Connor McDavid wins Conn Smythe as Oilers fall short in Stanley Cup Final

For the first time since 2003, for the first time for a non-goalie since 1976 and for only the sixth time, the playoff MVP was not among the jubilant celebrators. Edmonton forward Connor McDavid was awarded the Conn Smythe for his excellence in the playoffs, almost single-handedly bringing the Oilers back from the brink after they were down 3-0 in the series to force Game 7.

But after coming two goals away from the ultimate dream, after nearly pulling off a fairytale ending for the ages in the building where the Oilers drafted him nine years ago, McDavid was nowhere to be found as a staff member took away his trophy. .

Minutes earlier, when a dejected McDavid met with the media, the summary of his feelings was simple.

“It sucks,” McDavid said. “It sucks.”

Perhaps more than any other sport, hockey is known for dismissing individual achievements in favor of team results. There’s nothing more antithetical to a hockey player than accepting a major individual honor after your team suffers a devastating loss.

McDavid, as Edmonton’s captain, remained on the ice long after the final horn sounded, waiting for all of his teammates to cross the handshake line with the Panthers before finally following them into the tunnel. When NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took the microphone to announce the Conn Smythe winner, McDavid was long gone.

With 42 points in 25 playoff games, McDavid finished fourth on the all-time list; only Wayne Gretzky (twice) and Mario Lemieux have recorded more points in a single playoff series. McDavid’s 34 assists broke Gretzky’s record of 31 from 1988.

The Conn Smythe is voted on by a panel of media members from the Professional Hockey Writers Association; The Washington Post does not vote on price. Polls were scheduled to take place with 10 minutes remaining in Game 7, and McDavid was chosen almost unanimously – only one voter did not place him first on the ballot.

“He’s the greatest player to ever play, in my opinion,” said Leon Draisaitl, McDavid’s Oilers teammate. “So many things a lot of people don’t see, his work ethic. He single-handedly transformed our franchise. I love sharing ice cream with him. He’s just a really, really special person.

McDavid was held in check in the final two games of the Finals, but his back-to-back four-point efforts in Games 4 and 5 brought Edmonton back to life. His 10 points in six games against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final put the Oilers in position to play for the Stanley Cup. And his nine points in seven games against the Vancouver Canucks took Edmonton past the second round for only the second time since he joined the team in 2015.

“You think about the year Connor had: 100 assists, he led our team, the performance he had in those playoffs, especially in that final round where we were down three games to zero and then he comes out with eight points in two games,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Yes, he’s our leader, he’s our best player, and obviously everyone wanted to win it for the team, and we obviously would like to do it (for) him, the captain of our team. I can’t say enough about what he offers, his leadership and what he does on the ice.

Even Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, immediately after realizing every hockey player’s biggest dream, remained in awe of his counterpart on the other side of the ice.

“He’s probably the most talented hockey player I’ve ever seen in my life,” Barkov said. “Obviously I’ve never played against Gretzky, but I can imagine he’s something similar.”

Maybe one day, with hindsight and distance from the immediate pain, McDavid will be proud to have been the playoff MVP. But for now, returning to Edmonton with Conn Smythe in tow – instead of the trophy the Oilers wanted to bring home – only serves as a reminder that he gave everything he had and that was still not enough.

“There’s no player in the world that wants to win the Stanley Cup more than him,” Draisaitl said. “He does everything right, every day, just to win one day. It’s really hard to see him sad and disappointed at the end.