SUNRISE, Fla. — Ballots revealed Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was the near unanimous winner of the 2024 Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs, selected by a panel of Professional Hockey Writers Association members on Monday night.
McDavid garnered 16 of a possible 17 first-place votes to become the first skater to win the Conn Smythe in a losing fashion since Philadelphia’s Reggie Leach in 1976. With 42 points in 25 games, McDavid assaulted the record books, posting the most points in a single postseason since Evgeni Malkin’s 36 in 2008-09.
Over the course of the Oilers’ 64-day slog toward Stanley, McDavid broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most assists (34) in one playoff, became the first player to collect back-to-back four-point games in a Stanley Cup Final, both of which were elimination games, and laid claim to the best era-adjusted playoff run of all-time. He tied for the third-most points in one Stanley Cup Final series despite being held off the scoresheet in Games 6 and 7.
Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers skaters Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling finished second and third in voting, respectively, while Sergei Bobrovsky, Carter Verhaeghe and Edmonton’s Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard and Stuart Skinner also appeared on ballots.
Barkov, Forsling and Bobrovsky all presented compelling cases for the Conn Smythe, but none were able to truly distinguish himself from his teammates in what was a true ‘team’ effort. McDavid finished 20 points ahead of Barkov in the playoff scoring race.
Monday marked the sixth instance in the 58 times the Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded that a player from the losing team accepted the award. McDavid joined Anaheim’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003), Ron Hextall (1987), Leach (1976), Glenn Hall (1968) and Roger Crozier (1966).
In the interest of full transparency, the PHWA has once again revealed each individual ballot from all 17 voters:
2024 Conn Smythe Trophy Ballots
| Voter | Outlet | First | Second | Third |
| Jonathan Bernier | Journal Montréal | McDavid | Barkov | Verhaeghe |
| Per Bjurman | Aftonbladet | McDavid | Barkov | Bobrovsky |
| Ryan S. Clark | ESPN | Bobrovsky | McDavid | Barkov |
| Josh Clipperton | Canadian Press | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| Luke Fox | Sportsnet | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| François Gagnon | RDS | McDavid | Barkov | Skinner |
| Colby Guy | Palm Beach Post | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| Chris Johnston | The Athletic | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| Emily Kaplan | ESPN | McDavid | Barkov | Bobrovsky |
| Pierre LeBrun | The Athletic | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| Jim Matheson | Postmedia | McDavid | Hyman | Bouchard |
| Jordan McPherson | Miami Herald | McDavid | Barkov | Verhaeghe |
| Daniel Nugent-Bowman | The Athletic | McDavid | Barkov | Bouchard |
| Michael Russo | The Athletic | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| Frank Seravalli | Daily Faceoff | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
| Mark Spector | Sportsnet | McDavid | Barkov | Skinner |
| Stephen Whyno | Associated Press | McDavid | Barkov | Forsling |
Voting Point Totals
Connor McDavid, Edmonton: 83 points
Aleksander Barkov, Florida: 46 points
Gustav Forsling, Florida: 8 points
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida: 7 points
Zach Hyman, Edmonton: 3 points
Evan Bouchard, Edmonton: 2 points
Stuart Skinner, Edmonton: 2 points
Carter Verhaeghe, Florida: 2 points
Points were awarded on a 5-3-1 basis and the deadline to submit ballots to the NHL occurred with 10 minutes remaining in Game 7.