WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.580 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're strapping 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:06.599 on our skates and heading right into the heart 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.000 of what many consider the most grueling postseason 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:12.099 in all of professional sports. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:15.279 The NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs. Right. But we 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:17.420 aren't here to talk about the championship teams 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:20.339 today. We are looking specifically at the ultimate 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:23.000 individual prize of that, you know, that two 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:25.500 -month marathon. We're talking about the Conn 00:00:25.500 --> 00:00:27.940 Smythe Trophy. The hardest hardware to win in 00:00:27.940 --> 00:00:30.780 sports. Yeah, that's the one. Our mission today 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:33.259 is to dissect exactly what it takes to be named 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:36.060 the most valuable player of the NHL postseason. 00:00:36.219 --> 00:00:38.719 We're looking at the quirks, the history, and 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.320 the evolution of what value actually means on 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:44.880 the ice. And it really has evolved. It has. So 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.219 whether you are a diehard hockey fan analyzing 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:50.640 the historical trends or you're just intensely 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:52.740 curious about how sports history is measured 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.079 in its most extreme conditions, you are in the 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:57.320 right place. Let's unpack this. Let's do it. 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:59.500 Because we hear the term MVP all the time in 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:01.859 sports, but the consmith is fundamentally different 00:01:01.859 --> 00:01:03.960 from how other major sports crown their playoff 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:06.459 heroes. Oh, it's an entirely different beast. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.409 Yeah. I mean, if you look at the other. major 00:01:09.409 --> 00:01:11.930 North American sports leagues. Like the NFL? 00:01:12.209 --> 00:01:14.930 Yeah, the NFL with the Super Bowl MVP or the 00:01:14.930 --> 00:01:18.689 NBA Finals MVP or the World Series MVP. Those 00:01:18.689 --> 00:01:21.609 awards are almost entirely microscopic. They 00:01:21.609 --> 00:01:23.829 look at a player's performance in a single championship 00:01:23.829 --> 00:01:26.689 game or maybe a single short series. Just a snapshot. 00:01:27.030 --> 00:01:30.090 Exactly. Okay. But the Conn Smythe Trophy, much 00:01:30.090 --> 00:01:32.890 like the Babe Ruth Award in baseball, it demands 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:36.109 a much wider lens. It is awarded to the most 00:01:36.109 --> 00:01:39.120 valuable player of his team, during the entire 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.579 National Hockey League postseason. The entire 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:43.819 thing? We are talking about a two -month grind, 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:47.260 four rounds, potentially 28 games of high stakes, 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:49.879 physically plenishing hockey. Yeah. You can't 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:51.879 just have one good weekend in June to win this. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:54.099 You have to be consistently dominant from the 00:01:54.099 --> 00:01:56.540 opening puck drop in April all the way to the 00:01:56.540 --> 00:01:59.599 final horn. But let me push back on that a little 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:01.799 bit because doesn't that massive two -month scope 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:04.340 make it incredibly difficult to judge objectively? 00:02:04.500 --> 00:02:06.989 Oh, without a doubt. Members of the Professional 00:02:06.989 --> 00:02:09.530 Hockey Writers Association voting on this, and 00:02:09.530 --> 00:02:12.110 they literally finalized their tallies at the 00:02:12.110 --> 00:02:14.250 conclusion of the final game of the Stanley Cup 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:17.789 final. It feels like human nature would inherently 00:02:17.789 --> 00:02:21.169 favor recency bias there. It's the ultimate trap 00:02:21.169 --> 00:02:23.090 for the voters. Right. Like if a player puts 00:02:23.090 --> 00:02:25.469 up 20 points in the first two rounds to drag 00:02:25.469 --> 00:02:27.389 his team out of the mud, but then goes quiet 00:02:27.389 --> 00:02:29.330 in the final while a teammate scores the cup 00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:31.389 -clinching goal. How do you weigh that? Yeah. 