You can make a good argument that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel deserved the Conn Smythe Trophy, after he led his Stanley Cup-winning squad in scoring. But you can't make the argument that Sidney Crosby, the Conn Smythe winner, didn't deserve the hardware.
For all the talent on Pittsburgh, the Pens are Crosby's team. As he goes, they go. And by all accounts, No. 87 was on a mission this spring to win his second career Cup and cement himself as one of the greatest to ever play the game.
Make no mistake: He is unquestionably one of the best of all time, as evidenced simply by the company he now keeps.
Winners of Both Hart Memorial & Conn Smythe Trophies, NHL History:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 13, 2016
Beliveau
Crosby
Gretzky
Lafleur
Lemieux
Malkin
Messier
Orr
Sakic
Trottier
While Kessel outscored Crosby in the playoffs, Crosby's statistics are strong, and his two-way game doesn't show up in the box score.
Going back to 2006, here are the Conn Smythe Trophy winners and their statistics. The table below does not include three goalies who have taken home the trophy in the past 11 years - Cam Ward, Tim Thomas, and Jonathan Quick.
| Year | Player | Playoff Points | Cup Final Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Crosby | 19 (6G 13A) in 24 GP | 4A in 6 GP |
| 2015 | Duncan Keith | 21 (3G 18A) in 23 GP | 3 (1G 2A) in 6 GP |
| 2014 | Justin Williams | 25 (9G 16A) in 26 GP | 7 (2G 5A) in 5 GP |
| 2013 | Patrick Kane | 19 (9G 10A) in 23 GP | 5 (3G 2A) in 6 GP |
| 2010 | Jonathan Toews | 29 (7G 22A) in 22 GP | 3A in 6 GP |
| 2009 | Evgeni Malkin | 36 (14 G 22A) in 24 GP | 8 (2G 6A) in 7 GP |
| 2008 | Henrik Zetterberg | 27 (13G 14A) in 22 GP | 6 (2G 4A) in 6 GP |
| 2007 | Scott Niedermayer | 11 (3G 11A) in 21 GP | 2A in 5 GP |
Even based on his production, Crosby was deserving. And the above doesn't take into account the fact that the San Jose Sharks scored only 12 goals in six games, and that Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Patrick Marleau were all completely shut down in the final.
And now, Crosby's won it all. Two Stanley Cups. One Conn Smythe. Two Olympic gold medals. The Hart Trophy, twice. World Championship gold. World Junior gold. There's nothing left, but more Cups and more Conn Smythes.
