the 1923–24 season while playing center for the Ottawa Senators. The trophy had been donated to the League by Dr. David Hart, father of Montreal Canadiens manager and coach Cecil Hart, and was intended to recognize the player judged most valuable to his team.

Nighbor was a key member of Ottawa’s championship-era teams. In 1923–24, he helped the Senators finish atop the NHL standings and then win the Stanley Cup. He was known for strong two-way play and became the first player to win both the Hart Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy, taking the latter in 1924–25.

The award’s name later became the Hart Memorial Trophy after the original trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 1924 winner was not Georges Vézina, Babe Dye or Howie Morenz: Vézina was a goaltending pioneer, Dye was a prolific scorer, and Morenz won the Hart beginning in 1927–28.