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:35.800 How do voters accurately weigh those distant 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:38.280 April contributions against a fresh emotional 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:41.639 moment in June? That is the perpetual tension 00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:44.560 of the consmith. And it's a debate that plays 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:47.360 out in the press box every single spring. The 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:49.879 voters are tasked with balancing aggregate statistics 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:53.080 against narrative weight. And the NHL actually 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:55.520 leans into that dramatic tension. They really. 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:57.759 The commissioner hands out the trophy right there 00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.979 on the ice before the Stanley Cup is even presented. 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:03.009 Which is so unique. It is. Unlike the regular 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:05.409 season awards where they announce three finalists 00:03:05.409 --> 00:03:07.770 at a summer gala and build up the suspense of 00:03:07.770 --> 00:03:10.789 the conspite, only the winner is announced. Boom. 00:03:10.930 --> 00:03:12.990 Right there on the ice in front of a screaming 00:03:12.990 --> 00:03:15.990 arena. Talk about pressure. And the NHL didn't 00:03:15.990 --> 00:03:18.050 even start releasing the actual vote tallies 00:03:18.050 --> 00:03:21.189 to the public until 2017. Which finally added 00:03:21.189 --> 00:03:23.530 a layer of accountability to how those writers 00:03:23.530 --> 00:03:25.849 were weighing the early rounds versus the final. 00:03:26.030 --> 00:03:29.129 Exactly. It creates a raw, unfiltered moment 00:03:29.129 --> 00:03:31.129 that you just don't really get anywhere else. 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.240 And, you know, the physical trophy itself is 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:36.500 just as unique as the voting process. When you 00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:38.280 picture a sports trophy, you usually think of 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:41.180 a cup or maybe a bronze statue of a player. Right, 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:43.240 something very classic. But the centerpiece of 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:46.400 the Kahn Smythe is literally a stylized silver 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.840 replica of an entire building. It's a model of 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.800 Maple Leaf Gardens, backed by a massive, botanically 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.539 accurate silver maple leaf. It's a gorgeous piece 00:03:55.539 --> 00:03:58.539 of hardware. It was introduced for the 1964 -1965 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:02.449 NHL season by Maple Leaf Gardens. It honors Kahn 00:04:02.449 --> 00:04:05.150 Smyth, the former owner, GM and head coach of 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:08.409 the Toronto Maple Leafs. And from a purely logistical 00:04:08.409 --> 00:04:11.490 standpoint, it's a living monument that has faced 00:04:11.490 --> 00:04:13.870 some fascinating physical challenges, hasn't 00:04:13.870 --> 00:04:16.389 it? Oh, definitely. Because trophies run out 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:18.769 of real estate. Right. The Kahn Smyth base slopes 00:04:18.769 --> 00:04:21.709 outward with these maple leaf shaped plates bearing 00:04:21.709 --> 00:04:24.689 the inscriptions of the winners. Well, they filled 00:04:24.689 --> 00:04:27.470 up all 16 nameplates on the original bass tier 00:04:27.470 --> 00:04:30.050 after 1980. That just ran out of room. Yeah, 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:31.730 and then they filled the second tier by 2000. 00:04:32.069 --> 00:04:34.350 They literally had to engage in a bit of Trophy 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:37.230 Tetris. Trophy Tetris, I love that. They moved 00:04:37.230 --> 00:04:39.290 the first nine winner's plates up to the top 00:04:39.290 --> 00:04:41.129 foundation tier to keep everything chronological, 00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:43.629 and eventually had to expand the bass again in 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:46.970 2010. It's a literal timeline of hockey history 00:04:46.970 --> 00:04:50.189 bolted to a wooden base. But what fascinates 00:04:50.189 --> 00:04:53.110 me is the irony built into that history. You 00:04:53.110 --> 00:04:55.129 just mentioned the trophy was donated by the 00:04:55.129 --> 00:04:56.949 parent company of the Toronto Maple Leafs to 00:04:56.949 --> 00:04:59.509 honor their legendary builder. Right. Yet in 00:04:59.509 --> 00:05:02.310 the entire history of the award, only one player 00:05:02.310 --> 00:05:04.230 from the Toronto Maple Leafs has ever won it. 00:05:04.269 --> 00:05:09.189 Just one. Dave Keon in 1967. Dave Keon. And how 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:12.230 he won it completely challenges our modern perception 00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:14.930 of what an MVP looks like. It really does. Dave 00:05:14.930 --> 00:05:18.290 Keon recorded exactly eight points during that 