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,
Frank J. Selke Trophy than any other player. Guy Carbonneau, Jere Lehtinen and Pavel Datsyuk are tied for the second-most wins, with three apiece. The Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings have won the trophy the most times, with 7 awards apiece. The team with the greatest number of unique winners are the Red Wings with 4—Sergei Fedorov (twice), Steve Yzerman, Kris Draper, and Datsyuk (three times)—all coming since 1994. There has been only one instance in which a Selke Trophy winner was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player when Sergei Fedorov captured both trophies during the 1993–94 NHL