Conn Smythe Award Favorites Update

The team a bettor thinks will win the Stanley Cup is likely the best guide or direction to go in if you haven’t placed a future wager on the Conn Smythe Award, which goes to the MVP of the playoffs. However, your NHL matchup predictions or current NHL team stats aren’t the only factors to consider when putting your money down. Let’s take a look at three players that are worth a look at but for various reasons.

Take Two Shots With Bruins but Not With Who You Think

There are very few that don’t think the Boston Bruins are the best team in hockey and will likely find themselves in the Stanley Cup Final. Right now, David Pastrnak and Linus Ullmark are the Conn Smythe Award favorites, which makes sense with Boston being the Cup favorite.

The Bruins’ success will likely be because of massive contributions from each. We agree that Ullmark is worth a wager at +650, but is there another Bruins that should be receiving some consideration? It was a couple of seasons ago when Jake DeBrusk (+5000) wanted out of Boston, but a coaching change from Bruce Cassidy to Jim Montgomery compelled the top-line winger to stay in Boston where he put up 27 goals in just 64 games. His goal total was second on the team alongside Patrice Bergeron who also put up 27, in 14 more games while receiving more ice time.

Boston leads the Florida Panthers, 3-1, in their best of seven largely because of DeBrusk’s five points after a two-goal effort against the Panthers in game four. The 26-year-old is in the prime of his career and should keep up his scoring pace. Should Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci continue to battle injuries, you can bet that Montgomery will be leaning on Pastrnak more.

Oilers, Stars First Round Struggles Make Wager Difficult

The Dallas Stars are tied 2-2 against the Minnesota Wild, while the Edmonton Oilers are once again finding it difficult to put away the Los Angeles Kings (2-2). This poses a problem for bettors who want to back Connor McDavid at (+1000), Roope Hintz (+3500), or Jake Oettinger (+3500).

Neither of their teams is guaranteed to get out of the first round even though both teams are considered robust Stanley Cup contenders. For the record, we think both teams will eventually find their way out of the first round, but a second issue arises for a McDavid, Hintz, or Oettinger Con Smythe wager.

It’s always best to not only pick the team that a bettor thinks will win the Cup but which team will have the easier path getting there. Rest is a major factor in winning this award. Even if both teams advance, it looks like the Oilers will have to go through the Vegas Golden Knights, while the Stars could be up against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.

This isn’t an example of the easy path we were hoping for. Perhaps either the Stars or Oilers get to the final, will they have a better chance to beat a Boston Bruins team that may have one six-game series under their belt at the most?

We Do Love Long Shots

Among the Conn Smythe Award favorites, we also want to have a player that isn’t an obvious choice. First, we have to admit that the Colorado Avalanche’s chance to have a Conn Smythe winner is remote because we just don’t think they’re good enough to win another cup even though they have two players, Nathan MacKinnon (+1300) and Mikko Rantanen (+1800) in the top 10 of Conn Smythe Award favorites.

Both Mitchell Marner (+1100) and Auston Matthews (+1100) will eventually do what the Toronto Maple Leafs do and that’s get bounced out of the postseason despite another terrific regular season. How about we put some faith in Jack Eichel (+1600) as our long-shot wager? Eichel is being paid a lot of money to be the scoring leader for the Vegas Golden Knights, and he was, but I’m guessing 66 points isn’t what GM Kelly McCrimmon had in mind.

So far Eichel has three goals and an assist after four games with the Winnipeg Jets, a series Vegas leads 3-1. This will be the perfect chance for Eichel to silence his doubters once and for all, and at +1600 the Vegas winger is worth a shot.

That does it for our update on the Conn Smythe Awards favorites, and a few underdogs. We wish you the best the rest of the way.

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