Conn Smythe Watch: Who’s leading for Stanley Cup MVP?

Eight teams have packed their hockey bags and gone home. Eight teams still have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup — and one of their players will win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Here’s the first Conn Smythe Watch of the 2026 playoffs. Keep in mind that in the NHL, the Conn Smythe is based on a player’s performance during the entire postseason, not just the championship round.

The award is voted on by an 18-person panel of Professional Hockey Writers Association members. We polled over a dozen writers for their current Conn Smythe top three.

Here’s a look at some of the current leaders for MVP honors, as well as players on the cusp of breaking through in the MVP race.

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Offseason guide for eliminated teams

The current MVPs

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

Andersen has been the playoffs’ best goaltender and the backbone of the playoffs’ best defensive team. Yes, the skaters in front of Andersen can smother an opposing offense like an anaconda, but Freddie is the key to Carolina’s defensive effectiveness. He had nine goals saved above expected through five games. He’s also their most important penalty killer, sporting a .923 save percentage on 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 is the reason the Hurricanes look like Eastern Conference favorites. OK, one of two reasons. (See: The favorites).

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

That Hughes would lead the NHL postseason in scoring was less predictable, 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 has 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 he’s a plus-9, for the lovers of the superfluous.

MacKinnon wasn’t at the top of the ballot for the writers we surveyed, but he’s the clear wagering favorite for the Conn Smythe. DraftKings Sportsbook has him at +475, ahead of Andersen (+800) and MacKinnon’s teammate Cale Makar (+900), who won the Conn Smythe in the Avalanche’s 2022 Cup win.

So one can surmise that the betting markets are building in the fact that the Avalanche are the Stanley Cup favorites and MacKinnon has a long run ahead of him, but the writers are looking at which players are most valuable in getting their teams to the second round. MacKinnon shares the points lead on the Avalanche (seven) with Devon Toews through five games, with both skating to a plus-7. He remains Colorado’s offensive engine and its unquestioned leader.

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Avs seal Game 1 win with flurry of goals in 3rd period

Avs seal Game 1 win with flurry of goals in 3rd period

The favorites

The difference between failing in the first round and advancing in the playoffs can sometimes come down to one question: Do you have someone who can make a play in a vital 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 series’ biggest goals: his overtime winner at home in Game 4, knowing that a loss would have given Dallas a 3-1 series lead. He’s clearly one of those players who is growing from star to superstar as Minnesota’s ride continues.

Can you imagine the rookie goaltender looking at the scoreboard as his team spent an entire second period without a shot on goal in a Game 7? And yet he stood in there, making 28 saves to propel the Canadiens to the second round and become the second goalie this year to make Jon Cooper’s life miserable in an elimination game.

Dobes has a .923 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average this postseason. He has been especially good early in games, as the Lightning had only two first-period goals in the series. Dobes also has a little history in his MVP case: 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: Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden.

One of the primary reasons the Sabres broke their historic Stanley Cup playoff drought was their goaltending, which went from 31st in the NHL in save percentage in 2024-25 to third overall this season. Lyon, 33, signed as a free agent last summer and was a huge part of that renaissance in the crease. But he didn’t get the start early in Buffalo’s series with Boston, as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen won Game 1 and then had a rough Game 2.

Enter Lyon for Game 3, and the Sabres haven’t looked back. He’s 3-1 with a .955 save percentage and a 1.14 goals-against average, outdueling Jeremy Swayman as Lyon pushed Buffalo to the second round. Keep in mind this is still a tandem, however. We’ve probably not seen the last of UPL … unless Lyon doesn’t give him a chance to take the crease back.

Although there isn’t a Jake Guentzel or a Mikko Rantanen on the roster, this is the best offensive team that Rod Brind’Amour has had in Carolina. The Hurricanes averaged 3.55 goals per game in the regular season, the highest average in his eight years as coach. When’s the last time the Canes had two scoring lines that opponents had to be concerned about? Besides Sebastian Aho’s line, there’s now the trio of Stankoven, Hall and Jackson Blake.

It’s Stankoven who has earned the most attention here, and rightfully so with six goals in six games, including two game winners. That’s 35% of the goals the Hurricanes scored in the playoffs through six games! He has set a physical tone and has been a terror in the offensive zone with a team-high 27 shots.

But Hall is now in the conversation, too. He leads 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 antagonism that’s going to be very necessary as they continue through the Eastern Conference bracket. Having a former Hart Trophy winner find a second chapter as a vital role player for a Cup winner would be quite a compelling story.

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Taylor Hall nets OT winner to give Hurricanes 2-0 series lead

Taylor Hall nets OT winner to give Hurricanes 2-0 series lead.

Making their cases

Knowing that Connor McDavid had a fractured ankle slightly diminishes the achievement of LaCombe and the Ducks in slowing down the Oilers superstar. But Anaheim’s first trip back to the playoffs since 2018 has put the 25-year-old squarely in the spotlight.

The defenseman led Anaheim with nine points through six games, averaging 27:00 per night in ice time. His pairing with Jacob Trouba had a 63.7% expected goals percentage against the Oilers. LaCombe’s star was already on the rise thanks to being on the U.S. Olympic roster, and now the rest of the NHL is getting a look at the standout whom Ducks fans have trumpeted as one of the league’s next great defensemen.

Alex Tuch is playoff hockey. He’s got the beard, the physicality and the emotion to power a postseason newbie like Buffalo through a tough series against Boston, and perhaps even further than that.

Tuch was tied with Tage Thompson with seven points through six games but led the Sabres with four goals. That included arguably the most important goal of the series when he gave Buffalo the lead in the third period of its Game 3 win, bouncing back from an emotionally devastating loss at home in Game 2.

Again, MacKinnon has the inside track for Avalanche MVP based on his performance and projections … for now. Assuming Makar isn’t limited after that big hit he received in Game 1 against the Wild, he might be finding his stride. The defenseman was simply awesome in that high-scoring series opener, with two key goals. It was his third straight 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 archrivals 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 were likely one-and-done without him.

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

Eichel is seventh in the DraftKings odds, which is the highest for any Golden Knights player, but one could argue Marner has the better case. He has nine points in seven games, two of them coming short-handed. He had three points (two goals and an assist) in their Game 6 closeout win over the Mammoth, assisted on Brett Howden’s overtime short-handed goal to win a pivotal Game 5 and had a goal and an assist in their Game 1 win over Anaheim on Monday night.

But let’s address the real intrigue here: Could voters stop themselves from giving Marner the Conn Smythe after he was treated like a playoff pariah in Toronto?

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Mitch Marner’s second goal gives Golden Knights commanding lead

Mitch Marner’s second goal gives Golden Knights commanding lead.

On the cusp

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

Hutson had six points in seven games in the first round to share the team lead with Suzuki. Both of them scored huge goals in the series win over the Lightning, with Hutson scoring the OT winner in Game 3 and Suzuki getting 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 atrocious numbers in that Game 1 goalfest that the Avalanche won 9-6.

• Depending on what direction their teams want to go after that Game 1, they could continue to backstop two Stanley Cup contenders, or the crease could be turned over to Mackenzie Blackwood and Filip Gustavsson, respectively.

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Scott Wedgewood makes big-time save vs. Wild

Scott Wedgewood robs Wild with save

Gone but not forgotten

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