If the NHL had a Finals MVP like bball - who would the past winners be?

[The Panther]

My hockey memories go back no further than early in the Oilers' dynasty.

I think 1984 is still Messier. And 1985 is still Gretzky, and 1986 is probably still Patrick Roy.

But I think 1987 wouldn't be Hextall. Maybe Grant Fuhr?

1988 is still Gretzky. 1989 is an interesting one---I think maybe MacInnis still wins it, but an argument could be made for Gilmour.

In 1990, I think Bill Ranford still wins, but an argument can be made for Craig Simpson. 1991 is still Lemieux for sure. Maybe a small argument for Barrasso, but since he got pulled for two periods, probably not. Again, Lemieux keeps it in 1992 as well (he was actually outscored by Tocchet in the Finals, but his 5 goals easily leads all players).

1993, I think it still goes to Roy even though I don't think he was overly great in this series. But there's no other individual who stands out enough to take it away from him.

1994 is still Leetch, though some argument for Richter.

1995 is a fun one because I don't think there's much chance for Claude Lemieux, right? So who wins it? Maybe Neal Broten at age 35? That would have been cool. Maybe Brodeur.

1996 would be Roy, not Sakic, right?

1997 could still be Vernon, as he did perform very well in the Finals. But good chance for Fedorov, too.

1998 I really don't know. Any thoughts?

 

[CokenoPepsi]

2010 should go to Kane (who should have won the CS anyway) with Keith runner up

 

[SillyRabbit]

Rantanen was the best Avalanche player in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.

 

[tinyzombies]

2010 should go to Kane (who should have won the CS anyway) with Keith runner up

 

[JackSlater]

View attachment 671866

The legend of playoffs Patrick Kane is generally quite a bit above actual Patrick Kane, playoffs or otherwise.

 

[JackSlater]

A few other finals...

1995 - I think Broten based on points and that his points tended to come at key moments, plus I trust media to vote for offence over defence. Stevens would have a solid chance though given how New Jersey choked the life out of Detroit.

2009 - Malkin comfortably.

 

[MXD]

Controversial take : In 2021, Vasilevskiy wouldn't (more like shouldn't) have won the Conn Smythe had only the finals mattered. It should've been Ryan McDonagh.

 

[jigglysquishy]

One of the weird quirks with the NBA voting is it almost always goes to best player on the team instead of just who had best finals. Like, a reputation award as much as anything. You don't see things like Claude Lemieux or Justin Williams winning it, though a lot of that comes down to the nature of basketball. When your stars play 75% of the game they impact it more than when they only play 35%.

So maybe you get Gretzky winning 4 times, Sakic 3, Toews 3, Crosby 3.

 

[JackSlater]

One of the weird quirks with the NBA voting is it almost always goes to best player on the team instead of just who had best finals. Like, a reputation award as much as anything. You don't see things like Claude Lemieux or Justin Williams winning it, though a lot of that comes down to the nature of basketball. When your stars play 75% of the game they impact it more than when they only play 35%.

So maybe you get Gretzky winning 4 times, Sakic 3, Toews 3, Crosby 3.

I think it's the nature of basketball rather than a difference in voting choices among media. As you said in basketball the stars play a much higher proportion of the game, plus hockey has so much less scoring that a few lucky bounces can give a random player an impressive looking point total over a small sample size. You do still get things like Iguodala winning it a few years back.

Looking at NBA finals MVP awards, the best player on the team has won it nearly every time since 1990, though before that it was spread around a lot more. Since 1990 only 2007 (Pierce), 2008 (Parker), and 2015 (Iguodala) were not the best player on their team. I guess you could argue someone other than Billups on the 2004 Pistons given how unique that team is among winners in not having a best in the league type player (since Rasheed Wallace wasn't interested in being among the best). In the 1980s alone the best player didn't win it 5 times, maybe 6 depending on when someone thinks Johnson and Abdul Jabbar exchanged status as LA's best player, and it happened several times in the 1970s as well. Very off topic but I think that sports writers became more obsessed with stars over time.

 

[Ishdul]

One of the weird quirks with the NBA voting is it almost always goes to best player on the team instead of just who had best finals. Like, a reputation award as much as anything. You don't see things like Claude Lemieux or Justin Williams winning it, though a lot of that comes down to the nature of basketball. When your stars play 75% of the game they impact it more than when they only play 35%.

So maybe you get Gretzky winning 4 times, Sakic 3, Toews 3, Crosby 3.

I would say that Iguodola winning was a bit like that, although he's still a very high level player. Also one of the worst choices the voters have ever made in my opinion.

I think it's the nature of basketball rather than a difference in voting choices among media. As you said in basketball the stars play a much higher proportion of the game, plus hockey has so much less scoring that a few lucky bounces can give a random player an impressive looking point total over a small sample size. You do still get things like Iguodala winning it a few years back.

