Around the League - PLAYOFFS!?

[Mess]

You kill me. You defend our guys who lose in round #1 and call the Oilers who lose in game 7 of the SCF by a goal chokers. That is some sucking and blowing at the same time. Back to ignore.

Connor McDavid earned the Conn Smythe thanks to one of the most dominant runs by an individual player in NHL playoff history.

- His 42 points are the fourth most in a single postseason in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky (47 in 1985 and 43 in 1988) and Mario Lemieux (44 in 1991), who both won the Conn Smythe in those seasons.

- His 11 points in the Stanley Cup Final were two points shy of tying the Stanley Cup Final record held by Wayne Gretzky with 13 in 1988.

- He posted back-to-back four-point games in the Final, the first player in NHL history to do so, in rallying the Oilers.

- But the crowning achievement of his postseason run was shattering Wayne Gretzky's record for assists in a single postseason (31 in 1988) with 34 helpers in 24 games.

"He's the greatest player to ever play, in my books," said his teammate and friend Leon Draisaitl after Game 7.

 

[Mess]

Can you imagine as a Leafs fan if you suffered all the way to game 7 ...

Building expectation after each victory.

Losing round one, whatever.
Losing round two, at least they won a round.
Losing round three, Conference Champions ... not.
Losing round four, nothing but heartbreak. There is no reward for 2nd. in the finals. It's just Loserville.

Lucky for Leaf Nations fans, we've never faced real heartbreak, as our Toronto Maple Leafs have never made it to the Stanley Cup finals since NHL expansion post 1967.

Probably what preserves the ticker , from permanent damage and allow us to come back and to say "maybe next year is our year".

 

[Dekes For Days]

McDavid did everything but score.

Interesting that for years, we've heard endlessly that that doesn't matter.

 

[ULF_55]

Connor McDavid earned the Conn Smythe thanks to one of the most dominant runs by an individual player in NHL playoff history.

- His 42 points are the fourth most in a single postseason in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky (47 in 1985 and 43 in 1988) and Mario Lemieux (44 in 1991), who both won the Conn Smythe in those seasons.

- His 11 points in the Stanley Cup Final were two points shy of tying the Stanley Cup Final record held by Wayne Gretzky with 13 in 1988.

- He posted back-to-back four-point games in the Final, the first player in NHL history to do so, in rallying the Oilers.

- But the crowning achievement of his postseason run was shattering Wayne Gretzky's record for assists in a single postseason (31 in 1988) with 34 helpers in 24 games.

"He's the greatest player to ever play, in my books," said his teammate and friend Leon Draisaitl after Game 7.

Third highest points total for defenseman.

 

[ULF_55]

Interesting that for years, we've heard endlessly that that doesn't matter.

Did anyone check advanced stats?

Maybe they actually won?

 

[BertCorbeau]

Conn Smyth award should never go to the member of a losing team. Disgraceful.

Yes it’s disgraceful to hand out the MVP of the playoffs to a player with record setting level of scoring

 

[ULF_55]

Yes it’s disgraceful to hand out the MVP of the playoffs to a player with record setting level of scoring

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player of his team during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager, and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I wouldn't have had a problem with Bobrovsky winning it. Two worthy candidates.
Although, Bobrovsky had some rough games against the Oilers he came up big when everything was on the line.

 

[X66]

Couldn’t believe my eyes, we saw the leafs version of Hyman in game 7!

 

[leafs in five]

Bouch/Ek were about as dominant as a D pair can be, again, couldn't be more impressed with them. I thought McD did all he could, have to think he's scheduled for shoulder surgery or something after seeing him get stuffed on that forehand chance late.

anyway what a playoffs, what a final.

 

[Stephen]

Connor McDavid earned the Conn Smythe thanks to one of the most dominant runs by an individual player in NHL playoff history.

- His 42 points are the fourth most in a single postseason in NHL history behind only Wayne Gretzky (47 in 1985 and 43 in 1988) and Mario Lemieux (44 in 1991), who both won the Conn Smythe in those seasons.

- His 11 points in the Stanley Cup Final were two points shy of tying the Stanley Cup Final record held by Wayne Gretzky with 13 in 1988.

- He posted back-to-back four-point games in the Final, the first player in NHL history to do so, in rallying the Oilers.

- But the crowning achievement of his postseason run was shattering Wayne Gretzky's record for assists in a single postseason (31 in 1988) with 34 helpers in 24 games.

"He's the greatest player to ever play, in my books," said his teammate and friend Leon Draisaitl after Game 7.

I don’t care that much for Edmonton, but I do feel like McDavid not winning last night was not good result for the game and prestige of the cup. That mission had to be completed and logged into the storybook. Now it just feels like a random team won, all those numbers go in the garbage. Game 7 third period was McDavid’s platform of platforms. And nothing.

 

[Stephen]

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player of his team during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager, and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I wouldn't have had a problem with Bobrovsky winning it. Two worthy candidates.
Although, Bobrovsky had some rough games against the Oilers he came up big when everything was on the line.

Yeah Bob pulled it all together and won in signature Bob style. Whereas McDavid had his quiet Game 6 and 7 which isn’t what you want from a legendary performance story arc.

 

[Mess]

Third highest points total for defenseman.

Don't forget our boy Zach Hyman new Stanley Cup record.... Most Playoff Goals by any player in a Salary Cap Era (since 2004) with 16.

