![NHL – Conn Smythe Watch: Who leads for Stanley Cup playoffs MVP? NHL – Conn Smythe Watch: Who leads for Stanley Cup playoffs MVP?](https://i0.wp.com/a2.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2024%2F0605%2Fr1341793_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg&w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
After three grueling and highly entertaining rounds, either the Florida Panthers or the Edmonton Oilers will hoist the Stanley Cup as NHL champions.
The Conn Smythe Trophy field for playoff MVP offers a much larger number of potential winners.
We asked nearly two dozen potential voters and members of the hockey media who have covered the playoffs to find out their top three players for postseason MVP. Those ballots were compiled to create this ranking. We attempted to include an equal number of media personnel from the Eastern and Western conferences in the survey.
Here’s a look at where Conn Smythe’s career stands heading into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday (8 p.m. Eastern, KeynoteUSA/KeynoteUSA+). Keep in mind that the winner is determined by all of your postseason work and not just what happens in this final round.
Everyone likes a comeback story. Skinner had a sub-.900 save percentage in six of his first eight playoff games. That’s when coach Kris Knoblauch benched his starting goalie, replacing him with Calvin Pickard in Games 4 and 5 against the Vancouver Canucks. Skinner came back to win Games 6 and 7. In his last eight playoff games, Skinner is 6-2 with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Knoblauch praised him as the difference maker in Edmonton’s important Game 5 win in Dallas.
To be completely revealing, Skinner didn’t receive a top-three vote from our panelists, but some mentioned that he was at least on their radars.
Verhaeghe, one of the Panthers’ leading scorers, had three goals and three assists against the New York Rangers in the conference finals, although he only scored one goal in the final three games of the series. He leads Florida with nine goals and is tied for second in points with 17.
His only vote was third place, but you can never count out a player who has five overtime goals and nine game-winning goals in his last 62 playoff games to make another splash.
At first glance, it’s hard to believe that a player who leads the Stanley Cup playoffs with 14 goals could muster just one vote for third place in a voting. But when you consider how many of those goals were created by players ahead of Hyman on this list, that starts to make more sense.
A little history that Hyman is chasing in the playoffs: His 68 combined goals between the regular season (where he scored a career-high 54 times) and the playoffs rank him tied for fourth-most by a wing left in NHL history. He is within reach of Luc Robitaille’s record 72 goals in 1992-93.
With 19 points in 17 games, Tkachuk is the Panthers’ leading scorer through three rounds. He doesn’t have highlights like last postseason, but it’s not exactly easy to live up to heroics like that Game 5 overtime goal in Boston or his three game-winners in the conference finals against Carolina in 2023. Tkachuk showed up in third place. on a ballot. That could change quickly if he puts his stamp on the Stanley Cup Final.
Note two things here: Tkachuk broke his sternum in Game 3 against Las Vegas last season and feels like he has unfinished business, and he was public enemy number one in Edmonton while a member of the Calgary Flames. Tkachuk has 26 points in 32 career games against the Oilers.
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Panthers GM tells McAfee how much Tkachuk means to Panthers
Panthers general manager Bill Zito explains why Matthew Tkachuk has been so important to the team’s success.
It was a stellar performance for the Oilers defenseman. He has 27 points in 18 games, including six goals and 21 assists. Most of those points (15) have had the same force. He is averaging 24:33 of ice time per game, best on the Oilers.
He has a couple of records in sight in the final. He trails Edmonton assistant coach Paul Coffey (25 in 1985) for most assists in a single postseason by a defenseman, which would also give Bouchard the most ever by a defenseman. Oilers. Bouchard came in third in three votes and second in one of them, by a voter who had him just behind Connor McDavid.
Keep in mind that the Defenders have won the Conn Smythe twice in the last four seasons.
There’s a 16-point difference between Bouchard and Forsling, and yet it’s the Panthers defenseman who ranks in Conn Smythe’s top 5.
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Forsling appeared on one more ballot than Bouchard, but his placement in the rankings is because one voter put Forsling at the top of his ballot — yes, ahead of McDavid.
Gus fans will tell you that he has been a rock on the Panthers’ defense, skating 23:18 per game. Florida has a goals against per 60 minutes of 1.87 at 5-on-5 with Forsling on the ice.
He’s also had some MVP moments: his game-winning goal in Game 6 in Boston to close out that series, and his game-tying goal in Game 5 against the Rangers before Florida won that critical game. Will enough voters jump on Gus’ bus in the finals to make him a serious MVP contender?
Draisaitl led the Conn Smythe Watch heading into the conference finals, leading the Oilers with 24 points and earning praise for playing a 200-foot game. His scoring slowed down a bit against the Dallas Stars (two goals, two assists in six games), which in turn toned down the volume of his candidacy. But Draisaitl was still the first choice in one vote and second in three others.
He’s three points behind McDavid for the playoff scoring lead, and ready to carry the offensive load if the Panthers find a way to stop McDavid.
Draisaitl has been focused on the Cup since the last postseason ended.
“We’ve been through a lot of painful years and we’ve learned a lot along the way,” Draisaitl said after eliminating Dallas. “We have bigger dreams and goals right now.”
If you want to know how good “Playoff Bob” has been, ask his close friend Artemi Panarin.
The Rangers star threw 16 pucks at Bobrovsky in the conference finals. The Panthers’ goalie stopped all but one. “He’s my friend, but I was better friends than him on this show,” Panarin joked Tuesday. “I told him ‘good luck’. I hope he wins (the Cup). He deserves it.”
Bobrovsky has a .908 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average in 17 games. He has improved as the playoffs have progressed, adjusting from the high shooting volume of last postseason to having to stay locked behind a shot-suppressing Panthers defense.
He’s been there when they needed him, which is the very definition of Playoff Bob.
Barkov appeared first on five ballots as the clear No. 1 choice for Conn Smythe among Panthers players. He has 17 points in 17 games, including six goals. But, as always, it’s not just about the offensive production of the 2023-24 Selke Trophy winner. Barkov shut down Rangers center Mika Zibanejad in the conference finals. He dominated anyone the Bruins played against him in the second round.
It could be Barkov versus McDavid for much of the Stanley Cup Final. If Florida wins and McDavid doesn’t flip, Barkov could lose the MVP award. It is clear that voters are willing to support him, having appeared on 48% of our ballots in a crowded field.
But there is another player who appeared on 100% of our ballots.
Sometimes all it takes is one moment to crystallize an MVP campaign. When McDavid sliced through the Stars defense (apparently disconnecting Miro Heiskanen’s video game controller in the process) to open the scoring in Game 6 of the conference finals, the highlight immediately entered the pantheon of his greatest goals.
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Connor McDavid’s goal opens the scoring in game six
Connor McDavid makes a brilliant move and backhands the puck into the net to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.
As Draisaitl said: “There is one player in the world who can make things like that happen.”
But it was also an example of McDavid rallying his team to victory, as he assisted on Hyman’s goal to build a 2-0 home lead in an elimination game.
McDavid has points in 14 of 18 games this postseason for the Oilers. He is within range of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record for most assists in a single postseason: McDavid has 26 helpers and Gretzky holds the record with 31 assists in 1988.
While all of this may make it seem like McDavid is an inevitable MVP, keep in mind that despite appearing on every ballot, he only came in first place on 38% of them. That means the door is ajar for his teammates if the Oilers win.
And if they don’t, and McDavid still has the series of his life, keep in mind that there hasn’t been a player to win the Conn Smythe in a losing effort since Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003. It’s only happened five times since 1965.
“There will be no JS Giguere this year,” said one voter, “so it totally depends on who wins the Cup.”
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