The Florida Panthers successfully defended their Stanley Cup, and along with their Cup celebrations, Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP thanks to his 15 playoff goals.
Bennett was a longshot to win the Conn Smythe before the Finals began with +2600 odds per FanDuel. But in sports, anything is possible.
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2025 Conn Smythe Trophy Winner: Sam Bennett
Sam Bennett has pushed and shoved (and maybe sometimes elbowed) his way to the top of the Conn Smythe odds board. Bennett was a thorn in the side of every opponent the Panthers faced in their run to a Stanley Cup, not only for his pesky and physical play but for his knack for scoring a timely goal. The center led the playoffs in goals with 15 and scored a point in all but one game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
He might have controversially gotten away with a few goalie interference calls, and in the Finals, any advantage gained is worth it. Bennett's mastery of the dark arts alongside his production made him the standout as playoff MVP.
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Conn Smythe Trophy Betting Handle & Data
Thanks to our friends at BetMGM Sportsbook, we know that books were relieved to see Bennett hoist the Conn Smythe. Their biggest liability going into the Finals was Connor McDavid.
Most-Bet Player (Total Bets)
- Connor McDavid 8.7%
- Mikko Rantanen 7.1%
- Sergei Bobrovsky 6.2%
Most-Bet Player (Total Money)
- Mikko Rantanen 13.2%
- Frederick Andersen 8.8%
- Connor McDavid 8.5%
Conn Smythe Trophy Betting
If you think regular futures betting is tough, try selecting not only the winning team, but the highest-performing player from that roster. It may seem as simple as selecting the team's best player, but the problem is that Stanley Cup-caliber squads have multiple best players.
| Year | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sam Bennett | Florida Panthers |
| 2024 | Connor McDavid (C) | Edmonton Oilers* |
| 2023 | Jonathan Marchessault (RW) | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 2022 | Cale Makar (D) | Colorado Avalanche* |
| 2021 | Andrei Vasilevskiy (G) | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 2020 | Victor Hedman (D) | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 2019 | Ryan O’Reilly (C) | St. Louis Blues* |
| 2018 | Alexander Ovechkin (LW) | Washington Capitals |
| 2017 | Sidney Crosby (C) | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 2016 | Sidney Crosby (C) | Pittsburgh Penguins |
The Conn Smythe Trophy might be for the "playoff MVP," but voters typically only vote for Champions; they don't care about anything that happened outside of the Stanley Cup Finals. So, hold onto your Conn Smythe bets until the field is whittled down.
But, once you reach the Finals, a safe bet is always on the highest scoring player. Two of the last three Conn Smythe winners were the leading scorer in the playoffs; the exception was Marchessault, but he was only one point back of playoff scoring leader Jack Eichel.
Conn Smythe: Little Love For Losers
A Stanley Cup Final loser has won the Conn Smythe only six times. Only two skaters have ever won it. Reggie Leach in '76, who had 11 more goals than the next-best player, and now Connor McDavid in '24 with 10 more points than anyone in the playoffs.
The six Final losers to win the Conn Smythe:
- 1966 - Roger Crozier (Detroit Red Wings)
- 1968 - Glenn Hall (St. Louis Blues)
- 1976 - Reggie Leach (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 1987 - Ron Hextall (Philadelphia Flyers)
- 2003 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
- 2024 - Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)
