Better Conn Smythe performance: 2017 Sidney Crosby or 2018 Alex Ovechkin?

[Gurglesons]

I remember Ovy hitting anything and everything in the finals. The man was a force.

Crosby didn’t deserve the 2nd conn smythe imo.

Who deserved the 2017 Smythe over Crosby?

 

[Orange Fanta]

I remember Ovy hitting anything and everything in the finals. The man was a force.

Crosby didn’t deserve the 2nd conn smythe imo.

His first one wasn't

 

[JaegerDice]

where did I say that?

Why is Ovechkin hitting everything in sight relevant to his conn smythe win?

If running around hitting people is a criteria, there are a lot of 4th liners that should have been higher in the voting over the years.

 

[JaegerDice]

Ovechkin had better raw and relative performance stats in his Conn Smythe run than Crosby did in his 2017 Conn Smythe run by a fair margin.

This seems pretty cut and dry, honestly.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Ovechkin had better raw and relative performance stats in his Conn Smythe run than Crosby did in his 2017 Conn Smythe run by a fair margin.

This seems pretty cut and dry, honestly.

Not really lol

 

[Gurglesons]

Ovechkin had better raw and relative performance stats in his Conn Smythe run than Crosby did in his 2017 Conn Smythe run by a fair margin.

This seems pretty cut and dry, honestly.

They both had 27 points?

 

[Castle8130]

Kuznetsov deserved the MVP hands down. Ovechkin was fantastic too and is my favorite player, but Kuznetsov was other worldly in the playoffs. He made Crosby look like an Ahler in their series against each other.

With all that being said, Ovy was still better than Crosby in 2017. Ovechkin had a more dominant performance run.

 

[Gurglesons]

Kuznetsov deserved the MVP hands down. Ovechkin was fantastic too and is my favorite player, but Kuznetsov was other worldly in the playoffs. He made Crosby look like an Ahler in their series against each other.

With all that being said, Ovy was still better than Crosby in 2017. Ovechkin had a more dominant performance run.

Crosby had more points than any Capital in the 2018 series.

This is why no Crosby vs X argument can be taken seriously on HFBoards. "Made Crosby look like an AHLER" lol.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Ovi, he drove his own line.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I'm not sure if Crosby gets the '16 Smythe if he already had the '17 Smythe the prior year (i.e., if the two postseason runs were reversed). '17 is the one people pretty much unanimously agree was deserved, whereas '16 was more questionable (I believe the margin was razor thin and it's possible if Crosby "got his" one of the votes for Crosby may have switched to Kessel and gotten him the nod).

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

Neither guy deserved it. So I put tie

 

[Wings4Life]

It felt like Malkin deserved to win Crosby's 2017 Smythe.

 

[Gurglesons]

It felt like Malkin deserved to win Crosby's 2017 Smythe.

If you didn’t watch the SCF or ECF sure.

 

[bobholly39]

Crosby in 2016 deserved his smythe vs Kessel as much as Ovechkin in 2018 deserved his over Kuz. Two extremely similar situations. You can't argue strongly one way and the opposite for the other player (as many hypocrites often do on here). In my book - I always felt Crosby + Ovi were right choices - but if Kessel/Kuz had won I'd have been ok with it too, as performances were quite close (and I don't mind giving a few votes for leadership/intangibles, or even reputation).

Despite that - clearly the performances of both Kuz + Ovi in 2018 were better than Kessel + Crosby in 2016 - where it was more of a team effort than an individual heroic effort by a duo. So essentially it goes:

Kuz 2018 ~ Ovi 2018 > Crosby 2016 ~ Kessel 2016

As for Crosby in 2017 - it's quite similar to Ovechkin as a performance. However - Crosby was the stronger smythe winner, in that he was the clearer winner in his year. So it's:

Crosby 2017 ~ Kuz 2018 ~ Ovi 2018 > 2nd best Penguin of 2017 run

I voted Crosby. Ties are stupid - but it is close

 

[bobholly39]

It felt like Malkin deserved to win Crosby's 2017 Smythe.

About as much as Crosby deserved the 2009 smythe.

Malkin was great and would have been a fine choice in 2017 - but Crosby was the clear winner. Same with Malkin in 2009.

Out of 2016, 2017 and 2018 - Crosby in 2017 for Smythe is the clearest of the 3 winners.

 

[ESH]

Why is Ovechkin hitting everything in sight relevant to his conn smythe win?

If running around hitting people is a criteria, there are a lot of 4th liners that should have been higher in the voting over the years.

I see people on here talk about how important physicality is in the playoffs all the time. Washington wore their opponents down in the playoffs with their aggressive forecheck, and Ovechkin was the one leading the way. Nobody is saying “hits win the Conn Smythe”, that’s just the cherry on top of him leading the playoffs in goals

 

[nowhereman]

It felt like Malkin deserved to win Crosby's 2017 Smythe.

