CHL alumni headline Conn Smythe Trophy favourites in Stanley Cup Playoffs
They are now halfway home.
With the first two rounds of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs now in the books, 80 CHL graduates remain as the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vegas Golden Knights look to hoist Lord Stanley.
Among the four clubs, a worthy candidate due consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason has emerged:
Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
The backbone of the Canadiens’ lineup, the big-game netminder has been often unbeatable through 12 games this postseason, coming up with eight wins while allowing just 26 goals in the process, good for a 2.15 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
The native of Williams Lake, B.C., was particularly dominant in quarterfinal action versus the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, closing out the seven-game set with three consecutive victories in which he turned aside a combined 109 shots to help the Canadiens claim their first opening-round victory since 2015. Not yet finished, the winner of the 2015 Hart and Vezina trophies once again came up big as Montreal closed out the Winnipeg Jets in a four-game sweep to claim North Division supremacy. In three of four contests against Winnipeg, Price allowed two or fewer goals, highlighted by a pivotal 30-save shutout in Game 2 that then saw the Canadiens return to home ice with a two-game edge.
Appearing in four full seasons with the Tri-City Americans that counted 193 career contests from 2002-07, the future Olympic gold medalist was dominant over his time in the junior ranks, highlighted by the 2006-07 campaign that saw him find the win column on 30 of 46 nights combined with a 2.45 goals-against average and .917 save rate to earn recognition as the CHL Goaltender of the Year.
Carey Price is in playoff mode. 😤 https://t.co/CMF0l2bZXb
— Tri-City Americans (@TCAmericans) May 25, 2021
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – New York Islanders
On a team chock full of skilled two-way talents and best known for its defensive prowess, the Islanders pivot stands out from the pack, marked by his team-leading 13 points counting three goals and 10 assists through 14 appearances that includes a three-point night to begin postseason play.
For Pageau, where he has been most impressive though has been his ability to excel at even strength, with all but two of his points coming during five-on-five play, highlighted by an astounding plus-11 rating that stands second to only teammate Scott Mayfield among all players to have competed in this year’s postseason. Closing out the favoured Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins in six games apiece to advance to the third round for the second-straight year, Pageau is one of the Islanders’ most relied upon forwards, entrusted with nearly 18 minutes of ice time a night while playing in all situations and helping New York become the last team standing in the East Division.
Skating three seasons with the Gatineau Olympiques and Chicoutimi Sagueneens from 2009-12, the Ottawa native was a solid offensive contributor over 175 career contests in which he collected 80 goals and 95 assists for 175 total points, highlighted by a team-leading 79-point finish in 2010-11 before he then added another 29 points in the Olympiques’ run to the President Cup Final.
That's a big Jean-Gabriel Pageau (@JGPageau) goal for the @NYIslanders! #StanleyCup
🇺🇸: https://t.co/UN9ysM2BuC @NHLonNBCSports
🇨🇦: https://t.co/7lzFnthtSH @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/pwPfXHaiAZ— NHL (@NHL) May 16, 2021
Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
Missing the entirety of the 2020-21 regular season after undergoing hip surgery, the Lightning’s gifted goal scorer has not shown any signs of rust in his return to the ice, leading all playoff performers with an incredible 22 points counting five goals and 17 assists in only 13 games.
With their sights set on back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, and the first club to do so since the Penguins in 2017, the Lightning with Kucherov in tow handled their first two playoff opponents in the cross-state rival Florida Panthers as well as the Central Division-winning Carolina Hurricanes in a combined 11 games. For Kucherov, who wrapped up the 2020 postseason with a chart-topping 34 points, the Russian-born forward has continued where he left off, putting up three points in the series-opening contest against the Panthers that then stretched to a four-game point streak and totaled three goals and six assists. In all, the former Art Ross Trophy winner has recorded at least one point in all but two games this postseason, highlighted by six multi-point efforts.
Spending a lone season in the QMJHL in 2012-13, the dynamic winger made the most of it, seeing a combined 33 games with the Quebec Remparts and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in which he tallied 29 goals and 34 assists for 63 points before adding another 24 points through 14 postseason appearances.
Nikita Kucherov (@86Kucherov) joined a trio of @HockeyHallFame members by adding three assists to his total from the last two playoffs. #StanleyCup
(Via @PR_NHL) #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/w9sudb5NNi
— NHL (@NHL) June 16, 2021
Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights
A three-time Stanley Cup champion, the veteran goaltender has aims of adding a fourth league title to his mantel, doing so with the upstart Golden Knights who have advanced to the final four for the third time since their 2017 inception.
Following a dominant regular season where he came up with a 26-10-0 showing through 36 appearances, coupled with a .928 save percentage, 1.98 goals-against average, and six shutouts, the longtime netminder earned his first-ever nomination for the Vezina Trophy, presented to the league’s Goaltender of the Year. That strong play has now carried into the postseason where through 13 appearances the Sorel, Que., native has put up near-identical statistics, while coming away with nine wins that counts eliminations of the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche to capture West Division glory, including four consecutive versus the Avalanche after the club initially dropped its first two contests against the favoured squad. Should the Golden Knights continue their winning ways and ultimately reach the finish line, the 36-year-old Fleury will become just the 13th goaltender in league history to have won four or more Stanley Cups.
Selected atop the 2003 NHL Draft, Fleury spent his formative years with the Cape Breton Eagles from 2000-04, counting 151 games over four seasons in which he recorded 63 career victories and earned league-wide acclaim including a QMJHL-best .915 save percentage in his sophomore season followed by a spot on the league’s Second All-Star Team in his third year.
🌸 For the third consecutive year, Marc-Andre Fleury has won Save of the Year in the #NHLFanChoice Awards!!! 🌸 pic.twitter.com/waUz02ngTf
— 🏆 – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 15, 2021