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:22.209 1967 playoff run. Eight points? Eight. To put 00:05:22.209 --> 00:05:24.550 that in perspective, that is the fewest points 00:05:24.550 --> 00:05:27.029 ever scored by a non -goaltender to win the Kahn 00:05:27.029 --> 00:05:29.790 -Smythe trophy. That is wild. Today, we almost 00:05:29.790 --> 00:05:32.829 exclusively associate playoff MVP honors with 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:36.720 massive offensive production or... just stellar 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.319 goaltending. But the writers in 67 recognized 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:42.139 that Keon's value wasn't in filling the score 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:44.939 sheet. It was in shutting down the opposing team's 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:48.180 best players shift after shift. He was controlling 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:50.199 the neutral zone and dictating the pace of the 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:52.399 game without the puck. It was a pure recognition 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:55.300 of defensive forward play that we rarely see 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:57.060 rewarded at that level anymore. A completely 00:05:57.060 --> 00:05:59.300 different era of evaluation. Which is a perfect 00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:02.000 segue because just three years later, the definition 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.199 of value violently swung in the exact opposite 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:06.670 direction. direction. Oh, the pendulum swung 00:06:06.670 --> 00:06:09.629 hard. If Keon won it for quiet defensive mastery 00:06:09.629 --> 00:06:13.470 in 67, Bobby Orr won it in 1970 for completely 00:06:13.470 --> 00:06:15.449 breaking the geometry of the sport. He shattered 00:06:15.449 --> 00:06:18.610 it. Orr won the consmith that year, but he also 00:06:18.610 --> 00:06:21.660 won the Hart, the Art Ross. And the Norris. All 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:24.680 in one year. Sweeping the playoff MVP, regular 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:28.959 season MVP, the scoring title, and the best defenseman 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.439 award in a single year. That isn't just a great 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.939 season. That is a complete monopolization of 00:06:34.939 --> 00:06:37.500 the sport. It is arguably the greatest single 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:40.579 season any individual has ever produced in team 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:44.180 sports. Bobby Orr fundamentally altered what 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:46.199 a defenseman was allowed to do on the ice. Before 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:48.540 Orr, defensemen were largely expected to just 00:06:48.540 --> 00:06:50.100 protect the blue line and make the first pass. 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:52.319 Exactly. Orr turned the position into an offensive 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:55.399 engine. And he won the consmith again in 1972, 00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:58.420 making him the first player and still the only 00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:00.779 defenseman to win the award more than once. The 00:07:00.779 --> 00:07:03.420 only one. And both times he scored the cup -clenching 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:06.839 goals for the Bruins. Guy Lafleur in 77 and Wayne 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:09.360 Gretzky in 85 managed to replicate the playoff 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.360 MVP, regular season MVP. and scoring title sweep. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.639 But Orr doing it for the blue line while also 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:17.779 winning the Norris remains an untouched artifact 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:20.500 of hockey history. It's just staggering. But 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:22.699 even with the offensive dominance of guys like 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.279 Orr and Gretzky, who also won it twice with Edmonton 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:28.519 in 85 and 88, there is one position that has 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:31.160 a unique stranglehold on a series. And that brings 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.860 us to Patrick Roy. The ultimate game changer. