Conn Smith Watch: Who is the frontrunner for Stanley Cup MVP?

Eight teams packed their hockey bags and went home. Eight teams are still aiming to win the Stanley Cup — and one of their players will win the Conn Smith Trophy as playoff MVP.

This is the first Conn Smythe Watch for the 2026 playoffs. Remember that in the NHL, Con Smith is based on a player’s performance The entire postseasonNot just the championship round.

The award is voted on by an 18-person panel of members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. We polled more than a dozen authors for their top three current con smiths.

Here’s a look at some of the current leaders for MVP honors, as well as players with a chance to be in the MVP race.

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Current MVPs

Andersen could be an adventure in the postseason. Sometimes he is out with injuries. Sometimes he is ineffective to the point of being replaced. And sometimes he goes an absolute hitter, going undefeated this postseason with a .958 save percentage and 1.02 goals-against average in his first six games.

Andersen is the best goaltender in the playoffs and the backbone of the best defensive team in the playoffs. Yes, Andersen’s forward skaters can stifle an opposing offense like Anaconda, but Freddie is the key to Carolina’s defensive effectiveness. Made nine more than expected saves through five matches. He is also their most important penalty killer, with a .923 save percentage in 26 opposing power plays (24 of which were successfully killed by the Hurricanes).

Again, the 36-year-old Dane can be a roller coaster. Every climb has a drop. But for now, Andersen makes the Hurricanes look like Eastern Conference favorites Well, one of two reasons. (See: Beloved).

Hughes would lead the league in ice time in the postseason as predicted, given how he led the league in average ice time (27:44 in 74 games) during the regular season with Minnesota. Vancouver Canucks. But the sheer volume is still impressive: He played 218:58 in seven games, averaging 31:17 per game that was boosted by a Game 3 OT loss (43:47) and a Game 4 OT win (37:21) vs. Dallas. And that’s just 1:31 of shorthanded ice time.

It’s unlikely Hughes will lead the NHL postseason in scoring, but here we are: Entering Monday’s action, Hughes had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) for the Wild — 10 of those points coming at even strength. He scored in six of their seven games, including two goals and an assist in their closeout game against Dallas and three more in the Game 1 offensive circus against Colorado. Oh, and she’s a plus-9, for the extra lovers.

MacKinnon didn’t top the ballot for the writers we polled, but he’s the clear betting favorite for Con Smith. DraftKings Sportsbook has him at +475, ahead of teammates Andersen (+800) and McKinnon Kale Makar (+900), who won Con Smith Avalanche’s 2022 Cup win.

So one can assume that the betting markets are building on the fact that the Avalanche are Stanley Cup favorites and McKinnon is well ahead of him, but the writers are looking at which player is most valuable to take their team to the second round. McKinnon shares the points lead (seven) with the Avalanche Devon Toews Through five games, both are a plus-7 with both skating. He remains Colorado’s offensive engine and its unquestioned leader.

beloved

The difference between failing in the first round and advancing to the playoffs can sometimes come down to one question: Do you have someone who can play in a crucial moment?

The Wild are in Round 2 for the first time since 2015 because they have Boldy. He had six goals and four assists in seven games for Minnesota, including one of the biggest goals of the series: his overtime winner at home in Game 4, knowing that the loss would have given Dallas a 3–1 series lead. He is clearly one of those players who is going from star to superstar as Minnesota’s journey continues.

Can you imagine the rookie goaltender staring at the scoreboard as his team went the entire second period without a shot on goal in a Game 7? And yet there he stood, making 28 saves to lead the Canadiens to the second round and second goalie this year. An elimination game makes John Cooper’s life miserable.

Dobbes has a .923 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average this postseason. He was especially good early in the game, as the Lightning scored just two first-period goals in the series. Dobes also has a little history in the MVP field: He became just the third rookie goalie in Montreal history to win a Game 7 on the road. The other two are in the Hall of Fame: Jack Plante and Ken Dryden.

A primary reason the Sabers broke their historic Stanley Cup playoff drought was their goaltending, which went from 31st in the NHL in 2024-25 to third overall this season. Lyon, 33, signed as a free agent last summer and has been a huge part of that renaissance at the crease. But he didn’t start early in Buffalo’s series with Boston Ukko-pekka hides Won Game 1 and then had a rough Game 2.

Enter Lyon for Game 3, and the Sabers never looked back. He is 3-1 with a .955 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average, outdueling Jeremy Swayman Lyon pushed Buffalo into the second round. But remember this is still a tandem. We probably haven’t seen the last of the UPL… unless Lyon give him a chance to return to the crease.

