Connor McDavid’s Conn Smythe was justified despite not winning Stanley Cup

Connor McDavid did not get to lift the Stanley Cup after Game 7 on Monday night. He did, however, leave with a trophy. Even in a losing effort, McDavid was named the 2024 Conn Smythe winner. And while this might be controversial to some, it was the right call. 

Unlike in other sports, the NHL does not award an MVP for its championship round. The Conn Smythe is presented to the MVP of the entire playoffs. In keeping up with the intention of the award, McDavid was the only true choice for his historic postseason. 

McDavid, 27, became only the sixth player to win the Conn Smythe without also winning the Stanley Cup. He’s the first to do it since Jean-Sebastien Giguere with the Anaheim Ducks in 2003 and the first non-goalie since Reggie Leach with the Flyers 48 years ago. So while it’s incredibly rare, there is a precedent for it happening. 

The Oilers captain recorded 42 points in 25 playoff games — the fourth-highest total by a player through a single postseason all time. McDavid also set a new record for playoff assists with 34. His postseason needed to be honored, even if it had to come in the form of a consolation prize. 

To put McDavid’s overall impact in context, Sidney Crosby’s highest point total in a single postseason is 31, three less than McDavid’s assist total alone.  

Detractors may point out that McDavid failed to tally a single point in his team’s last two games — the two biggest games of the year. However, McDavid did make history nonetheless. He became the first player to post four points in back-to-back Stanley Cup Final games. 

The other issue is, if not McDavid, then who? Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had a strong case until he didn’t. Bobrovsky was great in Florida’s 2-1 Game 7 victory, especially in the third period. But his stellar play on Monday came after coughing up a combined 12 goals in Edmonton’s three straight wins to force Game 7. Florida also had to overcome games in which he allowed six, five and four goals in earlier rounds. 

What about anyone else on the Panthers? Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk’s 22 points each just don’t come close to McDavid’s total. Tkachuk also only scored one goal in the Stanley Cup Final itself. 

Giving Bobrovsky the award strictly because he was the best choice on the winning team wouldn’t be doing a trophy for playoff MVP justice. 

McDavid may not have won the trophy he set out to win at the start of the playoffs, but he did win the award he deserved the most.