Conn Smythe Trophy Candidates
The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded every year to the player judged most valuable to his team during the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded 42 times to 36 players since the 1964-65 NHL season. And while there’s always been an underlying myth that amazing goaltending in the playoffs make championship winners and MVP honours, Marc-Andre Fleury and Chris Osgood aren’t the clear favorites for their teams.
Fleury, who struggled early in his career, was in danger of giving up the No. 1 job earlier this season to teammate Ty Conklin. The first overall pick in the 2003 draft elevated his play down the stretch with a 12-2 postseason record, a 1.70 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage and a playoff-leading three shutouts. Osgood, who replaced a struggling Dominik Hasek in Game 5 of the first round against the Nashville Predators, has been equally impressive with a 10-2 record, a 1.60 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
As both netminders have been this spring, it’s hard to ignore the other candidates that are playing on the rest of the ice . For Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin has a very good chance to capture the Hart Trophy and playoff MVP honours in the same season. The forward has also shown the tough side of his game.
Captain Sidney Crosby is also a major contender, sharing the league lead the postseason scoring with 21 points in 14 games. While his goal total (4) is rather low, the 20-year-old has proven his worth as a top playmaker. He leads the league in playoff helpers with 17 assists and is averaging a point and a half a game.
The Red Wings’s Henrik Zetterberg is the other player who shares the league lead in postseason scoring, and another solid pick for MVP. The 2008 Selke Trophy is second in goals (11) and game-winning goals (3), and also leads in plus-minus with a plus-15 rating. The Red Wings’ other Selke finalist is Pavel Datsyuk. He has been Detroit’s on the road charm, with 14 of his 19 playoff points (nine goals, five assists) scored while not on home ice. Johan Franzen’s contributions should also be considered. He was arguably the MVP-favourite through the first two rounds, and still leads the postseason in goals and game-winners despite missing five games.
The other dark horse for the Conn Smythe Trophy is Pittsburgh’s Marian Hossa. The Penguins paid a steep price for his at the trade deadline, and the soon-to-be-free agent has certainly not disappointed. With 11 points in his last six playoff games, he could continue his hot streak into the final and potentially take over the postseason scoring lead.
Still, there are four-to-seven games remaining in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the race for MVP should be wide open right to the last minute.