With the Stanley Cup finals underway, the field has been pared down in Conn Smythe Trophy odds. You’ll find odds on which player will win the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP at top sportsbooks. Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid leads all players in this NHL postseason with 31 points, and he remains a top Conn Smythe favorite at +275.
Also in the running are Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (+175) and center Aleksander Barkov (+285). Below, we’ll take a closer look at full Conn Smythe Trophy odds, along with the award’s recent history.
Conn Smythe Trophy odds
Here are the current top favorites to win this season’s Conn Smythe Trophy. The award goes to the player deemed most valuable to his team during the NHL playoffs, and you’ll find lines to wager on the award at NHL betting sites during the postseason.
Sergei Bobrovsky
The Panthers’ goaltender has been a key to the team’s success throughout this year’s NHL playoffs. He’s giving up just 2.2 goals per game through this postseason and has logged a .903 save percentage despite facing more shots than all but two goaltenders. Against Edmonton, a team with the second-highest goals per game average in the playoffs, strong play in net will be key to Florida’s chances.
Connor McDavid
The leading scorer in these playoffs, McDavid has been the favorite to win this award for most of the postseason. He’s an offensive force for Edmonton and a major difference-maker in the points for and points against categories when he’s on the ice. If the Oilers win the Stanley Cup, it will likely be due to continued heroics from McDavid in the finals.
Aleksander Barkov
Barkov has been an impact player on both ends of the ice for the Panthers all season and well into the playoffs. He just won his second Selke Trophy, given to the NHL’s best defensive forward, and he’s also second on the team in points this postseason. Facing an offensive powerhouse like Edmonton, the Panthers will need strong defensive play. If Barkov can help shut down the Oilers’ scoring machine en route to a Cup victory, he has a good chance of adding the Conn Smythe to his trophy case this year.
Matthew Tkachuk
Tkachuk is a leader physically and emotionally for this Panthers squad. He leads the team in points in this year’s playoffs, and his aggressive style of play will be important in helping the team set a tone against an Oilers squad that’s loaded with scoring threats.
Leon Draisaitl
While he may look like a longshot on the odds board, Draisaitl has been a consistent player for the Oilers all postseason. He’s second on the team in playoff goals and comes into the finals only three points behind the team leader McDavid. If Florida focuses on shutting down McDavid, that could leave more scoring opportunities for Draisaitl.
Evan Bouchard
Bouchard is third on his team in playoff goals and second in assists. More notable is the fact that he’s +14 through the postseason, better than any other Oilers player. He doesn’t get as much attention as McDavid or some of Edmonton’s other top scorers, though. It’s hard to stand out on a team like this, which could hurt his odds at the trophy even with an Oilers win.
Recent Conn Smythe Trophy history
Unlike many other playoff MVP trophies, the NHL’s Conn Smythe goes to the player deemed most valuable to his team throughout the entire postseason — not just the final series. Centers have won the award more than any other position, notching 19 of the 58 trophies. Goaltenders are second with 17 Conn Smythe wins, but only one Conn Smythe Trophy in the last 10 years has gone to a net-minder.
The true rarity is the Conn Smythe going to a player on the losing team. It’s happened just five times since the award’s inception in 1965. The last time a player from the losing side won the Conn Smythe was in 2003, when Jean-Sebastien Giguere on the Anaheim Ducks took home the award.
How to watch the Stanley Cup finals
- Game 1: Saturday, June 8
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Broadcast: ABC/ESPN+
