Mitch Marner leads the conn smythe trophy race entering the Stanley Cup Final, and the Vegas winger sits on 21 points with 11 primary assists. He has cooled in the Western Conference Final, but his playoff totals still top the field.
Marner and Vegas Wings
The winger position is driving the conversation around the playoff MVP race. Wingers have won the Conn Smythe Trophy only 10 times in the 60 years since 1965, yet they make up five of the top nine players in the power ranking and two of the top three.
That group includes Brett Howden and Pavel Dorofeyev, who are tied for the playoff goal lead with 10 goals apiece. They are also on pace to become the first teammates with at least 14 goals apiece in a single playoff run if the Final goes at least six games.
Marchessault, Kane, Ovechkin
The recent winners show how rare that path has been. Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2023 after scoring 13 goals, while Leon Draisaitl matched him for the playoff goal lead. Before that, Patrick Kane won in 2013 and Alex Ovechkin won in 2018.
Justin Williams took the trophy in 2014, eight years after helping the Carolina Hurricanes win the 2006 Stanley Cup. The position split in the award’s history leans elsewhere too: centres have won it 21 times, goalies 17 times and blue-liners 12 times.
Eichel, Hall, Stankoven
Marner is not alone at the top of the board. Jack Eichel leads the post-season with 16 assists and has 18 points, leaving him second behind Marner in playoff scoring.
Taylor Hall has 14 five-on-five points in 13 games and leads the league with 5.15 goals per 60 minutes at five on five. Logan Stankoven leads the playoffs with seven five-on-five goals, and five of his nine total goals came when the game was within one goal.
Stankoven also has three game-winning goals and is tied with Howden for the playoff lead in that category. With the Final carrying half the weight in the unofficial voting formula, the top names still have a chance to shift the race before the trophy is handed out.
