The Conn Smythe Trophy went untouched on Monday evening. That is as a result of its winner, Connor McDavid, was within the Edmonton Oilers locker room following a 2-1 loss in Recreation 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Closing.
McDavid was sensible within the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He put up gaudy numbers that the NHL hasn’t seen since Wayne Gretzky was carving up the remainder of the league. McDavid’s heroics in Video games 4 and 5 had been in all probability the one purpose we reached a Recreation 7 within the first place.
And but, McDavid may solely watch as rats rained down onto the Amerant Financial institution Area ice and the Florida Panthers celebrated their first Stanley Cup in franchise historical past.
That is the character of the NHL playoffs. They’re merciless, and sometimes the most effective gamers on the earth stroll away empty-handed, however this loss may sting slightly greater than normal for McDavid.
Think about the best way the Oilers started the 2023-24 season. On American Thanksgiving, the everyday barometer for playoff contenders, the Oilers had been 5-12-1. Their 11 factors had been just one greater than the Chicago Blackhawks and 4 greater than the San Jose Sharks, the 2 groups on the prime of the 2024 NHL Draft.
On account of that sluggish begin, Edmonton fired head coach Jay Woodcroft and changed him with Kris Knoblauch, who coached McDavid when he was enjoying for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
After that, the Oilers went on a tear with McDavid main the best way. Edmonton went 46-18-5 with Knoblauch behind the bench, and McDavid completed the season with 100 assists to go together with his 32 targets. These numbers made McDavid a Hart Trophy finalist, and he may win that award, too.
Nearly as good as McDavid was within the common season, there have been occasions all through the postseason when he was even higher. In Recreation 1 of the primary spherical in opposition to the Los Angeles Kings, McDavid made an announcement by posting 5 assists.
The Oilers celebrity started the playoffs on a seven-game level streak, totaling two targets and 15 assists in that span. In his group’s series-clinching win over the Dallas Stars within the Western Convention Closing, McDavid got here up clutch with a aim and an help.
After the Oilers fell right into a 3-0 gap in opposition to the Panthers, all McDavid did was put up back-to-back four-point video games to select his group up off the mat.
As he was driving Edmonton on its deep postseason run, McDavid was climbing the NHL report books. His 34 assists are an all-time report for a single playoff season. The remainder of the highest 5? Wayne Gretzky (3 times) and Mario Lemieux.
McDavid’s 42 factors within the 2024 playoffs rank fourth all time. I am going to prevent the difficulty of guessing the three gamers forward of him. It is Gretzky (twice) and Lemieux.
Nonetheless, that place in historical past in all probability is not the one McDavid hoped to tackle Monday evening. These NHL information and the Conn Smythe Trophy are small consolations for the best way the season ended.
McDavid did not report a single level within the final two video games of the Stanley Cup Closing, and he got here the size of the crease away from tying Recreation 7. Late within the third interval, McDavid had Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky down and out when Gustav Forsling tied up his stick simply earlier than McDavid may slide the puck into the online.
That makes this an especially bitter ending to an in any other case great 12 months for McDavid. His response when requested about profitable the Conn Smythe Trophy, one of many NHL’s most prestigious trophies, made that clear.
“Clearly, I assume, an honor with the names on that trophy however yeah,” McDavid trailed off earlier than fielding the following query.
After all of the dazzling performances and record-setting level totals, McDavid got here up one sport in need of hockey immortality. Tomorrow, these numbers will return to zero, and he’ll have to begin yet again subsequent season.
Nobody questioned McDavid’s excellence coming into these playoffs, they usually definitely should not query it now. Posting Gretzky-esque stats and changing into simply the second skater ever to win the Conn Smythe as a member of the shedding group is not one thing we should always take with no consideration.
The one lingering query for McDavid after this postseason is, “When?”
