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Each year the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Just as during the regular season with their Player Power Rankings, Hockey Prospectus will use its metric analysis to measure which postseason player is most deserving of the coveted award.
These rankings are based on player production in terms of Hockey Prospectus' GVT valuation metric. If you are unfamiliar with GVT and how it works, you can find more here.
Should the Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup tonight, we could very well see a rarity -- a member of the losing team claiming the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Based on GVT, Bruins goalie Tim Thomas towers over other Conn Smythe contenders in such a way that it should provide serious pause to anyone thinking the award should go to a member of the winning team just because that has so often been the case. Only once since 1987 has a player from the losing team won the award, Jean Sebastien Giguere in 2003. Could it happen again? Thomas certainly looks like a deserving candidate.
Conn Smythe Watch
These rankings are based on postseason games through June 12.
Legend:
OGVT: Offensive GVT
GGVT: Goaltending GVT
DGVT: Defensive GVT
GVT: Total GVT
Rank Player OGVT/GGVT DGVT GVT
1. Tim Thomas, G, Boston Bruins 13.9 0.0 13.9
Comment: It's not even close. Thomas has been excellent in all four rounds, with a .937 save percentage including a spectacular .965 in the finals. Whether Boston wins or loses, he should win the Conn Smythe.
2. David Krejci, F, Boston Bruins 5.0 0.1 5.0
Comment: Krejci took over the playoff scoring lead in goals and points during Boston's 12-goal festival in Games 3 and 4, and his five points in the finals lead both teams.
3. Nathan Horton, F, Boston Bruins 3.1 0.6 3.7
Comment: Horton is clearly out of the running for the Smythe due to his injury, but he remains second on his team in goals and plus/minus and third in points.
4. Ryan Kesler, F, Vancouver Canucks 2.9 0.6 3.4
Comment: Kesler injury rumors continue to swirl, especially now that he only has four points in his last 10 games, but he continues to lead Canucks forwards in ice time.
5. Patrice Bergeron, F, Boston Bruins 2.8 0.5 3.2
Comment: Other players in these playoffs have matched Bergeron's 18 points or his plus-10, but none have both and none have his 61 percent faceoff winning percentage.
6. Alex Burrows, F, Vancouver Canucks 2.5 0.7 3.2
Comment: Burrows' overall scoring numbers are good, but his playoff performance will be remembered more for his timely goals, especially the OT winners in Game 7 against Chicago and Game 2 against Boston.
7. Kevin Bieksa, D, Vancouver Canucks 1.4 1.3 2.6
Comment: Bieksa continues to do the hard work for Vancouver, leading the team with 25:32 of ice time per game and 3:06 of short-handed ice time. He also leads all defensemen with five playoff goals.
8. Daniel Sedin, F, Vancouver Canucks 2.9 -0.3 2.5
Comment: Sedin has certainly been trying in the finals, with 20 shots in five games, but his nine even-strength points in 23 games (0.39 per game) are down by almost half from the regular season (0.76 per game).
9. Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver Canucks 2.4 0.0 2.4
Comment: Luongo's 12-goal sinkhole in Games 3 and 4 will take him out of serious Conn Smythe contention, but he has bounced back convincingly, and he won Games 1 and 5 of the finals almost single-handedly.
10. Henrik Sedin, F, Vancouver Canucks 2.7 -0.5 2.2
Comment: Sedin's 19 assists still lead the playoffs, but he has no points and a minus-3 in the finals with only four shots in five games.
A version of this story originally appeared at ESPN Insider  .
Tom Awad is an author of Hockey Prospectus.
You can contact Tom by clicking here or click here to see Tom's other articles.
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