'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Players with the most NHL All-Star Game MVP awards
On Saturday, skaters will play in the 68th NHL All-Star Game. In these events, where many of the game's most distinguished players have laced up several times, only four players have won more than one MVP award.
Usually, these annual mid-season All-Star Games are for fun and become a goalie's worst nightmare, so it wouldn't surprise anyone to learn that only five netminders were voted best player since the inception of the MVP award in 1961-62.
Ultimately, the skater who takes home the NHL All-Star Game MVP award is showered with gifts, including a new car. Although it hasn't always been like that, especially for two of the names on this list, here's a recap of the four players who have won multiple All-Star Game MVPs.
Players with the most NHL All-Star Game MVP awards
Frank Mahovlich (1963, 1969)
Frank Mahovlich is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and winner of six Stanley Cup titles during his 22 professional hockey career. In 15 NHL All-Star Game appearances, he collected eight goals and five assists for 13 career points.
During the 1963 event at Maple Leafs Gardens, Mahovlich had a goal and an assist in a 3-3 tie between the NHL All-Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs, earning the second-ever MVP title.
Six years later, in 1969, Mahovlich became the first skater to win multiple MVP awards when he tallied two goals in another 3-3 tie at the Montreal Forum between the All-Stars East and the Montreal Canadiens.
Bobby Hull (1970, 1971)
Bobby Hull is remembered for having one of the hardest shots in NHL history. Not only did he win the Stanley Cup, but he's also one of just 20 players to score over 600 goals in the league. As a 12-time All-Star, he record five goals and five assists for 10 points.
Although he won many individual awards during his career, including the Art Ross and Hart Trophies, Hull remains the only player to win back-to-back NHL All-Star Game MVP awards, achieving the feat in 1970 and 1971.
Hull had two points (goal and assist) in the 1970 game: a 4-3 East Division victory over the West Division at St. Louis Arena. In the following year's NHL All-Star Game, he had a single goal when the West Division avenged the previous season's loss with a 2-1 victory at Boston Garden.
Mario Lemieux (1985, 1987, 1990)
Mario Lemieux is one of the greatest players ever to play the game, and only career-threatening injuries prevented him from achieving so many more milestones.
Still, he was ushered into the Hockey Hall of Fame upon retirement without waiting the mandatory three years, thanks to a trophy room full of awards, including three NHL All-Star Game MVPs.
As a 10-time All-Star, Lemieux is still the second-highest scorer at the event, with 23 points, second only to Wayne Gretzky, who has 25. In 1985, during his first-ever appearance at the NHL All-Star Game, he had two goals and an assist for three points when the Wales Conference upset the Campbell Conference 6-4 at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.
After missing out on MVP honors in 1986, Lemieux recorded six points (three goals and three assists) in 1988 at the St. Louis Arena when the Wales Conference won a 6-5 thriller in overtime.
Meanwhile, that wasn't his best performance at the All-Star Game, which he saved for the 1990 game held at his home rink, the Civic Arena, when he netted four goals in another Wales Conference triumph, 12-7.
Wayne Gretzky (1983, 1989, 1999)
Even though Gretzky is considered The Great One and owns the record for most points collected at the NHL All-Star Game, he didn't own a share of the MVP record until his final season in 1999.
As an 18-time All-Star, Gretzky shares the event's goal record (13) with Lemieux, ranking sixth overall in assists with 12. He earned his first MVP award in 1983 when he powered the Campbell Conference with four goals in a 9-4 victory at the Nassau Coliseum.
Despite dominating the 1980s with 1,842 points, Gretzky didn't win another NHL All-Star Game MVP until 1989, when he had a goal and two assists for the Campbell Conference, which broke a four-year losing streak with a 9-5 win at Northlands Coliseum.
Even though he played in every All-Star Game in the final decade of his career, minus the 1995 lockout season, Gretzky would tie Lemieux with three MVP titles when he picked up three points in the 1999 event held at the Ice Palace in Tampa Bay.
Heading into the game, he trailed Lemieux by a single point on the all-time scoring list, overtaking the record by two points in his final appearance.
Trending
