The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs depend on their last two teams as the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers met for the second straight season to lift the Holy Grail. One player in the series will win the NHL playoff MVP to win Conn Smythe.

Mikko Rantanen leads Conn Smythe Maththe in the last two rounds of voting. But he's gone, and so is the Dallas Star, which means the new leader of the NHL playoff MVP.

We asked over twenty nationals and beat the Stanley Cup final writers to name their top three MVP candidates after three rounds. Collect and list votes before the first game of the Stanley Cup final.

Remember that in the NHL, Conn Smythe is based on the performance of players throughout the playoffs, not just the championship game. The award was voted by a group of 18 people from the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Current MVP leader

McDavid won Conn Smyth's last playoff with a failed effort. Based on his lead with the Florida rematch award, he could win again—whether the Oilers win or lose.

McDavid took over the lead from Rantanen, ranking third in our voter vote before the finals. He is the only player to appear in every vote we collect and he ranks first in 71% of the games. Every vote without McDavid put him second in the first place.

The Edmonton star made it to the final with 26 points (6 goals and 20 assists) in 16 games. He baked the stars with points in every game, eliminating Dallas's total of nine points in five games. Two of the goals ended up becoming the champions of the game, even though the Oilers beat the stars with a 19-5 victory.

"McDavid won me in the last series," one voter revealed.

Last playoffs, McDavid became the second non-target in NHL history, winning Conn Smythe with a failed effort as the Oilers fell into the Panthers in Game 7. Now, he is trying to be the fourth player of all time and the first since Sidney Crosby (2016-17) - winning a series of Conn Smith Trophys.

Given his current level of voter support, it is possible that he will win the second consecutive playoff MVP award in a failed effort. But this may be the last thing McDavid wants to experience again.

Another favorite

If it weren't for McDavid, "The Playoff Bob" might have the Conn Smith's internal track on his Florida Panthers teammates.

Bobrovsky scored .912 and 2.11 goals in the playoffs. He had a savings percentage of .920 or higher in four of the five games the Panthers played against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals — his statistical worst game was eliminating the cane in their Game 5. That was his only game in the last nine games, dating back to the second round against Toronto, in which Bobrowski gave up more than two goals. Bobrovsky tied for three games with Edmonton's Stuart Skinner to lead the playoffs.

Bobrovsky is the second choice for our voters, thanks to Conn Smythe’s four firsts.

“If Florida wins, I think it’s because Bob is great,” one voter explained, he’s second.

Balkov led the Panthers with 17 points in 17 games, including six goals. In Game 5 against Carolina, you can witness your influence as Bakov is a single trailer and then assists in racing late in the third phase. The Panthers scored 57% of the goals, and when Barkov entered the puck 5-5, 57% of the expected goals.

The captain of Florida first came the one vote we collected and showed up with 63% of all votes. Actually, this is more than Bobrovsky (58%), but Bob has a higher position.

For its value: Despite not finishing No. 1, Balkov ranked second in the vote last season.

Making a case

Draisaitl has the best support from any player outside the top three, but there is a clear gap between him and Barkov. Draisaitl appeared in 42% of the votes we collected, but received only one vote.

The Oilers star is one point behind McDavid, with 25 to 16 games, scoring more goals in the playoffs than McDavid. If Draisaitl gains dominance in the Stanley Cup final and Edmonton wins the Cup, he will have the potential to beat McDavid with MVP.

One voter believes that one voter who puts Leon outside the top three said: "This should be the top four."

Bennett is the obvious third choice for the Panthers. He appeared in 20% of the votes we surveyed and received two votes. Like Draisaitl, his team scored only one point ahead (16 points in 17 games).

Bennett leads the playoffs with 10 goals and is the Panthers' physical strength in every series. As an unlimited free agent, the Conn Smythe trophy will do wonders for his money-making potential.

On the storm

Evan Bouchard, D, Edmonton Oiler
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F, Edmonton Oilers
Seth Jones, D, Florida Black Panther
Brad Marchand, LW, Florida Black Panther

Bouchard is the only player in this level of vote, and they are all third votes. He tied for fifth in the playoffs, which was easy to get the biggest defensive player in the playoffs, with 13 of them scoring strong. He led all the oilers teams in average ice time (25:01 per game) and skated to 9.

The rest of the players received only one vote.

Nugent-Hopkins ranked third in the Oilers, scoring 18 points in 16 games. He won the first quarter of the second game and defeated the stars.

Jones scored seven points in 17 games with the Panthers and skated to nine points. While he technically protested with Niko Mikkola for the second time, Jones led Florida with an average ice time per game of 24:59.

Eventually, Marchand scored 14 points in 17 games in the roster, which made his trademark hustle, excitement and offense make his career a Stanley Cup final. He also scored the Panthers' most important goal in the playoffs: downgrading Toronto 2-0 in the series in Game 3 overtime.

But one voter used Markand's illusion of captivity as a choice under the radar. The Florida winger announced that he scored 13 points in 17 games.

Lack of buzz

Stuart Skinner, G, Edmonton Oiler
Sam Reinhart, F, Florida Black Panther
Matthew Tkachuk of Florida Panthers RW
Carter Verhaeghe, LW, Florida Black Panther

According to ESPN BET, these players won the top ten MVP before the Stanley Cup final. However, no one voted on any of the votes we investigated.

Tkachuk (16 points in 17 games) and Verhaeghe (14 points in 17 games) are both one of the Panthers' leading scorers, with Verhaeghe scoring two wins in the playoffs. Verhaeghe appeared on a Conn Smythe vote in last playoffs, while Tkachuk did not. Reinhart was behind them, scoring 13 points in 15 games, and missed several games against Carolina due to his injury.

Skinner is perhaps the biggest reminder that Conn Smythe is the overall prize for the playoffs. Skinner has been incredible since his reset, sitting on the bench before Pickard was injured against Vegas in the second round. Due to Game 4 against the Golden Knights, Skinner's savings percentage was 0.944, with an average score of 1.41 and an average score of 1.41.

Can the MVP work hard in the Stanley Cup final balance Skinner struggle early in the playoffs? Maybe. But then he still had to overcome McDavid's playoff MVP. Based on the votes we received, McDavid has now escaped the matter.