There isn’t one though Jake Guentzel or a Miko Rantanen On the roster, this is the best offensive team Rod Brind’Amour has had in Carolina. The Hurricanes averaged 3.55 goals per game during the regular season, the highest average in his eight years as coach. When was the last time the Canes had two scoring lines that opponents had to worry about? Besides i am sebastianIts line, now Stankoven, has Hall and Trio Jackson Blake.

Stankoven has been the focus here, and rightfully so, scoring six goals in six games, including two game-winners. That’s 35% of the Hurricanes’ playoff goals through six games! He set a physical tone and became a terror in the offensive zone with a team-high 27 shots.

But is the conversation now, too. He led the Canes with nine points (three goals, six assists), including the overtime game winner in Game 2 against the Flyers. He brings a physicality and toughness that is going to be sorely needed as he continues through the Eastern Conference bracket. A former Hart Trophy winner finding a second chapter as a key role player for a Cup winner would be quite an interesting story.

Sue them

Knowing that Connor McDavid A broken ankle diminishes some of the credit LaCombe and Ducks have for slowing down the Oilers superstar. But Anaheim’s first return to the playoffs since 2018 has kept Squirley, 25, in the spotlight.

The defenseman leads Anaheim with nine points in six games, averaging 27:00 of ice time per night. with his pair Jacob Owen Had a 63.7% expected goal percentage against the Oilers. Lacombe’s star was already on the rise thanks to being on the US Olympic roster, and now the rest of the NHL is taking notice of the standout that Ducks fans have heralded as one of the league’s next great defensemen.

Alex Touche Playoff Hockey. He has the beard, physicality and passion to power a postseason newcomer like Buffalo through a tough series against Boston, and maybe more.

Tuch was tied with it Take Thompson Led the Sabers with seven points in six games but four goals. That included arguably the most important goal of the series when he gave Buffalo the lead in the third period of the Game 3 win, coming back from an emotionally devastating loss at home in Game 2.

Again, McKinnon has the inside track to Avalanche MVP based on performance and projections… for now. Assuming Makar isn’t limited after the big hit he had in Game 1 against the Wild, he may be finding his stride. The defenseman was superb in that high-scoring series opener with two key goals. It was his third playoff game with a goal.

No matter how the Flyers’ series against Carolina turns out, no one can take away the masterpiece that Vladar painted against the Penguins in Game 6 of their series, helping Philly eliminate its opponents in overtime with a 42-save effort and a 1-0 shutout. He had an outstanding .929 save percentage and a 1.89 goals-against average through eight games and nearly helped Philly steal Game 2 in Raleigh. The Flyers are probably one and done without him.

Eichel has nine points in six games, though he’s scored just one goal. He had three assists in the Golden Knights’ overtime win in Utah Game 4 and then two more in their overtime win at home in Game 5.

Eichel is seventh in DraftKings odds, the highest for a Golden Knights player, but one could argue that Marner is better. He has nine points in seven games, including two short-handed. He had three points (two goals and an assist) in their Game 6 closeout win over the Mammoths. Brett Howdenhad an overtime short-handed goal to win a key Game 5 and a goal and an assist in their Game 1 victory over Anaheim on Monday night.

But let’s get to the real intrigue here: Can the voters stop giving Marner the Conn Smith after being treated like a playoff pariah in Toronto?

On the yolk

The explosive winger scored four goals in six games against the Oilers, including two game-winners, including a third-period goal in Game 2 in Edmonton that evened the series going back to Anaheim, where the Ducks won Games 3 and 4.

Hutson shared the team lead with Suzuki with six points in seven games in the first round. Both scored huge goals in the series win over the Lightning, with Hutson scoring the OT winner in Game 3 and Suzuki credited with the opening goal in Game 7 on a deflection off a Lightning defender.

We’ll group these two together for three reasons:

• They had outstanding opening rounds for their respective teams.

• They had brutal numbers in that Game 1 goalfest that the Avalanche won 9-6.

• Depending on where their team wants to go after that Game 1, they could continue to backstop two Stanley Cup contenders, or the crease could be returned. Mackenzie Blackwood And Philip Gustavsonrespectively.

Even though I’m gone, I haven’t forgotten

Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Leon Drysaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
Dylan Guenther (Utah Mammoth)
Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay Lightning)
David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins)
Jason Robertson (Dallas Stars)
Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators)