The Stanley Cup Finals get underway tonight and there are no shortage of good Conn Smythe candidates entering the final series.
In today's hotstove we'll share our picks as to who should be the Conn Smythe favorite heading into the final handful of games this season.
Todd Cordell I've been on the Tyler Johnson train from Day 1 of these playoffs.
He has played some incredible hockey and if not for him the Lightning would have been eliminated long ago.
As you all remember the Lightning actually trailed Detroit 2-1 and were on the verge of going down 3-1 before Johnson took over.
He scored a pair of goals and recorded in an assist in less than five minutes game time during Game 4. That got the Lightning back in the series and they haven't looked back since.
Johnson leads the playoffs with 21 points in 20 games and carried the load early on when Steven Stamkos was struggling.
Duncan Keith has been exceptional and there are some other good candidates, too, but for me Johnson has the leg up entering this series.
Tim Chiasson If Tampa Bay - Victor Hedman If Chicago - Duncan Keith
There's no one blowing the doors off offensively and I think the two teams top defenders aren't getting the credit they deserve for having their teams where they are.
Hedman is an absolute beast. Over 57% of scoring chances and over 59% of shots for go Tampa's way when he's on the ice. He's also chipped in a respectable 10 points. Tyler Johnson has been the king up front for the Bolts but without Victor Hedman they aren't in the Stanley Cup finals.
Duncan Keith is just Duncan Keith. A lot of talk has been fatigue lately and this guy should be near dead - but he's not. He's only three points back of the playoff scoring lead and he plays about 95 minutes a game. If the Chicago Blackhawks don't have Duncan Keith they could also kiss their Stanley Cup Finals berth goodbye - I don't really care how deep the team is.
Hedman and Keith are the best players in the Cup Finals and they've been the best players for their clubs all through the post-season.
Adam French I think Duncan Keith. An easy choice to make certainly, but one I think lines up. I have always felt Keith is a top-3 defender in the game for the past 5 years and is basically as close to the knockoff Lidstrom as you can get these days, yet he only gets praise when he scores a lot of points. It proves how shallow the Norris vote really is. Chara is only good when he scores a ton of points. Same with Weber or Keith etc. Guys who are known for a strong defensive game PLUS some offense, yet never are consistently tops at it. Regardless, Keith has been...amazing. Seabrook and Oduya have been amazing too, no doubt, but Keith is and has always been the straw on that defense. Keith isn't even that great a general offensive defender when you watch him. Smart passes certainly, but has very little shot range or the kind of creativity you see out of the "dynamic" defenders. He's just so...smart. Now a lot of this will land on whether the Blackhawks win obviously, or even if they do win they need to shutdown the triplets/Stamkos to make it count. He's my Conn Smythe leader at the moment overall.
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