McDavid leads the race for the Conn Smythe

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs and with two

teams remaining, the pool has narrowed down to a handful of worthy candidates. Since

inception, it’s been awarded 54 times to 47 players since the 1964-65 season. Historically the

winning team of Stanley Cup has also produced the winner of the Conn Smythe but there have

been five occurrences of the runner-ups housing the playoff MVP winner.

Connor McDavid +220

Heading into the Finals, Connor McDavid leads the postseason with 31 points, his second time

recording at least that amount. He is nine away from joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux

as the only players to ever record 40 points in a single playoff run. While McJesus definitely is a

solid pick to lead the playoffs in points, it won’t be the first time that he’s hit that marker. In 2022

he posted 33 points, leading all players in playoff points despite being knocked out in the third

round. It is the lone major individual award to elude the Oilers captain and, should he keep pace

and win the Cup, it could solidify him as one of the top players in NHL history.

Aleksander Barkov +350

Perennially one of the most underrated players, the two-time Selke Trophy winner is one of the

best two-way players left in the postseason. Barkov has put up 17 points in as many games in

these playoffs and that’s while shutting down some of the league’s top players. His best

opportunity to prove he is true MVP material is to be the last man standing, that is to say by

being the man to first hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup this year. Should he accomplish that, it’ll have

been because he shut-down the best the Oilers have to offer.

Sergei Bobrovsky +375

The 35-year-old goaltender turned things up in the eastern conference finals when his Panthers

were down two games to one against the Rangers. He posted an insane .932 save percentage

in three straight wins to clinch the Prince of Wales trophy for the Panthers.

Leon Draisaitl +800

One of the greatest postseason performers in NHL history, Leon Draisaitl is second in playoff

points with 28 and is tied for second in playoff goals at 10. Through his first 13 games in this

postseason run, Draisaitl posted 25 points alone with 12 coming on the power play.

Zach Hyman +7500

Between his career high of 54 regular season markers and this being his first trip to the Finals,

Hyman is having an amazing year. Oh, and his 14 playoff goals this spring haven’t even been

mentioned. That total would lead or tie for the lead in 24 of the past 26 playoff runs and that’s

before playing a minute in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals. He is just six goals away from setting

the all-time mark at 20 playoff goals, which would break Reggie Leach and Jari Kurri’s record of

19 goals apiece.

Connor McDavid +220

Aleksander Barkov +350

Sergei Bobrovsky +375

Matthew Tkachuk +600

Leon Draisaitl +800

Evan Bouchard +850

Carter Verhaeghe +2000

Sam Reinhart +5000

Gustav Forsling +6600

Zach Hyman +7500

Sam Bennett +25000

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins +25000