2026 Conn Smythe Winner is: Jordan Staal

[Ducati Boy]

#1 Staal brother

I don’t know about that. I’ve heard on HF that Jared is better.

(Anyone else been here since those days?)

 

[Enga Olly]

How did Staal win with fewer points than Cole Caufield?

That would be a good example why the Conn Smythe should not be awarded based on points.

 

[Miller Time]

Impressive playoffs

Few players can have that kind of impact in their late 30's.

 

[Kranix]

How did Staal win with fewer points than Cole Caufield?

Stankoven, Blake, and Hall all deserved it more. Marner has more than double his points.

I guess this was a Conn Smythe for this specific series.

True montreal fan, being hockey illiterate

 

[Borsig]

Canes fans need more salt for their feast.

keep it coming. Keep it coming.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Would not have been my pick, but congrats to him

 

[pelderhostiga]

Oh the irony of Staal winning the trophy after Stankoven, Hall and the goalies finally carrying Carolina to the finals and winning the decisive game for them.

Oh the irony of people coming up with Staal's defensive metrics only after he scored in five straight finals.

But Marner? Where was he these past three games when his team needed him the most?

 

[winnipegger]

What a career for Jordan Staal. Strong like water buffalo. No hands no problem. Plays his position perfectly. Sticks with it putting up 30 points a year. Clutch in the final. 2 cups Conne Smythe legendary Captain.

 

[NinjaKick]

Who wins the Conn Smythe? (Please read mod warning in OP)

posted by @notbias

Wait until you find out that the Conn Smythe award is about the entire playoffs, it's going to blow your mind.

After that, you're going to find out Eric Staal retired in 2024, and no one really cares about faceoff percentage.

Then, you're going to learn who Carolina played in the first two rounds, and it'll really blow your mind.

This is going to be educational for you when you figure all this out.

Wait until you find out who won the Conn Smythe, it's going to blow your mind.

After that, maybe you'll learn about how important faceoffs are.

Then, you're going to learn that who Carolina played in the first two rounds meant nothing because they won the Cup anyway.

This is going to be educational for you when you figure all this out.


@notbias

 

[DaveG]

And Staal was like the 5th best player on his own team

I mean offense is only part of the equation. Staal did an exceptional job all playoff long absolutely shutting down opposition top lines and on the penalty kill. The record tying goal scoring output this series put him over the top for this but he's quietly been elite all playoff long.

should be bus

Not gonna argue against his candidacy, reminds me so much of when Cam had to come in during the Montreal series back in 06.

 

[koyvoo]

It’s sad that for Marner none of his teammates picked up the slack for him. Story of his career. If he didn’t do it literally everything single game, it just wasn’t going to get done.

 

[BKarchitect]

Points durr durr…

 

[Ole Gil]

But Marner? Where was he these past three games when his team needed him the most?

On the ice with Jordan Staal. Went the same place as Suzuki and Stutzle.

 

[PensandCaps]

Congrats. 37 years old. And very consistent stats too. Both reg season and playoffs. Here's his reg season stats.

View attachment 1254244

best 3C ever

 

[Divine]

Would have been tough to give it to Marner in this game where he was one of the worst players on the ice, especially in a loss.

Good for Staal though, he deserved it. Those faceoff wins being losses could have turned the game. He was used both in the offensive and defensive zone to win crucial faceoffs.

 

[QJL]

Blake was my pick. This is the worst winner selection ever. Staal shouldn’t have been a top 5 option.

 

[pelderhostiga]

Not the strongest pool of candidates, but I think he was the right pick.

People whining about the 2nd liners not winning it are purely stat-watching. Yes they were productive, but contributed little beyond scoring, on a team that won largely because of their outstanding team D. And it's not like they pulled away in terms of production either; Ehlers was right there with them, and Staal/Aho not too far behind.

I think Miller should have gotten some consideration as well.

Let's not forget that not scoring is the main reason why the Canes didn't lift the Cup during the past few years. The unexpected scoring of the second line was the main difference between winning the cup and coming up short yet again, and the main reason why Staal got to play in the finals in the first place.

 

[PensandCaps]

Marner had as many points in one series as Staal did all playoffs

Like wtf NHL why do you continue doing this

More to the game than points. Staal plays the hardest minutes and is a leader.

fact is they dont win without him

 

[DaveG]

3 games of the Finals dismisses the rest 3 rounds and first half?

If Vegas wins anyway? No

But that wasn't the end result.

 

[Shocker]

Only thing Marner deserved after this game was getting shot in to the Moon.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Reminder that Staal started this entire playoff run by dropping the gloves with Tkachuk. He brings so much more to the ice than points, as anyone who has watched him for any length of time should know.

 

[ACC1224]

and a forward has to be so ridiculously better than everyone else to win the conn smythe on the losing team. Like just fully dictating the game like McDavid does. Sorry but Marner just wasn't that these playoffs and especially these finals.

He was far and away the best Knight but like the team wasn’t deserving of the Cup he wasn’t deserving of this award.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

Not the strongest pool of candidates, but I think he was the right pick.

People whining about the 2nd liners not winning it are purely stat-watching. Yes they were productive, but contributed little beyond scoring, on a team that won largely because of their outstanding team D. And it's not like they pulled away in terms of production either; Ehlers was right there with them, and Staal/Aho not too far behind.

I think Miller should have gotten some consideration as well.

That's nonsense. Stankoven's line was absolutely dominant 5v5. Hall finished the playoffs with 22GF 8GA at 5v5. Staal was 12GF vs 6GA, Stankoven 22GF 13GA. Yes Staal got harder defensive matchups and centers are "more important" but really what happened is voters couldn't decide who on Stankoven's line was the driver, which is too bad. Seems pretty easy to give it to the guy who was PPG, +14 5v5 in 19 games and played with an edge too.

Not giving them credit for defensive play because the team is good is such a bizarre argument. They're 3/5 skaters on the ice! Several times in the last game Stankoven's line got caught icing it and had to play against a fresh Eichel unit and they turned it around into a rush the other way. They hardly spent time in their own end because they were clinical with breakouts and board battles. That's defence for you.

Miller was great, no argument there, but so was Gostisbehere - playing easier minutes, yeah, but mostly with Nikishin who was probably the weakest link in the D and also LH to boot.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Waaaaa waaaa waaa

To those who were holding up Marner up until now...looks good on ya lol

 

[Zalos]

Do you really not understand how Caufield playing in more games against lesser competition, being a purely offensive player, contributed to him scoring more points as compared to a primarily defensive player playing in fewer games against greater competition resulted in fewer points?

Some of the posts I'm seeing on HF that are tearing Jordan Staal down are quite literally nonsensical. It's like the people posting this garbage are like, "let's not think this through at all, let's just post something negative because it's the cool and edgy thing that everyone else is doing!"

I think my point completely flew over your head.

I used Caufield as an extreme example of a player who had a bad run to demonstrate how silly it is to give the Smythe to Staal when there are players on his own team (and on Vegas) who deserved it more.

Nobody is tearing Staal down. We're saying that others deserved it more. I don't know how you can defend this choice.

That would be a good example why the Conn Smythe should not be awarded based on points.

It's not just points, though that's a big factor. There were much more impressive players on his own team.

True montreal fan, being hockey illiterate

Is this supposed to be an argument against what I said? Try again.