Mitch Marner had 29 playoff points on a losing club in the Stanley Cup Final and received 6 Conn Smythe votes. Six.
That number is an insult that’s disguised as a participation ribbon.
Of the 21 ballots, he only received 4. Not at all. Once as runner-up, three times as third place choice. Logan Stankoven, a Carolina forward from the winning club, received 17 votes. 6 went to Marner. Just consider that for a moment.
The comparison is far from fair. Stankoven plays on the Cup champions. He was surrounded by Jordan Staal, Taylor Hall, Nikolaj Ehlers. Of course he looks good. Marner was the best player on the side that lost.
Across 22 playoff games he scored 10 goals and added 19 assists. That’s 29 points, the most productive playoff run of any player who did not win a ring this June.
He also went plus-11 for the playoffs. On a team that just lost the final in six games.
Marner was the only Vegas player anyone even bothered to vote for.
Not one other Vegas Knights skater received a single Conn Smythe point. Not Jack Eichel. No, not Mark Stone. There is no one.
Seventeen of 21 voters either left Marner off completely or placed him in third, despite the fact that he was shouldering a franchise.
Sunday night’s Game 6 was not his finest hour. He had three shots on goal in a 3-0 loss and finished minus-3 without scoring. However, a single terrible game at the conclusion of a two-month playoff run shouldn’t diminish everything that came before.
This is comparable to judging a starting pitcher solely on the one inning he allowed rather than on the seven outstanding innings he had before that. Context is crucial. Apparently, the voters were not in agreement.
The playoffs revealed everything that his regular season had already confirmed. 80 points in 81 games, a plus-17 rating, and 19 power play assists. The man has no off button.
Winners have always received the Conn Smythe. That’s not a secret. But getting six points for a player who logged 29 in the playoffs and was the only Vegas representative on any ballot is unfair.
After the game, Rod Brind’Amour claimed that Jordan Staal had finally been revealed to everyone. Equal. Staal was excellent, netting six goals in the final alone. The prize was due to him.
That does not mean Marner deserved to be treated like a footnote.
At $12 million against the cap, he is the fifth-highest-paid player in the NHL. Vegas lost in six. The votes were cruel. The pressure next season will be something else entirely.
Whether the organization builds around him or moves on, that Conn Smythe slight will follow the narrative all summer.
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