Looking at NBA finals MVP awards, the best player on the team has won it nearly every time since 1990, though before that it was spread around a lot more. Since 1990 only 2007 (Pierce), 2008 (Parker), and 2015 (Iguodala) were not the best player on their team. I guess you could argue someone other than Billups on the 2004 Pistons given how unique that team is among winners in not having a best in the league type player (since Rasheed Wallace wasn't interested in being among the best). In the 1980s alone the best player didn't win it 5 times, maybe 6 depending on when someone thinks Johnson and Abdul Jabbar exchanged status as LA's best player, and it happened several times in the 1970s as well. Very off topic but I think that sports writers became more obsessed with stars over time.

Reputation wise I would throw in Kawhi's 2014 win as well. At that point he was seen as a solid player but was not a big time scorer and was seen as a good defensive player rather than one of the absolute best. Duncan and Parker would've been the "stars".

Also when it looked like the Spurs were going to win in 2013 there was plenty of speculation that Danny Green would win Finals MVP when he was shooting the lights out. So it can still happen, but just hasn't played out that way.

 

[ESH]

2010 - Duncan Keith

2011 - Tim Thomas

2012 - I personally would have given it to Doughty, but Quick still had a very strong series.

2013 - I thought Keith was pretty Chicago's best player in the Finals this year, he was the engine that the Blackhawks ran through. A beast on defense and automatic in transition, but only 2 assists I doubt he would get the votes. One of those performances you had to watch to understand.

2014 - Justin Williams. I think Doughty and Kopitar both deserved the Conn Smythe more, but they both had pretty mediocre Finals, while Williams led the series in scoring. Quick was also strong.

2015 - Still Keith. Crawford wouldn't have been a bad choice, but Keith was his usual dominant self.

2016 - I think Letang was the best player for the Penguins in the Finals. Martin Jones stood on his head that series though and was the best player on either team.

2017 - Crosby or Murray

2018 - Probably Kuznetsov

2019 - Ryan O'Reilly for sure. One of the only times I can remember a player really getting the better of the Bergeron line. Pietrangelo was really good too.

2020 - Brayden Point. Hedman was dominant for the first 3 rounds this year but he couldn't quite keep up that level all the way to the end.

2021 - Vasilevskiy still I guess. Nobody stuck out too much that round, the whole team just outplayed the Canadiens.

2022 - I could see it being any one of Rantanen, Makar, MacKinnon, or Nichushkin.

 

[JackSlater]

I would say that Iguodola winning was a bit like that, although he's still a very high level player. Also one of the worst choices the voters have ever made in my opinion.


Reputation wise I would throw in Kawhi's 2014 win as well. At that point he was seen as a solid player but was not a big time scorer and was seen as a good defensive player rather than one of the absolute best. Duncan and Parker would've been the "stars".

Also when it looked like the Spurs were going to win in 2013 there was plenty of speculation that Danny Green would win Finals MVP when he was shooting the lights out. So it can still happen, but just hasn't played out that way.

I considered including Leonard in 2014, but I do think that he was the best player on San Antonio yet even if that opinion was not yet widespread. Particularly so by the playoffs, where he was the team's best defensive player and its most efficient offensive option.

 

[McGarnagle]

I'd say Kane in 2013. Maybe Bolland for popping in the goals he did when he did, but my sense was that Kane was the menace who dominated the Bruins. At no point that series did I think that Corey Crawford was a differencemaker.

 

[GMR]

My hockey memories go back no further than early in the Oilers' dynasty.

I think 1984 is still Messier. And 1985 is still Gretzky, and 1986 is probably still Patrick Roy.

But I think 1987 wouldn't be Hextall. Maybe Grant Fuhr?

1988 is still Gretzky. 1989 is an interesting one---I think maybe MacInnis still wins it, but an argument could be made for Gilmour.

In 1990, I think Bill Ranford still wins, but an argument can be made for Craig Simpson. 1991 is still Lemieux for sure. Maybe a small argument for Barrasso, but since he got pulled for two periods, probably not. Again, Lemieux keeps it in 1992 as well (he was actually outscored by Tocchet in the Finals, but his 5 goals easily leads all players).

1993, I think it still goes to Roy even though I don't think he was overly great in this series. But there's no other individual who stands out enough to take it away from him.

1994 is still Leetch, though some argument for Richter.

1995 is a fun one because I don't think there's much chance for Claude Lemieux, right? So who wins it? Maybe Neal Broten at age 35? That would have been cool. Maybe Brodeur.

1996 would be Roy, not Sakic, right?

1997 could still be Vernon, as he did perform very well in the Finals. But good chance for Fedorov, too.

1998 I really don't know. Any thoughts?

Still Yzerman in 1998.

1999 - Belfour
2000 - Brodeur
2001 - Roy/Sakic
2002 - Hasek

I think the four best goalies of their generation dominate those Finals. Sakic in 2001 is also a strong choice with 9 points in 7 games. However, Roy had two shutouts and a .938%. He likely gets the Smythe.