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:36.240 When you look at the consmith, Roy didn't just 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:39.019 win it, he defined the modern era of it. Patrick 00:07:39.019 --> 00:07:42.180 Roy's resume is entirely unmatched. He is the 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:45.120 only player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.920 Trophy three times. Three times. He won his first 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:51.660 in 1986 with Montreal, his second in 1993 with 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:54.699 Montreal, and his third in 2001 with the Colorado 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:57.329 Avalanche. That means he's the only three -time 00:07:57.329 --> 00:07:59.389 winner, the only player to win it with two different 00:07:59.389 --> 00:08:02.149 franchises, and his wins span across three entirely 00:08:02.149 --> 00:08:04.509 different decades. Winning across three different 00:08:04.509 --> 00:08:07.069 decades is what really blows my mind. The NHL 00:08:07.069 --> 00:08:09.149 in 1986 was a completely different sport than 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:12.470 the NHL in 2001. The 80s were defined by fire 00:08:12.470 --> 00:08:15.610 wagon, high -scoring hockey. By 2001, we were 00:08:15.610 --> 00:08:17.509 deep into the dead puck era where teams were 00:08:17.509 --> 00:08:19.990 trapping and clutching and grabbing. How does 00:08:19.990 --> 00:08:22.810 a goaltender maintain MVP -level value across 00:08:22.810 --> 00:08:25.110 such extreme stylistic shifts in the league? 00:08:25.470 --> 00:08:27.430 It comes down to his perfection of the butterfly 00:08:27.430 --> 00:08:31.029 style and just an unparalleled mental resilience. 00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:35.149 In 86, he was essentially a rookie riding a wave 00:08:35.149 --> 00:08:38.169 of youthful adrenaline. Right. By 93, he was 00:08:38.169 --> 00:08:41.070 an established star willing his team through 00:08:41.070 --> 00:08:44.429 a record 10 overtime victories. That was pure 00:08:44.429 --> 00:08:46.570 psychological warfare. Just breaking the will 00:08:46.570 --> 00:08:50.009 of the other team. Exactly. And by 2001, he was 00:08:50.009 --> 00:08:52.529 the veteran anchor for a loaded Colorado team. 00:08:52.889 --> 00:08:55.450 A goaltender has the ability to dictate the emotional 00:08:55.450 --> 00:08:58.009 temperature of a playoff series more than any 00:08:58.009 --> 00:09:01.370 skater. If a goalie is locked in, it demoralizes 00:09:01.370 --> 00:09:03.889 the opposing bench and gives his own team the 00:09:03.889 --> 00:09:06.610 freedom to take offensive risks. Roy understood 00:09:06.610 --> 00:09:09.149 that leverage better than anyone. Speaking of 00:09:09.149 --> 00:09:10.750 rookies and Montreal goaltenders, we have to 00:09:10.750 --> 00:09:12.789 talk about Ken Dryden because his sequence of 00:09:12.789 --> 00:09:15.429 awards makes absolutely no logical sense on paper. 00:09:15.610 --> 00:09:17.570 It's one of the best anomalies in sports. In 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:21.009 1971, Dryden wins the Conn Smythe as the playoff 00:09:21.009 --> 00:09:25.289 MVP. The very next year, in 1972, he wins the 00:09:25.289 --> 00:09:27.950 Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year. How exactly 00:09:27.950 --> 00:09:30.070 does a player become the most valuable player 00:09:30.070 --> 00:09:31.929 in the league's postseason before he is officially 00:09:31.929 --> 00:09:34.610 considered a rookie? It's a brilliant quirk of 00:09:34.610 --> 00:09:38.389 NHL eligibility rules. The Canadiens called Dryden 00:09:38.389 --> 00:09:42.289 up late in the 1970 -1971 season. He only played 00:09:42.289 --> 00:09:45.370 six regular season games. Six games? Just six. 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:47.659 That wasn't enough to officially trigger his 00:09:47.659 --> 00:09:50.779 rookie status. But Montreal decides to throw 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:52.460 him into the net for the playoffs anyway. Why 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:55.620 not, right? Exactly. And he plays spectacularly. 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:59.039 He eliminates the powerhouse Boston Bruins, leads 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:01.879 Montreal to the Stanley Cup, and wins the consmith. 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:04.700 Because he still hadn't crossed the regular season 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:08.799 game threshold, he entered the 1971 -1972 season 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:11.659 still officially classified as a rookie. He played 00:10:11.659 --> 00:10:14.470 a full season and won the Calder. That is insane. 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:16.769 Stepping into the Montreal net with six games 00:10:16.769 --> 00:10:19.230 of experience and winning the consmith is a level 00:10:19.230 --> 00:10:21.009 of pressure that is hard to comprehend. It's 00:10:21.009 --> 00:10:23.149 like being named CEO of the company before you've 00:10:23.149 --> 00:10:24.769 even finished filling out your HR paperwork. 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:26.990 Exactly. Now, we've talked a lot about the glory 00:10:26.990 --> 00:10:28.789 of winning this trophy alongside the Stanley 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:31.210 Cup, but let's get into the philosophical debate 00:10:31.210 --> 00:10:33.629 of the consmith, which is the agonizing reality 00:10:33.629 --> 00:10:36.809 of winning the MVP on the losing team. It is 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:38.649 the most bittersweet experience in professional 00:10:38.649 --> 00:10:41.870 hockey. The writers have, on exactly six occasions, 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:44.000 decided that But a player on the losing team 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:46.639 was so undeniably brilliant throughout the two 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.299 -month run that they deserved the MVP despite 00:10:49.299 --> 00:10:51.679 falling short of the cup. And four of those six 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:54.299 times, it was a goaltender. Yeah. You had Roger 00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:57.299 Croce in 66, Glenn Hall in 68, Ron Hextall in 00:10:57.299 --> 00:11:01.110 87, and Jean -Sebastien Jaguer in 2003. I want 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:03.450 to stop on Jaguar in 2003 because anyone who 00:11:03.450 --> 00:11:05.529 watched that series remembers the photograph. 