Three stars (ice hockey)

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For the song by Tommy Dee in 1959, see Three Stars (song).

In ice hockey, the three stars of a match are the three best players as chosen by a third party, with the first star considered the best player, akin to the man of the match in other sports. Usually, the top point scorers or outstanding goaltenders are designated the three stars, but other players may be considered by affecting the game by other means (eg. consistent physical play, many steals, blocked shots, etc.).

1 Usage
- 1.1 Unusual selections
2 See also
3 Notes and references

[edit] Usage

Three stars were first awarded in the 1936–37 NHL season as a means for Imperial Oil (Hockey Night in Canada's new principal sponsor) to advertise its “Three Star” brand of gasoline, in addition to promote the games best stars of the time ^[1]. After the sponsorship ended in 1976, the tradition remained on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship hockey show^[1].

The usage of three stars has since expanded greatly. All professional hockey leagues in North America award three stars, and many amateur and collegiate leagues do as well. The NHL awards three stars during every game, regular season and playoffs, not just limited to those shown on HNIC (media representatives of the home team make the selections). It also awards the “Three Stars of the Night^[2]”, which are the three best players out of all who played a game in the league on a given night. Also, in the 2007–08 NHL season, the previous awards of “Offensive Player of the Week” and “Defensive Player of the Week” were replaced by the “Three Stars of the Week”, while the similar awards of “Offensive Player of the Month” and “Defensive Player of the Month” were replaced by the “Three Stars of the Month”.

The NHL also has a system which awards points to its Three Stars of the Night: 30 points to the first star, 20 points to the second, and 10 to the third^[2]. It keeps a running tally of the amount of points each player has been awarded[1]. NHL teams may use these standings; for example, the Vancouver Canucks award a sum to a charity chosen its player who earned the highest number of points that month. The Molson Cup is also awarded to the top point-earner of the year of each Canadian team.

Despite its popularity in North America, three stars are generally not awarded during international play, such as the Winter Olympic Games.

[edit] Unusual selections

The three star selections for a game, being a “fun” statistic, do not ordinarily have an impact on any other aspect of the game. As such, there have been instances in which the three stars have been awarded in an unexpected way, often to recognize a single player's accomplishments.

On 23 March 1944, Maurice “the Rocket” Richard scored all five goals for the Montréal Canadiens in a 5–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs en route to a Stanley Cup victory and was awarded all three stars for his efforts^[1].
On 15 April 1999, New York Ranger Wayne Gretzky was the only player awarded a star in his last game in Canada, as he would retire after the following game in New York. Gretzky, widely regarded as the best hockey player ever to play the game, would later have his number 99 retired league-wide^[3].
On 11 October 2007, Mats Sundin broke two Toronto Maple Leafs club records by scoring his 390th goal and his 917th point as a Leaf to best Darryl Sittler, who had held the previous club records of 389 goals and 916 points. Subsequently, the three stars of the game were announced as “Sundin, Sundin, and Sundin”^[4].