The Oilers captain is the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe after losing the Stanley Cup. However, winning an MVP after a loss isn't new for McDavid.
For the sixth time in NHL history, a member of the losing team was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy last night after the Florida Panthers defeated the Oilers in game seven.
While the trophy for playoff MVP going to a member of the losing team is relatively rare in NHL history, it is an all too familiar situation for Connor McDavid.
During the 2014-15 OHL season McDavid won the Red Tilson award for the most outstanding player in the league. In 47 regular season games, he scored 44 goals and a total of 120 points.
In the playoffs he averaged nearly 2.5 points per game scoring 21 goals and 28 assists in 20 games.
Erie made it to the finals where they faced the Oshawa Generals who swept them in four games. Despite the loss, McDavid was awarded the Wayne Gretzky '99 award which is given to the playoff MVP.
During the 2014-15 season there was no doubt that McDavid was the best player in the OHL. He was subsequently drafted first overall in the 2015 NHL draft.
Despite the massive individual effort McDavid could not lead the Otters to the J. Ross Robertson trophy in 2015. Nine years later, McDavid's Edmonton Oilers squad lost game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Florida Panthers.
During the season, McDavid came third in scoring with 32 goals and a staggering 100 assists for a total of 132 points in 76 games. Only Nikita Kucherov had as many assists during the season.
In the playoff, McDavid recorded 34 assists in 25 games breaking Wayne Gretzky's recorded for most assists in a single playoff run. He also added eight goals for a total of 42 points.
It has proven mildly controversial to award McDavid playoff MVP. Some have pointed to his lack of points in game six and game seven as reasons why he shouldn't have been awarded the Conn Smythe. However, he was nearly a unanimous pick for the award with only one member of the media voting for Aleksander Barkov ahead of McDavid.
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Up to this point McDavid's hockey career has been incredibly successful, and he is widely recognized as the best player in the world. His list of personal awards features three Hart trophies, five Art Ross trophies and one Maurice Richard trophy. Add to that the Conn Smythe and it is clear that his nine years in the NHL have been marked by his excellence.
However, twice now McDavid and his team have failed to secure a championship despite his individual prowess.
Two years after McDavid and Erie lost in the finals, the team won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, though McDavid was playing for Edmonton at the time. Oilers fans will have to hope that history will once again repeat itself, and the Oilers will have another shot at the Stanley Cup in the near future.