Why Connor McDavid won the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy

For the first time in 21 years, the Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded to a player on the losing side of the Stanley Cup Final, as Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid won the MVP award despite the Florida Panthers winning the Cup. It came as a shock initially, but considering how historic McDavid’s run was, it’s not that surprising.

Frank Seravalli and Colby Cohen dove into McDavid’s Conn Smythe win and why it makes sense on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: There’s zero chance we get to Game 7 if McDavid doesn’t have back-to-back four-point games in elimination games. He had 11 points in the Stanley Cup Final. Yes, I know that he had none in Game 6 and Game 7, and maybe that’s the most disappointing part. I know he wasn’t thrilled to win the Conn Smythe, it’s certainly not the trophy that he was aiming for. But he had double the number of points in the scoring race in the playoffs then Aleksander Barkov.

So to me, he really stood out and created a wide gap on a Florida team where there were a lot of different options. You could have gone with Barkov, you could have gone with Sergei Bobrovsky, you could have maybe made a case for Gustav Forsling. There was not one individual player, a true essence of the team, that really kind of stood out as a singular, all-encompassing candidate, and that’s how I personally looked at it.

Colby Cohen: I completely agree with you on that. I think McDavid 100% deserved the award. What he did in this playoffs from start to finish is remarkable. I probably would have parted with you and had Barkov and Bobrovsky instead of Forsling. But I do agree with the sentiment, I agree with the almost unanimous pick. I know Game 6 and 7 were a little bit quiet, but again we’re looking at a larger body of work.

And the other thing is that I have no issue with him not coming back out on the ice for that award.

Frank Seravalli: Me neither, I don’t think that matters at all.

Colby Cohen: That is for the Florida Panthers. The takes that I have seen today about his leadership and this and that, that is absolute BS. You just lost in Game 7 and the coverage was all about McDavid in this Stanley Cup Final. No matter what, it was McDavid, McDavid, McDavid. He’s the best player in the world, and I think he was introduced to a lot of American people who do not watch or follow hockey on a nightly basis. We saw people at ESPN like Dan Orlovsky or Stephen A. Smith tweeting about the game, and they were all talking about McDavid.

So for him to not come back out on the ice, I have no issue with it. Let it be the Panthers moment. If he’s back out on the ice for that trophy, then we’re talking about him for another 15 minutes. That moment was for the Panthers. I got no issue with it, that’s not the trophy he wanted. The fact that people are questioning his character and leadership, please, get a life. 

Frank Seravalli: Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. So you agreed with the pick of McDavid?

Colby Cohen: Absolutely.

Frank Seravalli: Why was it so controversial?

Colby Cohen: I think it’s just something people aren’t used to seeing. It hasn’t happened since J.S. Gigure, and I don’t think a lot of people remember that. That was a New Jersey Devils and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim series back in 2003.

I just think people aren’t used to it, and I think your point about Florida being a little too spread out is a great one. There wasn’t one guy. There were four or five guys that were probably equally deserving on Florida, but none of them had the singular impact that McDavid did.

You can watch the full episode here…