Who Won 2024 Stanley Cup Finals MVP? Find Out Who Was Awarded Conn Smythe This Year

This Edmonton Oilers player won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite the Oilers losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers in Game 7

By Natasha Bose

Updated on Jun 25, 2024 | 01:24 PM IST | 80.4K

Who Won Conn Smythe? Oilers' Player Wins NHL's Playoff MVP Despite Loss

In this Article

Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe for the 2024 Stanley Cup
Who won the Stanley Cup 2023?
Full list of Conn Smythe winners
Canada’s NHL drought carries on

The winner-take-all contest thrilled fans as the Florida Panthers lifted the Stanley Cup, marking their first in franchise history. Despite Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and his team's efforts, Florida could not be denied the 2024 title.

Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP on Monday night despite Edmonton’s Stanley Cup Final loss to Florida, a nod to one of the greatest postseason performances in NHL history.

McDavid, who went scoreless in Game 7 on Monday night, led all scorers with 42 points, five short of Wayne Gretzky's record of 47 set in 1985.

Connor McDavid won the Conn Smythe for the 2024 Stanley Cup

"It’s incredible," teammate Dylan Holloway said in an interview with the Associated Press, before the game. "There’s no shortage of words. He’s just so awesome. He brings it every single day, and when we need him the most, that’s when he plays the best. He’s obviously a really special player and a special guy, too."

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid was awarded the MVP of Stanely Cup finals, the Conn Smythe Trophy, after an outstanding post-season that ended just short of winning the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers lost Game 7 of the Cup final 2-1 to Florida, who took the best-of-seven series 4-3. McDavid did not return to the ice to receive his individual award.

Edmonton was attempting a remarkable comeback, winning Games 4 and 5 after trailing 3-0 in the final. Despite the loss, McDavid’s record-breaking performance throughout the post-season stood out. The 27-year-old superstar scored eight goals and made 34 assists, leading the playoffs with 42 points.

McDavid is only the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy without winning the Stanley Cup. He joins Roger Crozier (1966), Glenn Hall (1968), Reggie Leach (1976), Ron Hextall (1987), and Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003).

He’s also the second skater from a Stanley Cup-losing team to win the award after Leach. McDavid broke Wayne Gretzky’s playoff assists record of 31 and was five points short of Gretzky’s points record of 47 in a single post-season.

He scored four points (one goal, three assists) in Game 4 and repeated this feat (two goals, two assists) in Game 5, becoming the first player in Stanley Cup final history with consecutive four-point games.

McDavid was also the first in league history to score eight points in a two-game span of the same series. The six-foot-one, 194-pound center is the first player to have four different four-point games in a single Stanley Cup playoff run since the Oilers’ glory days of the 1980s.

Who won the Stanley Cup 2023?

The 2023 Stanley Cup Finals was the decisive championship series of the NHL's 2022–23 season, wrapping up the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. In this showdown, the Western Conference champs, the Vegas Golden Knights were the 2023 Stanley Cup winners who triumphed over the Eastern Conference champs, the Florida Panthers, winning four games to one in the best-of-seven format. This victory marked Vegas's first championship in just their sixth season.

With a stronger regular-season record, Vegas had the home ice advantage. The series kicked off on June 3 and wrapped up on June 13. It was the first time since 2018 that neither of the teams had previously claimed the Stanley Cup.

Full list of Conn Smythe winners

The Conn Smythe has been awarded to the top playoff performer since 1965. The 2005 season had no winner due to the NHL lockout.

Year	Player	Team	Position
2023	Jonathan Marchessault	Vegas Golden Knights	RW
2022	Cale Makar	Colorado Avalanche	D
2021	Andrei Vasilevskiy	Tampa Bay Lightning	G
2020	Victor Hedman	Tampa Bay Lightning	D
2019	Ryan O'Reilly	St. Louis Blues	C
2018	Alex Ovechkin	Washington Capitals	LW
2017	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins	C
2016	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh Penguins	C
2015	Duncan Keith	Chicago Blackhawks	D
2014	Justin Williams	Los Angeles Kings	RW
2013	Patrick Kane	Chicago Blackhawks	RW
2012	Jonathan Quick	Los Angeles Kings	G
2011	Tim Thomas	Boston Bruins	G
2010	Jonathan Toews	Chicago Blackhawks	C
2009	Evgeni Malkin	Pittsburgh Penguins	C
2008	Henrik Zetterberg	Detroit Red Wings	C
2007	Scott Niedermayer	Anaheim Ducks	D
2006	Cam Ward	Carolina Hurricanes	G
2005	N/A	N/A	N/A
2004	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay Lightning	C
2003	Jean-Sebastien Giguere	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	G
2002	Nicklas Lidstrom	Detroit Red Wings	D
2001	Patrick Roy	Colorado Avalanche	G
2000	Scott Stevens	New Jersey Devils	D
1999	Joe Nieuwendyk	Dallas Stars	C
1998	Steve Yzerman	Detroit Red Wings	C
1997	Mike Vernon	Detroit Red Wings	G
1996	Joe Sakic	Colorado Avalanche	C
1995	Claude Lemieux	New Jersey Devils	RW
1994	Brian Leetch	New York Rangers	D
1993	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	G
1992	Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	C
1991	Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	C
1990	Bill Ranford	Edmonton Oilers	G
1989	Al MacInnis	Calgary Flames	D
1988	Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers Advertisement	C
1987	Ron Hextall	Philadelphia Flyers	G
1986	Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	G
1985	Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	C
1984	Mark Messier	Edmonton Oilers	C
1983	Billy Smith	New York Islanders	G
1982	Mike Bossy	New York Islanders	RW
1981	Butch Goring	New York Islanders	C
1980	Bryan Trottier	New York Islanders	C
1979	Bob Gainey	Montreal Canadiens	LW
1978	Larry Robinson	Montreal Canadiens	D
1977	Guy Lafleur	Montreal Canadiens	RW
1976	Reggie Leach	Philadelphia Flyers	RW
1975	Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	G
1974	Bernie Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	G
1973	Yvan Cournoyer	Montreal Canadiens	RW
1972	Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	D
1971	Ken Dryden	Montreal Canadiens	G
1970	Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	D
1969	Serge Savard	Montreal Canadiens	D
1968	Glenn Hall	St. Louis Blues	G
1967	Dave Keon	Toronto Maple Leafs	C
1966	Roger Crozier	Detroit Red Wings	G
1965	Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	C

Canada’s NHL drought carries on

Canada's wait for another Stanley Cup continues, as Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers, and the rest of the hockey-crazed nation will have to wait another year.

After overcoming a series deficit only twice matched in league history to force a Game 7, the Oilers’ comeback fell short with their loss in the Cup final. McDavid and his long-time teammate Leon Draisaitl were held off the scoresheet when it counted most, despite a furious effort in the final moments.

The Oilers were the first team since the 1945 Detroit Red Wings to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 in the final. However, they couldn’t join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only team to rally from that position to win the Cup and just the fifth to do so in any playoff round.

No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup in 31 years, since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The Oilers were denied their first title since 1990 and their sixth overall. This trip to the final ended in heartbreak for Edmonton, similar to their Game 7 loss to Carolina in 2006.

The team’s hopes rested on McDavid, who was held without a point in Game 7 but shined throughout most of the series. He was expected to become just the sixth player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the series MVP in a losing effort and the second skater after Reggie Leach in 1976.

Like Leach, McDavid led all postseason scorers, and his 42 points were five shy of the record set by Wayne Gretzky in 1985, during the Oilers' dynasty days.