Did Connor McDavid deserve to win the Conn Smythe Trophy?

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid took home a trophy at the end of the Stanley Cup Final Game Seven in Sunrise, Florida Monday night; but it wasn't the trophy he has dreamed about winning since he was a kid. McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy awarded "to the most valuable player for his team in the playoffs," even though his team did not hoist the Stanley Cup.

There have been only five other players that won the playoff MVP who lost in the Cup Final, McDavid becoming the sixth. He is the first skater though, since 1976 when Reggie Leach won the trophy with the Philadelphia Flyers (I am sure it helped Leach with the sting of the MVP win but Cup loss as the Flyers won the Cup the season prior in 1975!). The four other recipients of the Conn Smythe without the Cup honors were netminders.

Imagine how torn you would feel emotionally; it's like an oxymoron. You win MVP but don't win the ultimate prize? How does that make sense? Unfortunately for McDavid, it makes sense that he could still attain this honor without winning the Cup. He is the best in the game and although his team fell short at the last possible moment, in game seven, they would not have made it this far if it wasn't for his All-Star, MVP-style play.

McDavid scored 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 games. Incredible! Only two other skaters have scored more points than this in the post-season; just a couple of guys named Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, ever heard of them?! McDavid did pass "The Great One" on an NHL history list this post-season too, breaking his playoff assists record during back-to-back four-point outings versus the Panthers (while saving the Oilers from Stanley Cup Final elimination in the process).

Connor McDavid was a huge reason the Oilers were able to climb out of a three-game hole and make one last run into game seven, the chance was still there on Monday afternoon for the Oilers to end a 31-year drought of a Canadian team becoming Stanley Cup Champs.

In this Finals series, McDavid had 11 points (three goals, eight assists). He wore his heart on his sleeve, dangled and dazzled the puck like he always does, was in constant battle with Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, and played almost the entirety of the third period of game seven; because there was still a chance until the final buzzer

I understand the casual fan who starts watching the NHL only once post-season action starts may not agree that he should have won. The argument could be valid; he was held off the score sheet in Games 6 and 7. The 16 of 17 first-place votes for McDavid from the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Conn Smythe race would disagree though. He was the clear pick.

There could have been an argument for "Bob," Panthers two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky who stood on his head blocking pucks left and right through most of the playoffs; redemption from losing in the Final last year to the Vegas Golden Knights was on his mind. But, slipping in games four to six of this Final likely cost him the extra hardware to pair with his new, shiny Stanley Cup win.

It doesn't seem "right" for the MVP to not win Lord Stanley's Cup, but it was deserved. There will be those that agree and those that don't, but the playoff numbers don't lie.

McDavid's trophy case just got one more piece, and I would bet that he is keeping an empty spot for the Cup because this is not the last we have seen of Connor McDavid in the Stanley Cup Final, I can assure you that.