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:07.470 Oh, it's heartbreaking. The NHL commissioner 00:11:07.470 --> 00:11:10.529 calls his name and Jaguar has to skate out onto 00:11:10.529 --> 00:11:12.990 the ice, completely devastated that Anaheim just 00:11:12.990 --> 00:11:15.850 lost game seven. And he has to pose for a photo 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:19.070 with a silver replica of Maple Leaf Gardens while 00:11:19.070 --> 00:11:21.169 the New Jersey Devils are celebrating behind 00:11:21.169 --> 00:11:24.059 him. You look like a ghost. You really did. But 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:26.000 let me ask you this. Hockey culture is built 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.320 entirely on the concept of the crest on the front 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:30.120 of the jersey meaning more than the name on the 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.340 back. It is the ultimate team sport. Doesn't 00:11:33.340 --> 00:11:36.159 awarding the MVP to a player who ultimately lost 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.000 the series betray that culture? How do the voters 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:41.940 justify it? It's a fair critique, and it certainly 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:44.320 creates cognitive dissonance for the player receiving 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:47.059 it. But the voters are tasked with answering 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:50.919 a very specific question. Who was the most valuable 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:54.259 player? Of the entire postseason. The whole thing. 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:58.960 Right. In 2003, Jaguar posted a 1 .62 goals against 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.120 average and five shutouts. He swept the defending 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:04.879 champion Red Wings. He swept the Minnesota Wild. 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:07.659 The voters recognized that without Jaguar, the 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:09.240 Mighty Ducks wouldn't have even been in the same 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:11.820 zip code as the Stanley Cup final. True. To ignore 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:14.419 that simply because his team lost Game 7 would 00:12:14.419 --> 00:12:16.500 be intellectually dishonest to the purpose of 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:19.110 an individual award. That makes sense for a goaltender 00:12:19.110 --> 00:12:21.610 who can single -handedly drag a roster through 00:12:21.610 --> 00:12:24.250 the bracket. But what about a skater? A skater 00:12:24.250 --> 00:12:26.429 winning it on the losing team has only happened 00:12:26.429 --> 00:12:28.750 twice in history, and the first one blows my 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:31.269 mind. Reggie Leach. Reggie Leach, a right winger 00:12:31.269 --> 00:12:33.789 for the Philadelphia Flyers. He won it in 1976, 00:12:33.950 --> 00:12:35.789 even though his team was swept in the final by 00:12:35.789 --> 00:12:37.990 Montreal. They didn't win a single game in the 00:12:37.990 --> 00:12:40.789 championship series, yet he gets the MVP. Because 00:12:40.789 --> 00:12:43.730 you simply cannot ignore what Leach did statistically. 00:12:44.570 --> 00:12:46.950 He set a league record that still stands today 00:12:46.950 --> 00:12:49.629 for the most goals in a single playoff year, 00:12:49.730 --> 00:12:52.970 scoring 19 goals. 19 goals. That included a five 00:12:52.970 --> 00:12:55.110 -goal game in the semifinals and four goals in 00:12:55.110 --> 00:12:57.889 the finals itself. Even in a sweep, when a player 00:12:57.889 --> 00:12:59.710 is putting the puck in the net at a historically 00:12:59.710 --> 00:13:02.490 unprecedented rate, the voters have to acknowledge 00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:04.990 that his individual performance transcended the 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:07.789 team's failure. And that exact same logic applied 00:13:07.789 --> 00:13:11.490 incredibly recently. In 2024, Connor McDavid 00:13:11.490 --> 00:13:14.320 of the Edmonton Oilers won the Conn Smythe. after 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.679 the Oilers lost a heart -stopping seven -game 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.500 series to the Florida Panthers. And just like 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:21.940 Leach, McDavid's numbers were so cartoonish that 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:24.620 the voters had no choice. Exactly. Even though 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:27.399 Edmonton lost Game 7, McDavid set the all -time 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.100 NHL playoff record for assists in a single postseason. 