The O�Brien Trophy was donated to the National Hockey Association by its name sake Senator J. O�Brien in recognition of his son J. Ambrose O�Brien, in 1910. The trophy was to be emblematic of the championship of the league.

J.A. O�Brien had hockey in his blood. He participated at all levels of the game — as a player, financier and founder. He almost single-handedly organized the National Hockey Association and helped launch one of the most famous teams in NHL history — the Montreal Canadiens.

After the demise of the National Hockey Association in 1917, the trophy was taken over by the National Hockey League and awarded to the league champions. Upon the donation of the Prince of Wales Trophy to the NHL in the early 1920�s, a decision was made by the league executive to retire the O�Brien Trophy. However in 1928, the O�Brien Trophy officially was awarded to the Canadian team with the most points. The significance of the O�Brien Trophy�s was again altered in 1939, becoming the runner-up award for the league's regular season crown. The trophy was officially retired by the NHL at the end of the 1949-50 season.