Only one voter didn't pick McDavid for the Conn Smythe Trophy

Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

As he has done many times throughout his NHL career, Connor McDavid made history last night.

Despite coming out on the losing end of the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers captain won the Conn Smythe Trophy. It isn’t at all what he wanted, as he and his Edmonton Oilers teammates fell one win short of their ultimate goal.

However, McDavid became just the second skater (Reggie Leach, 1976) to win the Conn Smythe in a losing effort. He’s just the sixth NHLer to ever accomplish the feat, with the four others being goaltenders Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Ron Hextall, Glenn Hall, and Roger Crozier.

McDavid finished the playoffs with 42 points in 23 games, which, to most, made him a lock for the Conn Smythe. One voter, however, saw things differently.

ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark was the only voter to not have McDavid as the leader for the Conn Smythe, instead choosing to go with Sergei Bobrovsky. Some traditionalists will view it as a reasonable decision, as they believe the award should go to the winning team. If that’s your perspective, his choice certainly makes sense, as Bobrovsky was phenomenal for the Panthers all postseason.

McDavid wound up with 16 first-place votes, while Clark gave him a lone second-placed vote.

Here’s the Conn Smythe voting from the @ThePHWA.

I haven’t had a vote for the Conn Smythe for at least the last seven seasons — yeah, I don’t know either — but my ballot would have been:

1. McDavid
2. Barkov
3. Bobrovsky pic.twitter.com/89YdOFEgNl

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 25, 2024

Despite winning the award, McDavid chose not to come out onto the ice to accept it, which has drawn criticism from some fans. The 27-year-old was undoubtedly dejected by the loss but still shared some quick thoughts on his first Conn Smythe win.

“Obviously it’s an honour, given the names that are on that trophy,” a shrugging McDavid said.

While the Conn Smythe Trophy will certainly help add to the legacy of McDavid’s career, he has still yet to win a Stanley Cup. This loss will weigh on his and his teammates’ minds for some time but may help serve as the extra motivation they need to win it all next year.

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