00:13:30.259 --> 00:13:33.000 He led the entire playoffs in scoring by a massive 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:35.399 margin of 10 points. 10 points is a huge gap 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:39.159 in the playoffs. Huge. He single -handedly willed 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:41.159 that team back from a three -go series deficit 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:44.720 to force a Game 7. The writers looked at the 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:47.519 body of work over four rounds and concluded that 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:49.759 his contribution was the most valuable of any 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:52.120 player on the ice, regardless of who hoisted 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:54.240 the cup. Though, as a quick update to the timeline, 00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:56.559 the Panthers didn't leave empty -handed the following 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.039 year. Their center, Sam Bennett, captured the 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.299 Conn Smythe when Florida won it all in 2025. 00:14:01.740 --> 00:14:03.740 Right, getting their own piece of history. Which 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:06.659 brings up an interesting lens to view this award 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.539 through. Positional value. When you look at the 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:12.820 entire list of winners up through 2025, centers 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:15.500 have won the award 21 times. That checks out. 00:14:15.789 --> 00:14:17.990 Centers drive the play in all three zones. Exactly. 00:14:18.429 --> 00:14:20.769 Goaltenders are second with 17 wins, reflecting 00:14:20.769 --> 00:14:22.470 everything we just talked about with Roy and 00:14:22.470 --> 00:14:25.129 Jaguar. Defensemen have won it 12 times. But 00:14:25.129 --> 00:14:27.509 then you get to the wings. The drop -off is real. 00:14:27.590 --> 00:14:29.889 It is. Right -wingers have won it eight times. 00:14:30.049 --> 00:14:32.750 But left -wingers, in the entire history of the 00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:36.009 Kahn -Smythe Trophy, going back to 1965, only 00:14:36.009 --> 00:14:38.529 two left -wingers have ever won the award. Just 00:14:38.529 --> 00:14:42.230 two. Bob Ganey for Montreal in 1979 and Alexander 00:14:42.230 --> 00:14:46.240 Ovechkin for Washington in 2018. Why is that 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:49.019 position such a black hole for playoff MVPs? 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:52.200 It's a fascinating anomaly. Part of it is systemic. 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:55.240 Historically, offenses run through the center 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:57.919 of the ice. The center distributes the puck and 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.639 dictates the transition game. Right wingers are 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.080 often the pure goal scorers finishing those plays. 00:15:03.259 --> 00:15:05.019 And left wingers. Left wingers traditionally 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.960 were often tasked with more grinding board battle 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:10.120 responsibilities. Bob Ganey won it because he 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.000 was the ultimate defensive forward, much like 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.440 Keon. And Ovechkin won it because he's the greatest 00:15:14.440 --> 00:15:17.159 goal scorer of his generation. Right. But generally 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:19.740 speaking, the left wing position doesn't inherently 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:22.820 control the flow of a game the way a center or 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:25.019 a top pairing defenseman does. It's a tough racket 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.480 for the left side. But there's another massive 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:29.700 demographic shift in the history of the consmith. 00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:32.179 For the first four decades of its existence, 00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:35.179 this trophy was exclusively the domain of Canadian 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:37.700 -born players. It was a total monopoly. But as 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:40.440 the NHL expanded its global footprint, the playoff 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:43.500 MVPs followed suit. The dam finally broke in 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:46.480 2002 when Nicholas Lidstrom won it with the Detroit 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.600 Red Wings. A huge moment. Monumental. Because 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.840 Lidstrom's win shattered a lingering old school 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.200 bias in hockey that European players somehow 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:59.679 lack the grit or the leadership required for 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:01.980 the grueling, violent nature of the Stanley Cup 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:04.320 playoffs. Right. That old stereotype. Exactly. 