{"id":133992,"date":"2022-12-10T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2022-12-10T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=133992"},"modified":"2022-12-10T04:06:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T09:06:20","slug":"top-conn-smythe-snubs-since-2000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/12\/10\/top-conn-smythe-snubs-since-2000\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Conn Smythe Snubs Since 2000"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Stanley Cup is the greatest trophy in all of sports. It is what players dream of. And when a team wins it all, the expression on their face says it all. They are living out their dreams. But another trophy is given out; the Conn Smythe Trophy. This award is given to the most valuable player of that respective team. In some cases the trophy goes to the player that did not deserve it the most, creating fun controversy amongst fans. Today we take a look at the top Conn Smythe snubs since 2000.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Conn Smythe Snubs Since 2000<\/h2>\n

Hockey has been around for almost a century. In addition to that, the Stanley Cup is the oldest trophy in all of sports. We take a dive into the more recent time period of players who were snubbed of being most valuable to their team, and there were definitely some players more deserving than the ones who won it.<\/p>\n

Martin Brodeur- 2003<\/span><\/h4>\n

In most cases the team that wins the Stanley Cup has a player from that team win the award. But in 2003, that changed as Jean Sebastian Giguere went on to capture the prize despite losing in Game 7. Granted, Giguere was the MVP player for the underdog Anaheim Ducks. He had a 1.62 GAA, .945% save percentage, and five shutouts. His remarkable play was prior to the finals. He only allowed one goal to the Minnesota Wild, and only allowed six goals to the defending Champion Red Wings. This isn’t to take away from him, but it was an award that Martin Brodeur<\/a> should have won. <\/span><\/p>\n

Marty was just as sensational as his counterpart. It’s actually insane that the guy has never won the award or been looked at as the better goalie in the finals. Brodeur was lights out for the New Jersey Devils<\/a> in this postseason. Brodeur owned a 1.65 GAA, .934% save percentage, and had seven shutouts. And of those seven shutouts, he shut out the Ducks three times including Game 7. No opponent in that playoff year averaged more than two goals against him. <\/span><\/p>\n

Phil Kessel-2016<\/span><\/h4>\n

If there was one year for someone not named Sidney Crosby<\/a> to win the award, it was this year. And for some reason, Crosby did end up winning the award. However, it was Phil Kessel<\/a> who was the team’s best player in that cup run. Granted he had only three more points than Crosby but was still far more impactful. Yes, the award is handed out based on playoff performance, but if you dive down years prior, the guys that won factored in the finals. Crosby did not have a goal in the finals, But Kessel had one goal and four points. Kessel also went on to lead the team in goals (10), including five on the powerplay. Think about it like this; if Crosby led the team in points and in goals would he have won unanimously? If the answer is yes then the award should have gone to Kessel, who led the team in goals as well as points (four ahead of both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin<\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n

Corey Crawford-2013<\/span><\/h4>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>