Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada to compete, with the provision that the Stanley Cup winners were to be recognized as "World's Champions". The phrase was repeatedly engraved on the Cup, and continued to be used, when the NHL began admitting American franchises. When the NHL assumed formal control of the Cup in 1947, the resulting agreement required "that the winners of this trophy shall be the acknowledged World's Professional Hockey Champions" (in contrast to the IIHF's Ice Hockey World Championships, at the time contested only by amateurs). When the World Hockey Association commenced play in the 1970s, they sought to challenge for the Stanley Cup,
William M. Jennings Trophy Blackhawks with five each, and the Buffalo Sabres with three. Bold Player with the fewest goals ever scored against in a season. William M. Jennings Trophy The William M. Jennings Trophy is an annual National Hockey League (NHL) award given to "the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play." From 1946 until 1981, the Vezina Trophy had been awarded under that definition, but it was later changed and replaced by the Jennings Trophy. It is named in honor of William M. Jennings, the longtime