Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett Should Both Win the Conn Smythe Trophy

Let’s start with Brad Marchand. He continues to turn back the clock, proving that age is just a number. The 37-year-old has six goals in the Stanley Cup Final, including five of them on the road, which is a record. He might have the highlight reel of the Stanley Cup Final, if not the playoffs, after he made the score 3-0 in Game 5 in Rogers Place.

If you look at the stats, what Marchand is doing after coming over from the Boston Bruins at the NHL Trade Deadline is incredible. Him and Butch Goring (New York Islanders) are now the two best trade deadline acquisitions in history for the way they have impacted their respective teams. Goring came over from the Los Angeles Kings and helped the Islanders win four straight Stanley Cups and get to five finals.

Marchand is on pace to equal Goring by winning a Stanley Cup with Florida after the trade from Boston. He is up to 20 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (10 goals and 10 assists), but if you dive deeper, Marchand is doing something pretty remarkable.

In his four trips to the Stanley Cup Final (three with the Bruins and now with the Panthers), he leads all active players with 13 goals. In addition, Marchand is the first player since Esa Tikkanen (1988 with the Edmonton Oilers) to record six goals in the Stanley Cup Final. And before Tikkanen was Wayne Gretzky with seven with the Oilers in 1985.

Stanley Cup Final: Brad Marchand Delivers Once Again in Big Games for the Florida Panthers

Stanley Cup Final: Sam Bennett Continues To Create Controversy

Florida Panthers: Rat Redemption: Brad Marchand Delivers in the Big Moment

Not to mention, Marchand is the first player in NHL history to score five-plus goals in multiple appearances in the Stanley Cup Final with two different teams. He is the seventh player in league history to achieve various five-plus goals in the Stanley Cup Final and the second in the expansion era (1967-68) since Mario Lemieux (1991 and 1992).

When the Florida Panthers need a big goal, there is Brad Marchand. He delivered two big goals in the Game 5 victory. If you go back to double overtime in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, Marchand has scored three goals in the last four periods played at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

And while the Final has to be a big chunk of the award, look what Marchand has done for the Panthers and all players. He turned the third line of Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen into Florida’s best line. That line has combined for 55 points in the playoffs.

Oh yeah, when the moment called for it, Marchand delivered the knock-out blow against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7. There, he recorded three points (one goal and two assists) to move to 5-0 against the Maple Leafs in Game 7. According to NHL Stats, Marchand has the most points among active players with 10 (four goals and six assists) in 13 Game 7s.

It feels like Brad Marchand has been a Florida Panther his whole career because he fits into the way they play. It is similar to how the Boston Bruins played for years, and that fits his style.

The Case for Sam Bennett to Win

Then there is Sam Bennett. Bennett is leading the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 15 goals, and 13 of them have come on the road. According to NHL Stats, Bennett is the fourth active player with as many goals in a single postseason following Zach Hyman (16 in 2024 with the Oilers), Alex Ovechkin (15 in 2018 with the Washington Capitals), and Sidney Crosby (15 in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins).

His 15 goals in the playoffs are the most in Panthers franchise history in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has scored in four of the five games. Not to mention, Bennett has a six-game goal streak on the road, dating back to the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes, where he scored four goals in the Panthers five-game series victory.

Diving further into it, Bennett had 25 goals in 76 games, 13 of which came on the road for the Panthers during the regular season. He has equalled that mark in 22 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. His 15 goals are more than what he put up in the first four seasons in the playoffs with the Panthers.

Bennett has stepped up his game this playoff season for the Panthers. He is now four goals off the record in a single playoff season of Reggie Leach, who recorded 19 goals with the Philadelphia Flyers back in 1987.

The Case for Both to Win

Now the Dynamic duo of Bennett and Marchand. These once fierce rivals, let’s not forget the controversial hit Bennett had on Marchand during the playoffs last year, are doing something not seen in the Stanley Cup Final in decades.

The duo has combined for 11 goals in the series, and neither man scored in Game 4 of the series. If Bennett scores again, they will be the first set of teammates to each score at least six goals in the Stanley Cup Final.

Courtesy of NHL Stats, they are the first teammates in 52 years and sixth in NHL history to each tally five goals in the same Final. They are the first set of teammates to combine for 11 goals in the Stanley Cup Final since Yvan Cournoyer (6) and Frank Mahovlich (5) did it in 1973 with the Montreal Canadiens.

Both Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett are in rarified air. There is a good case for either man to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, but there is a better case for both men to win it. Again, the Panthers have to close it out in Game 6.

But since these teammates are breaking history together, why not add another piece of history by becoming the first co-winners of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup Playoffs MVPs in NHL history?