Connor McDavid wins Conn Smythe as Stanley Cup playoffs MVP despite Oilers’ loss
Posted Jun 24, 2024 9:12 pm.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the NHL playoffs despite Edmonton losing the Stanley Cup final to the Florida Panthers.
McDavid’s heroics helped propel the Oilers to the final and kept them in the series against the Panthers after falling behind 0-3.
The 27-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best players in the NHL, registered 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 postseason games – five points shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record set in 1985.
His four-point performances in each of Game 4 and Game 5 of the final extended a series that looked destined for a sweep. He was kept off the scoresheet in Game 6 and Game 7.
McDavid becomes just the sixth player to win the trophy while playing for the losing side, joining Detroit’s Roger Crozier (1966), St. Louis’ Glenn Hall (1968), Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach (1976) and Ron Hextall (1987), and Anaheim’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003).
He’s the first non-goalie to do so since Leach in ’76.
McDavid also becomes the fourth Oilers player to win the playoffs MVP trophy after Mark Messier (1984), Gretzky (1985, 1988) and Bill Ranford (1990).
Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky were the leading candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy for Florida.