I've heard this "argument" often enough and, yet, it seems no one can actually formulate any reasoning why Malkin deserved that Smythe beyond "he had one extra point in one extra game".

Anyone who watched that run knows who the more impactful player was and there's a reason why Malkin was a distant second in voting.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I'll never understand the rationale for a third line Kessel deserving the award.

 

[socko]

When is Sidney going to give that 2016 Trophy to its rightful owner? Phil The Thrill

 

[nowhereman]

I'll never understand the rationale for a third line Kessel deserving the award.

Although I think Kessel would have been a fine choice, as far as I'm concerned, Crosby was clearly the team's heart and best player.

If you're putting up points because you play behind two superstars who take all the tough match-ups, you're going to have to be all-world to make up for the fact that you're not really driving the bus. Kessel played tremendously well but it's not a simple as just counting stats. Given that Crosby is a substantially better all-around player than Kessel, playing in almost every situation and taking most of the pressure off the other lines, I don't see Kessel's extra three points making up that much more ground. Factor in that Crosby was very clutch throughout that run (3 GWG to Kessel's 0) and was the team's best player in the Finals (setting up two goals in the Cup-clinching game).

The idea that Crosby's Conn Smythe was "undeserved" is just a tired narratively, typically parroted by the usual suspects.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Crosby in 2016 deserved his smythe vs Kessel as much as Ovechkin in 2018 deserved his over Kuz. Two extremely similar situations. You can't argue strongly one way and the opposite for the other player (as many hypocrites often do on here). In my book - I always felt Crosby + Ovi were right choices - but if Kessel/Kuz had won I'd have been ok with it too, as performances were quite close (and I don't mind giving a few votes for leadership/intangibles, or even reputation).

Despite that - clearly the performances of both Kuz + Ovi in 2018 were better than Kessel + Crosby in 2016 - where it was more of a team effort than an individual heroic effort by a duo. So essentially it goes:

Kuz 2018 ~ Ovi 2018 > Crosby 2016 ~ Kessel 2016

As for Crosby in 2017 - it's quite similar to Ovechkin as a performance. However - Crosby was the stronger smythe winner, in that he was the clearer winner in his year. So it's:

Crosby 2017 ~ Kuz 2018 ~ Ovi 2018 > 2nd best Penguin of 2017 run

I voted Crosby. Ties are stupid - but it is close

Crosby 2016: 6 goals (8 behind 1st), 19pts (11 behind 1st), 0.25 GPG, 0.79 PPG, -2.

OV 2018: 15 goals (1st), 27pts (5 behind 1st), 0.63 GPG, 1.13 PPG, +8

"extremely similar"

 

[DesertPenguin]

I thought Kessel deserved it in 2016, and Guentzel had a reasonable argument for it in 2017. Sid wins in a push though due to reputation and captaincy, so whatever.

 

[bobholly39]

Crosby 2016: 6 goals (8 behind 1st), 19pts (11 behind 1st), 0.25 GPG, 0.79 PPG, -2.

OV 2018: 15 goals (1st), 27pts (5 behind 1st), 0.63 GPG, 1.13 PPG, +8

"extremely similar"

Did you even read the rest of the post?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Crosby 2016: 6 goals (8 behind 1st), 19pts (11 behind 1st), 0.25 GPG, 0.79 PPG, -2.

OV 2018: 15 goals (1st), 27pts (5 behind 1st), 0.63 GPG, 1.13 PPG, +8

"extremely similar"

In fairness, the thing people keep talking about with regards to Kessel/Crosby in 2016 is "he finished behind Kessel in points". Well, the gap was 3 points. Ovechkin/Kuznetsov had a bigger gap in points.

Goals don't seem to matter when it comes to Crosby if it favors him. Nobody was clamoring for Crosby to win the Conn Smythe in 2009 over Malkin when Crosby lead the playoffs in goal scoring because of the 5 point gap in points.

 

[socko]

Although I think Kessel would have been a fine choice, as far as I'm concerned, Crosby was clearly the team's heart and best player.

If you're putting up points because you play behind two superstars who take all the tough match-ups, you're going to have to be all-world to make up for the fact that you're not really driving the bus. Kessel played tremendously well but it's not a simple as just counting stats. Given that Crosby is a substantially better all-around player than Kessel, playing in almost every situation and taking most of the pressure off the other lines, I don't see Kessel's extra three points making up that much more ground. Factor in that Crosby was very clutch throughout that run (3 GWG to Kessel's 0) and was the team's best player in the Finals (setting up two goals in the Cup-clinching game).

The idea that Crosby's Conn Smythe was "undeserved" is just a tired narratively, typically parroted by the usual suspects.

Crosby and Malkin were choking in round 2 vs the Caps, which they were starting to develop a reputation for. They had 4 points between them in the entire 6 game series. The HBK line is the only reason they weren't eliminated in Round 2. Say what you want about Kessel, but he doesn't choke.