00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:07.519 Lidstrom winning the consmith proved that cerebral 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.659 flawless positioning was just as valuable as 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.000 brute force. And once Lidstrom opened that door, 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.779 the international talent poured through. For 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:17.759 example, looking back and ahead, we've seen four 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:19.909 Americans. take it home. You had Brian Leach 00:16:19.909 --> 00:16:22.809 in 94. An incredible run. Tim Thomas in 2011, 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:25.830 Jonathan Quick in 2012, and Patrick Kane in 2013. 00:16:26.370 --> 00:16:28.929 Then you have the Russian superstars like Evgeny 00:16:28.929 --> 00:16:32.129 Malkin in 2009, Ovechkin in 2018, and Andrei 00:16:32.129 --> 00:16:34.730 Vasilevsky in 2021. And Lindstrom paved the way 00:16:34.730 --> 00:16:36.570 for other Swedes too, like Kendrick Zetterberg 00:16:36.570 --> 00:16:39.809 in 2008 and Victor Hedman in 2020. The list of 00:16:39.809 --> 00:16:42.169 consmith winners is basically a mirror reflecting 00:16:42.169 --> 00:16:44.250 the globalization of the sport's elite talent 00:16:44.250 --> 00:16:47.490 pool. It really is. And if we synthesize all 00:16:47.490 --> 00:16:49.919 of this, The Kahn -Smythe Trophy stands as a 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.519 unique barometer for endurance in professional 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:55.419 sports. It does not reward a flash in the pan. 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:57.480 No, it definitely doesn't. When you look at Sidney 00:16:57.480 --> 00:16:59.620 Crosby or Mary Lemieux or Bernie Parent grinding 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:03.320 out back -to -back Kahn -Smythe wins, you realize 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:06.859 the physical and mental toll of playing over 00:17:06.859 --> 00:17:10.400 100 NHL games in consecutive years and remaining 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:13.339 the most impactful player on the ice. This trophy 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:15.619 is fundamentally about survival as much as it 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:17.809 is about skill. It is the ultimate. ultimate 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:20.089 prove it award. You can't just be the best player 00:17:20.089 --> 00:17:21.910 for a weekend. You have to be the best player 00:17:21.910 --> 00:17:24.990 through a brutally intense second season. And 00:17:24.990 --> 00:17:27.269 the fact that voters are willing to endure the 00:17:27.269 --> 00:17:29.609 awkwardness of giving it to a player on the losing 00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:32.710 team shows a real commitment to honoring that 00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:35.509 individual two month journey, even when the team 00:17:35.509 --> 00:17:37.990 falls short. It forces us to separate the individual 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:40.539 performance from the team result. which is a 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:42.920 very difficult thing to do in hockey. It really 00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:45.980 is. So to wrap up our deep dive today, I want 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:48.359 to leave you with a thought for the next time 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:51.400 you are watching a playoff series unfold. We 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.900 know the consmith is meant to evaluate the entire 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:56.039 postseason. But if a team sweeps their first 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:58.180 three series because one player goes completely 00:17:58.180 --> 00:18:01.579 nuclear and then they win a gritty, low scoring 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:04.400 final where a different player happens to get 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:06.559 the crucial game winning goals, who gets the 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:09.009 hardware? Exactly. Who really provided the most 00:18:09.009 --> 00:18:11.490 value? Does the structure of the consmith demand 00:18:11.490 --> 00:18:14.029 that a player peaks at the exact right time in 00:18:14.029 --> 00:18:17.390 June or is true value defined by surviving those 00:18:17.390 --> 00:18:20.170 chaotic, exhausting opening rounds in April and 00:18:20.170 --> 00:18:22.750 May? It's a debate that has no right answer. 00:18:22.890 --> 00:18:25.650 And it's exactly what makes this trophy so endlessly 00:18:25.650 --> 00:18:28.069 fascinating. Thanks for joining us on this deep 00:18:28.069 --> 00:18:29.369 dive and we'll see you next time.