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Makar is the clear-cut favorite in Conn Smythe Trophy race, but... |
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If the Edmonton Oilers had pulled a rabbit out of the hat and taken down the Colorado Avalanche, we would be talking about Connor McDavid with a shot to add the Conn Smythe to his trophy collection.
The interesting aspect of that "what if" is that McDavid is still eligible to win it.
Unlike other major sports, the NHL awards its postseason MVP to the best player of the entire playoffs and not for the championship series.
But McDavid isn't going to win. The award has always gone to a player who advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. But McDavid was clearly a force in the first three rounds. With 33 points, McDavid could still end up winning the postseason points championship. McDavid averaged 2.06 points per game. He made some magnificent plays. The closest finalist to him in the points race is Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov. He's 10 points back. Colorado's Cale Makar is 11 points behind.
They might catch him. They may not. It will depend upon how long the Stanley Cup Final lasts.
As much as I think this interesting, I am not advocating for anyone to vote for McDavid. To be honest, if the Conn Smythe was determined by the first three rounds and I had a vote, I would have had Cale Makar first on my ballot. He's been the biggest difference-maker in the postseason. I probably would have had Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy second.
But we have another round to play and that could change everything. Here is my list of six players who can win the Conn Smythe.
1. Colorado defenseman Cale Makar: If you have been tuned into Avs games, you notice him every shift. We've all been talking about what a dazzling offensive player he is. But he's been force defensively as well. With his skating ability, he gets back in a hurry to help with defensive coverage. He makes things happen. At DraftKings, Makar's Avalanche are the favorite to win the Stanley Cup and Makar is the favorite to win the Conn Smythe.
2. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy: Vasilevskiy is probably the only Lightning player with the potential to have as much or more impact than Makar. As Vasilevskiy has reminded us over the last two rounds, he can seem unconquerable at times. He has played stronger and stronger as the postseason has progressed. He has given up zero or one goal in eight of his last 11 playoff starts. He's the reigning Smythe winner.
3. Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon: The speedy Avs standout owns 11 goals in 14 games. He has 82 shots on goal. That's 20 more than McDavid. The Lightning have played 17 games and no one has more than nine goals. We treat goals and assists equally in a points race. But that's not really the case. Point totals can be inflated by secondary assists. But we all know how valuable a playoff goal is. It's challenging to score in the postseason and MacKinnon is leading the way.
4. Tampa Bay center Steven Stamkos: This is the best postseason performance Stamkos has had during his impressive career. He's never scored nine goals before. Stamkos is leading by example. He's taking charge like the leader he is.
5. Tampa Bay right wing Nikita Kucherov: He leads the Lightning at 1.35 points per game. He's their most dangerous power play performer. Ten of 23 points have come on the power play. Kucherov seems to deliver big goals at the right time. Accurate shot. He's conspicuous when the game is on the line. Kucherov finds the spotlight. He's also consistent. He will soon be the fourth NHL to register 25 or more points in four consecutive playoff years. The others are Wayne Gretzky, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
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