Conn Smythe Trophy

This article is about the trophy. For the person, see Conn Smythe.

Conn Smythe Trophy
SportIce hockey
LeagueNational Hockey League
Awarded for"Most valuable player for his team" in the Stanley Cup Playoffs[1]
History
First award1964–65 NHL season
First winnerJean Beliveau
Most winsPatrick Roy (3)
Most recentConnor McDavid
Edmonton Oilers

The Conn Smythe Trophy (French: Trophée Conn-Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager, and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded 54 times to 47 players since the 1964–65 NHL season. Each year, at the conclusion of the final game of the Stanley Cup Finals, members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote to elect the player deserving of the trophy. The trophy is handed out by the NHL Commissioner before the presentation of the Stanley Cup and only the winner is announced, in contrast to most of the other NHL awards which name three finalists and are presented at a ceremony. Vote tallies for the Conn Smythe Trophy were released starting in 2017.[2]

Unlike the playoff MVP awards presented in the other major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada (the Super Bowl MVP, the NBA Finals MVP, the MLS Cup MVP and the World Series MVP), the Conn Smythe is based on a player's performance during the entire NHL postseason instead of just the championship game or series.

The most recent winner is Connor McDavid.[3] He is only the sixth player in NHL history to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy while being on the losing team. The last player to do it before him was Jean-Sebastien Giguere in 2003.[4]

  1. ^ "Conn Smythe Trophy". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
  2. ^ "Avalanche's Cale Makar wins Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP". Archived from the original on 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  3. ^ "Oilers' Connor McDavid wins Conn Smythe Trophy despite not capturing Stanley Cup". Sportsnet.ca. June 24, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid wins Conn Smythe Trophy". TSN. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.