The Florida Panthers have won the Stanley Cup. However, for the first time in 21 years, the Conn Smythe Trophy was not awarded to a member of the team that won the Stanley Cup Final. Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was a class above the rest this postseason. And his historic performance has culminated in winning the Conn Smythe trophy.
The Conn Smythe trophy is awarded to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And the Oilers captain certainly fits that description this year. McDavid surpassed the 40-point mark this postseason, becoming just the third player to achieve that feat. Additionally, he was the first to accomplish this feat since Wayne Gretzky in 1993.
In the end, McDavid scored eight goals and 42 points in the playoffs, but did not score in the deciding Game 7. He was by far the leading scorer of the playoffs as he dominated all four rounds of the postseason. He is the first player to win the Conn Smythe despite losing the Stanley Cup Final since Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003 with the Anaheim Ducks.
Connor McDavid's historic postseason
McDavid began his postseason campaign against a familiar foe. He and the Oilers took on the Los Angeles Kings in the first-round for the third straight season. McDavid knew what to expect from Los Angeles in the playoffs. And that certainly may have factored into his performance. The Edmonton captain scored 12 points in the series, including five points in Game 1. Edmonton won the series in five games.
In round two, the Oilers met up with their Western Canadian rival Vancouver Canucks. Many expected Edmonton to have a rather easy time in this series. However, the Canucks came to play, and even pushed Edmonton to the brink of elimination. McDavid came through in a big way, scoring eight points in this series. Half of these points came in Game 2, though.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Oilers and McDavid met up with the Dallas Stars. Dallas was one of the best defensive teams in the league, and raced out to a 2-1 series lead. But Edmonton refused to give in. McDavid scored three points in Game 4 and nine points throughout the series to win the Western Conference Final and make a dream come true for the Oilers captain.
Edmonton then faced off with the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid, like the rest of the Oilers, started slow. In fact, they faced a 3-0 deficit in the Final. McDavid, though, helped his team stage a comeback. He scored 11 points in the Final, including back-to-back four-point performances in Games 3 and 4. Unfortunately, Edmonton still fell short of its ultimate goal.
A heartbreaking ending for McDavid, Oilers
Connor McDavid is certainly deserving of the Conn Smythe trophy. If his performance doesn't earn him the title of MVP of the postseason, no performance may be worthy enough. That said, the individual hardware only serves to heighten the heartbreak of this moment.
After Game 3, McDavid issued his Game 5 mission statement. He told the media that the job wasn't done, and his goal was to “drag (the Panthers) back to Alberta” for Game 6. And he accomplished this goal. In saying that, it's obvious that there was an added implication to his statement. He wanted to drag Florida back to Alberta so they could win Game 6 and force Game 7.
In the end, it wasn't meant to be. Florida scored first in Game 7 on Monday, and held on to win the Cup. As a result, they are the new Stanley Cup champions. And McDavid has to wait another year to add an all-important Stanley Cup to his impressive trophy cabinet.
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