The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are well underway, so let's look at who's favored to win the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP per Sportsbook.
2025 Conn Smythe Trophy Odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Mikko Rantanen | +600 |
| Connor McDavid | +750 |
| Leon Draisaitl | +1100 |
| Frederik Andersen | +1500 |
| Sebastian Aho | +1500 |
| Jake Oettinger | +1600 |
| William Nylander | +1600 |
| Seth Jarvis | +2100 |
| Andrei Svechnikov | +2200 |
Odds as of May 8 from Sportsbook
2025 Conn Smythe Trophy Odds Favorite: Mikko Rantanen
Mikko Rantanen has been stuck in beast mode since Game 5 against the Colorado Avalanche. The Finnish forward ended that series against the Avs with an insane 12 points in seven games, including a third-period hat-trick in Game 7 against Colorado. Add another hat-trick against Winnipeg in Game 1 of the second round, and Mikko now has 14 points in his last four playoff games!
Rantanen leads the league in playoff points and goals. That production has pushed the Stars past the Colorado Avalanche in round one and has Dallas ahead of the Jets in round two. That's what you call MVP-level stuff.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2015 | Duncan Keith (D) | Chicago Blackhawks |
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)
