Jordan Staal won the Conn Smythe for defense, not offense
The Carolina Hurricanes captured their second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history on Sunday night with a 3-0 Game 6 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
During the postgame ceremony, captain Jordan Staal was presented with the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the postseason after coming up huge for his team time and again while taking on difficult matchups.
Staal set a record for the longest goal streak to begin a Stanley Cup Final by tallying in the first five games of the series, but he finished the postseason with just 12 points in 19 games, making him the second forward to ever win the award with fewer than 16 points.
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen discussed why Staal receiving the honor of being named MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs was about far more than just his offensive contributions.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The other one is Jordan Staal, winning the Conn Smythe, becoming the oldest player in NHL history to capture a playoff MVP. It became clear that it was his trophy to lose when he scored for a fifth straight game. Like in Game 5 when he scores, you come out of that game and they’re up 3-2. His fingerprints are all over this series, he’s probably the guy. What did you make of the way Jordan Staal, what is it now, 17 years after winning his first Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh, he grinds it out, gets back… Not a guy who had the “C” on his chest and was just along for the ride, he was one of the biggest reasons that they’re winning this Stanley Cup.
Colby Cohen: Yeah, and you know what? I love the fact that for once, Tyler, they got it right, and that they didn’t just look at points, because not only did he score some big goals, and they made sure to talk about how he was the lowest-scoring guy to win it, but he erased the points from the other best players on the other side. I mean, look what he did in the face-off circle. Look what he did to give his team puck possession. Look at Jack Eichel’s zero goals, okay? You mean to tell me Jordan Staal doesn’t have his fingerprints all over that? I think they knocked this one out of the park… Jordan Staal is the right man. He was the MVP of this playoffs. He was the MVP of the biggest moments, and his contributions are not just the score sheet. They go far and above, beyond goals and assists.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…