Only 8 players in NHL history ever scored more with Reggie Leach still holding the record of 19 in and playoff year.

 

[bax]

I guess it's safe to finally stop talking about Conor Brown as one of the ones who "got away"

 

[leafs in five]

I thought McDavid was good and left it all out there as you would expect him to.

 

[Stephen]

Can you imagine as a Leafs fan if you suffered all the way to game 7 ...

Building expectation after each victory.

Losing round one, whatever.
Losing round two, at least they won a round.
Losing round three, Conference Champions ... not.
Losing round four, nothing but heartbreak. There is no reward for 2nd. in the finals. It's just Loserville.

Edmonton’s run is like if Toronto figured out all its problems and came within 2 goals of reaching its goals.

 

[leafs in five]

from the last TV timeout through the Oilers timeout to the end McDavid must have played what, 4+ of the last 6 or so minutes? I just think you've got no chance of generating anything once the goalie is out in that scenario

 

[Fogelhund]

from the last TV timeout through the Oilers timeout to the end McDavid must have played what, 4+ of the last 6 or so minutes? I just think you've got no chance of generating anything once the goalie is out in that scenario

Ya.. the last minute, those guys were gassed.... they just couldn't do anything.

 

[CuuuJooo]

Levi and Hofer probably the 2 youngest ones atm who have shown promise. Levi should be starting for the Sabres next year and Hofer put up good numbers on St Louis. Cossa is another who might see some NHL games soon. Seems like more and more Canadian goalies are getting drafted the last few years so lets hope a few can take over for Canada. I think most goalies can play behind Caada though and look good though so maybe 2026 we'll be stuck using Skinner and Binnington with Levi possibly there for some experience as the young guy.

Blackwood is stuck on one of the worst teams ever in San Jose. He's decent.

 

[Mess]

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player of his team during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager, and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I wouldn't have had a problem with Bobrovsky winning it. Two worthy candidates.

McDavid himself defied the odds as well, being just the 6th player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy despite playing for the losing team. However, when his name was called by Gary Bettman, McDavid would not take the curtain call to claim his trophy. In the end, it was simply not the trophy he wanted.

Draisaitl was asked about McDavid winning the MVP award in a losing effort.

"I don't think he cares," Draisaitl said. "I mean, it speaks to how amazing of a hockey player he is. There's no player in the world that wants to win a Stanley Cup more than him. He does everything right, every single day, just to win it one day. It's really hard with him being sad and being disappointed at the end."

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

Yes it’s disgraceful to hand out the MVP of the playoffs to a player with record setting level of scoring

Where was the most valuable player in Game 6 and 7?

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

Conn Smyth award should never go to the member of a losing team. Disgraceful.

I wouldn't say it's disgraceful.

But it is kinda like rubbing salt into the wound. McDavid clearly resented it as well and refused to accept the trophy. They should just award it to the MVP of the winning team.

The greatest performance of all time in a losing effort still isn't good enough.

 

[Gabriel426]

The decision is made with about 10 minutes left.

If the Oilers tie then win they'd look like idiots for not giving it to him.

Well, maybe they should had made the decision with two choices, one with Panthers win and the other with Oilers win

 

[ULF_55]

I wouldn't say it's disgraceful.

But it is kinda like rubbing salt into the wound. McDavid clearly resented it as well and refused to accept the trophy. They should just award it to the MVP of the winning team.

The greatest performance of all time in a losing effort still isn't good enough.

Or they could leave that Trophy as it is and do like other tournaments. Changing it would be like changing the Rocket to be highest goals per game ratio ... oh poop did I just put that out there? Now all the "stats are more important than results" gangs are going to ...


Best player for winning team.
Best player for losing team.

 

[Mess]

I don’t care that much for Edmonton, but I do feel like McDavid not winning last night was not good result for the game and prestige of the cup. That mission had to be completed and logged into the storybook. Now it just feels like a random team won, all those numbers go in the garbage. Game 7 third period was McDavid’s platform of platforms. And nothing.

It would have been a Cinderella like fairy tale ending had Edmonton won. But lets face it we don't have anything the likes of McDavid in a Leafs uniform to be able to duplicate that performance.

However perhaps there is some silver lining hope to take away from the Florida Panthers winning the Cup, from a Leafs perspective.

The Florida Panthers won the President's trophy in 2021-22 , but were and easy out in the playoffs despite being the regular season best. Then they made a blockbuster trade including trading their leading scorer Huberdeau (116 points 2nd overall) in a package that returned them Matthew Tkachuk.

After that trade the Panthers have been in the Stanley Cup finals the last 2 years, losing and learning last year to Vegas before winning it all this year.

That short time line, gives Leaf fans a glimmer of hope that if they break up their unsuccessful core with a big off-season blockbuster trade and some key UFA signings and now with a new Cup winning coach, perhaps our Leafs are not too far from duplicating the Panthers performance.

 

[Da Mash]

Perry = Buffalo Bill

Fans will proclaim he was in alot of playoff series wins and a great playoff performer.

But I bet Perry would trade all those playoff series wins for his name to be on the cup.

Playoff wins means nothing unless you win the cup. Im happy McDavid won the MVP as he was a force all playoffs....but he too would trade that hardware for his name to be on Lord Stanley.

Hard to win a Championshop in professional sports...