Toyota Cup: Konecny Becomes 1st-Time Winner

First awarded in 2000-01, the Toyota Cup is bestowed upon the Flyers player who accumulates the most Star of the Game points over the course of the regular season. Five points are awarded for a first-star selection, three points when chosen as a game's second star and one point for receiving third-star honors.

This year, in a very tight race, Flyers right winger Travis Konecny became a first-time Toyota Cup winner with 43 standings points. Konecny started the 2019-20 season off with a flourish, grabbing first-star honors in the opening game in Prague on Oct. 4, and never looked back. Konecny went on to earn his first NHL All-Star Game selection and led the team in scoring for the season to date with 61 points (24g, 37a) in 66 games played.

The margin of victory for Konecny was the narrowest in the history of the award. Center Kevin Hayes (42 points) trailed Konecny by a single point. Hayes' first-star selection in the Flyers' 5-2 road win over the Washington Capitals on March 4 brought him within one point of Konecny after Konency had opened up a six-point edge just one game earlier with a second-star selection in a 5-3 road win against the New York Rangers.

Trailing Hayes by just two points was Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (40 points), who captured the Toyota Cup during his rookie NHL season in 2018-19. The 21-year-old Hart captured first-star honors in both the Wells Fargo Center season opener against New Jersey (Hart's first NHL shutout) as well as what turned out to be penultimate home game of the regular season; a 38-save performance in a 3-1 win over Buffalo on March 7. In fact, in terms of home games played this season, Hart was the runaway leader in Toyota Cup points in 2019-20.

The Tri-State Toyota Dealers sponsor the Toyota Cup and make a donation of $5,000 in the winning player's name to the player's charity of choice. In the history of the award, there have only been two repeat winners. A six-time honoree, Flyers captain Claude Giroux has by far been its most frequent recipient. Simon Gagne collected the Toyota Cup three times.

TOYOTA CUP WINNER HISTORY
2000-01 Roman Cechmanek
2001-02 Simon Gagne
2002-03 Keith Primeau
2003-04 Mark Recchi
2005-06 Simon Gagne
2006-07 Simon Gagne
2007-08 Martin Biron
2008-09 Jeff Carter
2009-10 Mike Richards
2010-11 Danny Briere
2011-12 Claude Giroux
2012-13 Claude Giroux
2013-14 Claude Giroux
2014-15 Claude Giroux
2015-16 Claude Giroux
2016-17 Wayne Simmonds
2017-18 Claude Giroux
2018-19 Carter Hart
2019-20 Travis Konency