Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs is nearly done, and while a champion and playoff MVP have not been named, a few players have set themselves apart as early favorites to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Aleksander BarkovThe second round of the NHL’s 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs is nearly over, and the race for the Conn Smythe Trophy is heating up. If the honor of being named the post-season’s most valuable player were handed out today, here are the three players we believe would be first in line for it:
1. Wyatt Johnston, C, Dallas Stars
The Stars knocked out Colorado Friday to advance to the Western Conference final, and the play of 21-year-old Johnston is a major reason for their success. Johnston leads the team with seven goals – including two game-winners – and 11 points in 13 games. He’s also averaging 20:41 of ice time – over three minutes more per game than he averaged in the regular season. He doesn’t look intimidated in the least by the pressures Dallas is dealing with, and that’s a credit to him and the Stars’ coaches.
Dallas is also benefiting from the play of goaltender Jake Oettinger, but Johnston’s continuing emergence as a difference-maker has taken the heat off his more experienced teammates, and if he remains a phenomenal contributor in the Western final and beyond, Johnston could wind up taking home both the Cup and the Conn Smythe. Not bad at all for someone who is in his second season of professional hockey.
2. (Tie) Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers; Chris Kreider, LW, New York Rangers
Both Shesterkin and Kreider have been dynamic needle-movers for the Rangers in this post-season. The former has posted a .923 save percentage and a 2.40 goals-against average in 10 games, while the latter leads the Blueshirts with seven goals – including a natural hat trick in the second-round-series-clinching Game 6 against Carolina – and 10 points in as many games.
You can make a case for both players to win Conn Smythe honors, but so long as the Rangers advance past Florida in Round 3 and give themselves a chance to win their first Cup in 30 years, neither Kreider nor Shesterkin will begrudge the other if they win the most valuable player award. And that’s what makes them so crucial to the Rangers’ chances at winning it all.
3. Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers
Barkov is second on the Panthers in points, with 13 in 11 games – but three of his five goals have been game-winners, and his play on the defensive side of things remains elite. Florida has a well-balanced approach that spreads out its contributions on offense. As a captain and a first-line center, Barkov will almost certainly be nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, but he has bigger goals in mind – winning the first Cup in his career and in Panthers franchise history.
Barkov will be challenged by the Rangers’ speedy, deep attack in the Eastern Conference final, but the Blueshirts have to find a way to mitigate Barkov’s impact at both ends of the ice. And if Florida does advance to the Cup final and wins it all, Barkov should be seen as the front-runner to win the Conn Smythe and cement himself as one of the best all-around players of the modern era.