2012 Stanley Cup Predictions: Conn Smythe Trophy Favorites, Dark Horses and Sleepers

2012 Stanley Cup Predictions – Conn Smythe Trophy Favorites, Dark Horses and Sleepers: Unlike other professional sports, the NHL doesn’t hand out an MVP award for its championship series. Instead, the Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded to the player that is deemed to have been the most valuable player to their team throughout the postseason. Of course, making the finals is a prerequisite to being in the conversation, but five of the 46 winners of the Conn Smythe have been on the losing end in the Stanley Cup finals. With the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings set to battle for a title, a new name is about to be added to the list of winners of the prestigious awards.

The Favorites – 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy Odds, Picks and Predictions

If the Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup, goalie Jonathan Quick will almost certainly win the Conn Smythe Trophy. He has been nothing short of spectacular in the postseason, compiling a 12-2 record. His 1.54 goals against average and .946 save percentage have him on pace for one of the greatest playoff runs in net in recent memory. Quick has shut down high-powered offenses and outdueled other hot net minders along the way. In fact, he has been so good that he could still win the Conn Smythe even if the Kings lose a close series.

He has been a one man wrecking crew on offense for New Jersey, and Ilya Kovalchuk has been worth every penny the Devils paid him. He has seven goals and 11 assists in the postseason, leading all players with 18 points. Kovalchuk has been particularly deadly on the power play, scoring five of his seven playoff goals. Scoring goals against Los Angeles has been tough, but Kovalchuk has the versatile offensive game to carry the Devils to a Stanley Cup. If he does, he will likely add a Conn Smythe Trophy to his resume.

He will have to have a huge series in a Los Angeles win to rip the Conn Smythe away from Jonathan Quick, but Dustin Brown has been the Kings top offensive weapon during their surprising playoff run. He has seven goals and nine assists, and more importantly, he has been the master of clutch goals. Brown has hit three game winners already, and a few more in the Stanley Cup finals could earn some hardware. The fact that he is also a physical force on defense will only help his chances.

The Dark Horses – 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy Odds, Picks and Predictions

Surprisingly, Martin Brodeur has never won a Conn Smythe Trophy despite being the cornerstone of three New Jersey Stanley Cup-winning teams. He even lost out on the award despite posting three shutouts in the 2003 finals. The future Hall of Famer is certainly past his prime, but he has turned back the clock for a bit during New Jersey’s run to the finals. If he has one more strong series left in him and outduels the red hot Jonathan Quick, Brodeur could add a fourth Stanley Cup and his first Conn Smythe to his legendary list of accomplishments.

He will need to be the best player on the ice from start to finish if he wants to win the Conn Smythe, but Los Angeles center Anze Kopitar has enough talent to do just that. Kopitar has been a distributor first, but he can be an explosive scorer when he needs to be. With six goals and nine assists in the postseason already, he hasn’t been a slouch by any means. However, he has some work left to do to overtake his teammates Jonathan Quick and Dustin Brown on the pecking order of candidates on the Kings’ roster.

Sleeper Special – 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy Odds, Picks and Predictions

Thanks to a serious injury, New Jersey’s Travis Zajac entered the playoffs with just six points. Well, he already has 12 points in the postseason, scoring seven goals and five assists. More importantly, two of his goals have been game winners. Zajac was a relative unknown entering the postseason, but he is quickly making a name for himself. Big names don’t always win the Conn Smythe, and if Zajac can continue to score clutch goals and be a big factor in New Jersey winning the Stanley Cup, he has a chance.

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