Tip: Outright bet – Conn Smythe Trophy

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the player that has been the most valuable player for the team that wins the Stanley Cup. The NHL defines the award as follows:

The Conn Smythe Trophy is an annual award given to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs. The winner is selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the conclusion of the last game in the Stanley Cup Final.

The trophy was presented by Maple Leaf Gardens Limited in 1964 to honor Conn Smythe, the former coach, manager, president and owner-governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A total of fifty players have won the trophy, and the last ten years’ winners is following:

• 2022: Cale Makar, defenseman, Colorado Avalanche
• 2021: Andrei Vasilevskiy, goaltender, Tampa Bay Lightning
• 2020: Victor Hedman, defenseman, Tampa Bay Lightning
• 2019: Ryan O’Reilly, center, St Louis Blues
• 2018: Alex Ovechkin, forward, Washington Capitals
• 2017: Sidney Crosby, center, Pittsburgh Penguins
• 2016: Sidney Crosby, center, Pittsburgh Penguins
• 2015: Duncan Keith, defenseman, Chicago Blackhawks
• 2014: Justin Williams, forward, Los Angeles Kings
• 2013: Patrick Kane, forward, Chicago Blackhawks

Factors to take into consideration when to bet on a Conn Smythe Trophy winner

There is a lot of factors to take into consideration when to bet on a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and it is especially; which team is going to win the Stanley Cup? As the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy will be found in the winning team. If we check on the odds to win the Stanley Cup, it is Boston Bruins that are the biggest favorites after an impressive regular season where they were the team that collected the most points and therefore was awarded the President’s Trophy. The Bruins are, as earlier mentioned, the biggest favorites to win the Stanley Cup – as they did 2011 in when they defeated Vancouver Canucks in a seven game series. Can the team from Massachusetts repeat the same achievement as twelve years ago? It is likely if we check on the odds, as Unibet have these odds on Stanley Cup champions:

• Boston Bruins @ +325
• Colorado Avalanche @ +600
• Edmonton Oilers @ +700
• Carolina Hurricanes @ +1000
• Toronto Maple Leafs @ +1000
• Vegas Golden Knights @ +1200
• New Jersey Devils @ +1300
• New York Rangers @ +1400
• Dallas Stars @ +1500
• Tampa Bay Lightning @ +1900
• Minnesota Wild @ +2300
• Los Angeles Kings @ +2500
• Seattle Kraken @ +3000
• Florida Panthers @ +3500
• Winnipeg Jets @ +3500
• New York Islanders @ +4000

Boston are pretty clear favorites to win the cup, but it is a long way to go and they have a tough start in the playoffs as they have to defeat last year’s President’s Trophy winners, Florida Panthers, in the first round – and as my colleague Andreas Nord has brought up in the brilliant playoff guide, the Panthers has good opportunities to win at least a couple of games against the Bruins. Besides Boston, the reigning champions Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs are, according to the bookmakers, the teams with the best chances to stand as champions in June. That these teams are the favorites to win is reflected even in the odds on the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and if we check into the odds that Bet MGM have on the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, it looks like this:

• David Pastrnak, forward, Boston Bruins @ +1000
• Connor McDavid, center, Edmonton Oilers @ +1100
• Linus Ullmark, goaltender, Boston Bruins @ +1600
• Nathan MacKinnon, center, Colorado Avalanche @ +1800
• Brad Marchand, forward, Boston Bruins @ +1800
• Auston Matthews, center, Toronto Maple Leafs @ +2000
• Cale Makar, defenseman, Colorado Avalanche @ +2200
• Mitchell Marner, forward, Toronto Maple Leafs @ +2500
• Mikko Rantanen, forward, Colorado Avalanche @ +2500
• Igor Shesterkin, goaltender, New York Rangers @ +2800

Carolina Hurricanes – a Stanley Cup Contender?

I think, in accordance with the bookmakers, that the Carolina Hurricanes should be one of the biggest favorites to win the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes has a strong team both offensively and defensively, with competent goalkeepers and a smart head coach in the former Stanley Cup Winner Rod Brind’Amour, who has been the Hurricanes head coach since the start of the 2018/2019 season. If we look into what the Hurricanes has performed and achieved during the regular season, they are among the teams that has been one of the absolutely best in both ends. Offensively, Carolina has been one of the teams that created the biggest amount of goal scoring chances during the regular season, but was not as skilled when it came to converting goal chances into goals as there was fourteen teams that scored a bigger amount of goals during the eighty-two regular season games. Defensively, the Carolina Hurricanes has been even stronger, as they are the team that conceded the least amount of goal scoring chances and only Boston Bruins conceded fewer goals. Rod Brind’Amour possesses over a strong roster, and despite Andrei Svechinkov unavailable due to a season-ending knee surgery in march, the Hurricanes has a strong group of forwards with Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas in the lead and with experienced players in Paul Stastny and Jordan Staal. In the defense, that has been one of the absolutely best in the league this season, the Hurricanes has players suchs as Jaccob Slavin, Brent Burns, Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, and before the transfer window shut, the Hurricans acquired Shayne Gostisbehere from Arizona Coyotes.

Brent Burns – back in the same shape as the 2016/2017-season?

Above, I mentioned Brent Burns, as a strong part in the Hurricanes defense. The 38-year-old was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes before this season after eleven straight seasons with the San Jose Sharks. The Canadian defenseman has through his career been a vital part for both San Jose and for the Canadian national team, and was at his best during the 2016/2017 season when he won the James Norris trophy, which is awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL. In Carolina, Brent Burns has been a prominent player, and is the player that had most time on ice with 23:22 minutes on ice per game during the regular season, and has been an prominent player when it comes to the offensive game as he is the player in Carolina Hurricanes who shoots the most with over three shots on goal per game. If we look at scoring points, Brent Burns was only passed by Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho, and scored a total of 61 points (18+43) during the reular season. Burns is a vital part for both powerplay and boxplay, and I think that Burns is going to have a significant role for Carolina Hurricanes in this playoffs.

Conclusion and prediction

The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the player that has been the most valuable player for the team that wins the Stanley Cup, and I have a thought about who is going to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in June. In short: I think Brent Burns has good possibilities to be the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

Carolina Hurricanes has, in my opinion and based on the odds, good possibilities to be the Stanley Cup champions in June. Like I mentioned earlier, the Hurricanes has a strong team both offensively and defensively, with competent goalkeepers and a smart head coach in the former Stanley Cup Winner Rod Brind’Amour.

Brent Burns has been a vital and prominent player for Carolina Hurricanes, and will probably be the same in the playoffs. If Hurricanes lift the trophy, which is likely, I think Brent Burns has good possibilities to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.

My betting tip is therefore:

Conn Smythe Trophy winner: Brent Burns @ +8000 at BetMGM