The Hart Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the ECHL player who is most valuable to his team in the ECHL during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the ECHL GM Awards Committee.

Presentation of the trophy originated in 1923 when it was donated by Dr David Hart to the National Hockey League. Dr. Hart was the father of Cecil Hart, a former coach and manager of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. When the original trophy was retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, the NHL began presenting the Hart Memorial Trophy in its place. It was purchased by the ECHL prior to the 2004-2005 season.

ECHL4 Hart Memorial Trophy Winner

DAN CLOUTIER, G
Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to the definition of "under the radar". It took almost a full season of dominance in Vancouver for fans and foes alike to begin noticing this veteran goaltender's stunning results. After a good ECHL3 that saw Cloutier guide the Canucks into the post-season ECHL4 saw him place them firmly upon his back. Dan Cloutier played all 82 games for the Canucks, throwing up a top five 2.12 GAA in the process. Even better, his .924 save percentage and 12 shutouts were both tops in the league. On a team that had trouble scoring all season it's not hard to figure out who's responsible for their 96 points and 5th place seeding entering the ECHL4 playoffs.

Previous Hart Memorial Trophy Winners
ECHL3 Marty Turco, Minnesota
ECHL2 Glen Murray, Tampa Bay
ECHL1 Glen Murray, Tampa Bay