As the Stanley Cup playoffs reach their second round, it’s time to check in on the race for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.
Keep in mind that in the NHL, the Conn Smythe is based on a player’s performance during the entire postseason, not just the championship round. The award is voted on by an 18-person panel of Professional Hockey Writers Association members.
Here’s a look at some of the current leaders for MVP honors, as well as players on the cusp and some big names who have work to do in Round 2:
The favorites
With due respect to the supernatural talents of Connor McDavid, it was Draisaitl who had the greater impact in their six-game series win over the Los Angeles Kings.
He’s tied with now-eliminated Mikko Rantanen of the Avalanche for the playoff goals lead, with seven. He had points on three of their four goals in Game 2, bouncing back from the Kings’ series-opening win. He led that three-goal comeback in Game 4 after the Oilers went down 3-0, tallying two goals and an assist. It’s just nice to see Draisaitl reasonably healthy in this postseason after ending the Oilers’ 2022 run to the conference final looking like he was being held together with tape and prayers.
The Stars get two selections here because they wouldn’t have ousted the Minnesota Wild without Hintz’s offense or Oettinger’s defense.
After Joe Pavelski was injured in Game 1, there were concerns about Dallas’s overall goal scoring and whether the top line could still produce without its center. Hintz quieted those fears with a Game 2 hat trick and a four-point night. He had back-to-back three-assist efforts in Games 4 and 5 and then scored the first goal in their Game 6 elimination of the Wild. He leads the playoffs with 12 points.
Oettinger picked up where he left off last postseason, when the Star became a star in Dallas’s first-round loss to Calgary — remember that 64-save Game 7? He has a .929 save percentage, boasts a 2.01 goals-against average and pitched a Game 5 shutout against the Wild — becoming the first goalie in NHL history to post a playoff shutout against a team from his birth state. Which is just about the most granular but amusing stat we’ve heard this postseason.
It’s easy to say history is repeating itself in New Jersey, where a goaltender’s stellar postseason stats are the byproduct of his team’s dominant defensive play in front of him. Critics used to say that about Martin Brodeur, and he has a statue built for him in front of the Devils’ arena.
Schmid isn’t quite on that same level of idolatry, being that he’s a 22-year-old rookie making his first playoff starts. But Schmid arguably saved the Devils’ series against the New York Rangers, replacing Vitek Vanecek after Game 2 and leading New Jersey to a seven-game win in the Battle of the Hudson.
Are they playing great hockey in front of him? Absolutely. But Schmid was rock solid in his four victories, winning two of them by shutout, including in Game 7. The kid they call “Stone Cold” has a .951 save percentage and a 1.38 goals-against average in five games. He could end up being the goaltending story of the playoffs.
No player in the first round set the tone for his team on and off the ice like Tkachuk did for the Panthers. Which is to say that no player in the postseason scored a game-winning overtime goal to begin his team’s rally from a 3-1 series deficit and then said after the game, “We were supposed to get swept this series, right?”
He had 11 points in seven games, including five goals. He did all the little things right, from agitation to acting as a screen for Carter Verhaeghe‘s stunning Game 7 goal to eliminate the Boston Bruins.
“Tkachuk’s an outstanding hockey player. We didn’t contain him. They always changed the momentum back to them every time they were on the ice,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said.
On the cusp
The Hurricanes entered the postseason without Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty. Then they lost Teuvo Teravainen to injury, too. Paul Stastny might have scored the most important goal of the series, eliminating the New York Islanders with a Game 6 overtime goal. But Aho was their offensive engine, with four goals, three assists and all-around strong play for the pesky Canes. We can say, based on the available options, that he was definitively the best Sebastian Aho in the first round.
Those who predicted the Colorado Avalanche would devour the Kraken like calamari didn’t account for the Philipp Grubauer Revenge Tour. The former Avalanche goaltender, who bolted for Seattle as a free agent before their inaugural season, posted a .926 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average, finishing the first round with the fourth-highest goals saved above expected. In leading the Kraken to their first playoff series win ever, Grubauer made another underwhelming regular season a distant memory.
Draisaitl might have the inside lane for MVP honors, but McDavid still had 10 points in six games, including a goal and an assist in the Oilers’ Game 6 elimination of the Kings. He hasn’t had a “hockey god mode” game quite yet, but it’s always just a matter of time with McDavid. Obviously, winning the Conn Smythe would be an honor, even if it pales in comparison to McDavid getting a spot on Canada’s Walk of Fame, which can be found in Toronto at 68-66 Simcoe Street. At least we think so.
Talk about living the dream: Marner grew up a Maple Leafs fan and helped lead them to their first playoff series victory since 2004 … when he was 7. He led the team with 11 points in the first round, seven of them coming at even strength.
Marner has the bigger numbers, but Rielly might have a stronger Conn case. He had eight points in six games and led the Leafs with 24:04 in average ice time, playing like a No. 1 defenseman instead of merely being listed there on the roster. He was a difference-maker all over the ice, including when he tallied a point on the Leafs’ first four goals of their emphatic 7-2 Game 2 rejoinder to the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Game 1 win. Defensemen have won two of the past three Conn Smythes — or is it Conns Smythe? — for the record.
There are two versions of the Vegas Golden Knights: The one with Mark Stone and the one without him. The Winnipeg Jets saw the former version, which is why they’re no longer competing for the Stanley Cup. Stone’s steady presence, defensive prowess and knack for big moments — like his three points in the third period of Game 2 — make him an MVP candidate.
While defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has been stellar for the Knights, Stephenson might have the stronger MVP case at the moment, with eight points in five games.
Looking to rebound
The odds-on favorite to win NHL rookie of the year, Beniers hasn’t been bad at all in his first postseason action. But after Beniers scored 57 points in the regular season, the Kraken could use more than one goal in seven games from him.
No one can take away the magnitude of Bobrovsky’s accomplishments: Helping orchestrate the shocking playoff upsets of the 2018 Tampa Bay Lightning when he was with the Blue Jackets and now of the 2023 Boston Bruins with the Panthers. Two of the best regular-season teams of all time, sent packing thanks in part to “Playoff Bob.” But after taking the crease from Alex Lyon in Game 3, Bobrovsky played slightly below expected in posting a .891 save percentage. He could be better.
New Jersey’s NHL trade deadline coup didn’t register a point in seven games against the New York Rangers before leaving Game 7 after a hit by defenseman Jacob Trouba. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, as he entered the series finale leading the NHL in shot attempts per 60 minutes (31.9) for the playoffs. But he has to hit the score sheet, even as coach Lindy Ruff has dropped him to the third line.
The Hurricanes need all the offense they can muster. Necas had 71 points in 82 games in the regular season. He had a goal and two assists against the Islanders but went scoreless in four of the games. They’ll need him against the Devils.
Gone but not forgotten
Filip Gustavsson, G, Minnesota Wild
Taylor Hall, LW, Boston Bruins
Adrian Kempe, C, Los Angeles Kings
Chris Kreider, LW, New York Rangers
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche
Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers
Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders
Thanks for the memories, dear members of the one-and-done club. We’ll always have the first round.