The Conn Smythe Trophy could be awarded as early as Tuesday in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Panthers are one win away from repeating as champions after a 5-2 victory in Game 5 at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Saturday.
If Florida does win, the Conn Smythe will be awarded before the presentation of the Stanley Cup. It is given to the most valuable player through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, decided by a panel of voters from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
It Edmonton wins Tuesday, the presentation will wait until after Game 7 on Friday.
Connor McDavid, the Oilers captain, won it last season in a losing effort after the Panthers won Game 7. McDavid had 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 playoff games and was the sixth to win the award while playing for the runner-up.
So, who is the favorite to win the Conn Smythe? We asked nine NHL staffers for their picks. Here, in alphabetical order, are the selections.
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Has the Florida captain been its most noticeable player in these playoffs? No. That honor goes to Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, who are goal-scoring machines and have the majority of the MVP juice for the defending champions. But what about Barkov? He has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 22 games, which is tied for third on the team, and his defensive prowess has been huge. Nikita Kucherov, who won the Ted Lindsay Trophy as the player adjudged to be the best by his peers, did not score in the Eastern Conference First Round against the Panthers, finishing with four assists in five games after he had 121 points (37 goals, 84 assists) in the regular season. Auston Matthews, the top center for the Toronto Maple Leafs, had one goal in seven games in the second round. Sebastian Aho, the top center for the Carolina Hurricanes, had one goal in the first three games while Florida took over the series. Most importantly, Connor McDavid, the best player on the planet, didn’t score until Game 5 of the Final. Barkov was coach Paul Maurice’s most relied upon forward when he needed a stop. Let’s hear it for the defense. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers
The goals are impossible to ignore. The Conn Smythe Trophy goes to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, not the MVP of the Stanley Cup Final. Bennett has 15 goals this postseason, four more than the next player, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl, and five more than his closest teammate, Marchand. Bennett has 13 goals on the road, an NHL record, and six more than the closest player, Marchand. He’s a huge reason Florida has scored 61 road goals, an NHL record for a single postseason, and has gone 10-3 away from home, tying the NHL record for road wins in a single postseason. Again, the Conn Smythe is for the playoffs, not the Cup Final. But Bennett has been clutch in the Cup Final too; he has five goals in the championship series, one behind Marchand for the most on either team. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, Bennett picked a good time to have the best playoff performance of his career. The 28-year-old leads the NHL with a Panthers-record 15 goals during the playoffs, including an NHL-record 13 on the road. He scored a goal in each of the first three games of the Cup Final and has a six-game road goal streak, also a Panthers record. Bennett’s shift leading up to his goal that increased Florida’s lead to 4-1 in the second period of its 6-1 win in Game 3 encapsulated his playoff impact. He delivered big hits on Vasily Podkolzin and John Klingberg in the defensive zone before a steal and pass by Eetu Luostarinen sent him on a breakaway he finished with a forehand-backhand-forehand move and shot past goalie Stuart Skinner on the stick side. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers (either outcome)
I selected Bobrovsky as my most valuable player as the Cup Final loomed and I’m sticking with it. Bobrovsky is 15-7 with a 2.26 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and three shutouts in 22 postseason starts. Where I believe he’s been at his best, especially since the Cup Final began, is when Florida is on the penalty kill. The Panthers’ PK is 19-for-23 and Bobrovsky has been the best line of defense on it, because the Oilers have absolutely gotten great opportunities on their power play. Keeping Edmonton off the board is no small feat, especially when it loads up on the power play. So yes, Bobrovsky is the MVP for me. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer
The easy choice is Bennett because of his NHL-leading 15 goals. Marchand would also be an easy choice because of his 12 goals, including six in the Cup Final. But it's Bobrovsky. It should have been Bobrovsky last year. It should be this year. He's been there all the way for the Panthers, played every game, every minute except for the rare times he was pulled for an extra skater. He has 15 wins, a 2.26 GAA, a .912 save percentage and three shutouts. He has faced some of the League's best players -- Kucherov, Matthews, Aho in the conference final and now McDavid and Draisaitl in the Cup Final. Bobrovsky is the one still standing, still making big saves in big moments to put Florida on the verge of another Stanley Cup championship. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (either outcome)
I’m sticking with my pick from the start of the Final. I think I’m the only staffer who took Draisaitl at the outset of this series, and nothing that’s happened since has swayed me. Through the first three rounds of the playoffs, Draisaitl had 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 16 games. In five games in the Cup Final, he’s added eight more points (four goals, four assists), but far more than the points themselves has been when they’re coming. Draisaitl has scored two overtime goals, earning the game-winners in the Oilers’ victories in this series, taking a flare for the dramatic and turning it into half the wins necessary to take home the Stanley Cup. I was on Team Leon before this started, and he’s only cemented my pick with his heroics. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer
Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers
This was a tough call between Marchand and Bennett, who leads the Panthers with 15 goals, but Marchand has been so clutch throughout the entire postseason, including his overtime goal in Game 3 of the second round against the Maple Leafs when Florida trailed 2-0 in the series. He has six goals in the Final alone after a two-goal night in a 5-2 win in Game 5. His personality, big-game prowess and unique personality have provided the Panthers with a whole other level. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief
Marchand knows about winning and is a major reason the Panthers are a game away from defending their Stanley Cup championship. Acquired from the Boston Bruins on March 7, the veteran forward could be the last piece of this season’s championship puzzle. Marchand has scored big goals, has been outstanding defensively and gotten under opponent’s skin the way only he can. When the Panthers needed someone to step up for them in the postseason, Marchand has answered the call; he has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 22 games and silenced Rogers Place with two goals in a 5-2 win to give him six in the series. He's also an impressive plus-18. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer
With his two-goal performance in Game 5, Marchand became the first player in NHL history to score at least five goals in a Cup Final for two different teams, having previously done it in 2011 for the Bruins against the Vancouver Canucks. And he’s done it with the type of flair only he can produce, hasn’t he? Consider the defining moments he’s produced in this series -- he scored the overtime goal in Game 2, opened the scoring just 56 seconds into Game 3, then had the winner in Game 5. How much more of a difference-maker can a guy be? Florida general manager Bill Zito certainly is looking like a genius for picking up Marchand from Boston at the Trade Deadline. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
