June 24, 2024, 11:59 pm Eastern Time
SUNRISE, Fla. — Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP Monday night despite Edmonton’s Stanley Cup Final loss to Florida, a nod to one of the greatest postseason performances in NHL history.
McDavid, who was held scoreless in Game 7 on Monday night, led all scorers with 42 points, five shy of the record of 47 set by Wayne Gretzky in 1985.
“It’s amazing,” teammate Dylan Holloway said before the game. “There are no shortage of words. He’s just incredible. He brings it every day, and when we need him the most is when he plays his best. Obviously he’s a really special player and a special guy too.”
After not scoring (but still leading the team with three assists) through the first three games against Florida, McDavid changed the course of the series by doing something no other player in history has done, including Gretzky. He scored four points in consecutive games in the finals to prevent the Oilers from being eliminated.
Panthers forward Nick Cousins said McDavid was “playing at a different level.”
“I didn’t think it was possible for him to improve his game, but he has,” Cousins said.
McDavid is just the second skater after Reggie Leach of the Flyers in 1976 to win the Conn Smythe on a team that lost in the finals. Goaltenders Jean-Sebastien Giguere of Anaheim in 2003, Ron Hextall of Philadelphia in 1987, Glenn Hall of St. Louis in 1968 and Roger Crozier with Detroit in 1966 were also playoff MVPs after supporting teams that failed to lift the Cup. .
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McDavid, the reigning three-time Hart Trophy winner, long considered the best hockey player in the world, put on a show in his first trip to the finals. His goal and three assists in an 8-1 rout in Game 4 prevented a sweep, and his four points, including an empty-net goal in Game 5, three nights later dragged the series back to Alberta. .
Those who know McDavid believe the year-round work he has put in throughout his career allowed him to thrive when the spotlight was brightest.
“He is unique in his dedication to his craft,” said Hall of Famer Ken Hitchcock, who coached McDavid in 2018-19. “He’s very unique. He’s learned to be relentless, he enjoys it and takes his craft very, very seriously, and that becomes contagious when you’re on the team with him.”
Oilers players praised McDavid for not only leading by example with his play but also off the ice.
“It gives me a lot of confidence no matter what happens in the game,” goalkeeper Stuart Skinner said while sitting next to McDavid, who turned bright red as he listened. “Whether I let in five, whether I get a shutout. He’s always in my corner, always patting me on the back and telling me he believes in me… I could talk about him for a long time.”
Those words are justified for a player who led the league in scoring five times during the regular season and accomplished almost everything on an individual level. What is still missing in the Stanley Cup, we will have to wait at least one more year.
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