Latest news with #pre-StanleyCupFinal
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Stanley Cup Final MVP Odds: Connor McDavid To Win Conn Smythe Trophy?
Edmonton star Connor McDavid is the odds-on favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second time in as many years. Edmonton star Connor McDavid is the odds-on favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second time in as many years. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. It will come as no surprise to hockey fans that Edmonton star Connor McDavid is favored to win the 2025 Conn Smythe Trophy, which is given annually to the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After all, McDavid won the award a year ago despite Florida beating Edmonton for the Stanley Cup trophy in seven games. He became the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy while playing for a team that did not capture the Stanley Cup. After a seven-game marathon between the Panthers and Oilers a year ago, Edmonton -- which has home ice after having to play last year's series-deciding Game 7 on the road -- is the slight betting favorite this year. Conn Smythe Trophy Odds: McDavid Favored DK FD bet365 Connor McDavid +110 -105 +100 Sergei Bobrovsky +250 +280 +260 Aleksander Barkov +550 +600 +550 Leon Draisaitl +750 +800 +750 Matthew Tkachuk +2500 +2600 +2500 Sam Bennett +3000 +2600 +2800 Stuart Skinner +5000 +4900 +3300 Conn Smythe Trophy Betting Analysis, Picks The case for McDavid is self-explanatory. Unless you don't give Edmonton a real chance to win this series, he's a solid bet right now, especially at +110 at DraftKings. Best* Conn Smythe Bet: Connor McDavid (+110 at DraftKings) *We should probably call McDavid the "safest" Conn Smythe bet instead of the "best" one given how obvious it is, but either way, that's our first recommendation here. As we saw in this matchup last year, anything can happen when the Panthers and Oilers get together, but the opportunity to take McDavid at plus-money is hard to pass up -- have we mentioned that he won the award last year despite his team losing the series? There are several other intriguing options, though. The fact that McDavid is just one of four players whose pre-Stanley Cup Final Conn Smythe odds are 8-to-1 or shorter across the board shows that he's no lock. If Florida wins the Stanley Cup, the odds indicate that either goalie Sergei Bobrovsky or Aleksander Barkov -- who just earned his second straight Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) -- will probably win the Conn Smythe Trophy. But between McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and its underrated supporting cast, Edmonton just has too much firepower for me to recommend Bobrovsky, especially at shorter than 3-to-1 odds. On the Florida side, Sam Bennett -- who enters the Stanley Cup Final as the NHL playoff leader with 10 goals -- tands out to me as the best value bet to win this award at +3000 at DraftKings. The Panthers' balance makes it hard to predict who will score the goals for them. Still, it's hard to deny that Bennett -- who has scored almost as any playoff goals as his team's second and third-leading scorers combined (Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe have both scored six goals) -- offers incredible upside at 30-to-1 (DK) to win the Conn Smythe. Best Conn Smythe Longshot Bet: Stuart Skinner (+5000 at DK) If there's a non-McDavid Oiler worth backing to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, it might be 26-year-old goalie Stuart Skinner. There's some value here based on line-shopping, if nothing else, as bet365 lists Skinner at just +3300 as of June 4. He's had an up-and-down playoffs. He was benched after two rough outings vs. the Kings to start the playoffs. But after his backup, Calvin Pickard, got injured in the second round, Skinner was solid in his return to action against both Vegas in the conference semis and Dallas in the conference finals, with three shutouts in his last seven games. Skinner also boasts an impressive save percentage (.944) and goals-against average (1.41) in his last seven appearances. If he can stay hot in a low-scoring series win over a Florida team that has reached back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, he could absolutely steal some Conn Smythe votes, if not the trophy itself, from McDavid. Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator's terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
‘I bleed for the Florida Panthers,' Aaron Ekblad says, but free agency looms after Cup Final
The Florida Panthers are all Aaron Ekblad has known since he began his NHL career. It's the team that selected him No. 1 overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Level Draft, the team that has invested 11 years in him, the team he saw go from playing through plenty of lean years to finally breaking through as perennial playoff contenders to finally becoming Stanley Cup champions. And now comes a thought Ekblad has been hoping wouldn't come — the thought that his time with the Panthers might be coming to an end. Ekblad is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, meaning his tenure with the Panthers very well could be over after the Stanley Cup Final — a rematch with the Edmonton Oilers that begins Wednesday at 8 p.m. from Edmonton's Rogers Place. The 29-year-old defenseman said he's trying not to look at what might happen just yet; that would be a disservice to himself and his teammates as they try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. But when that time comes, when this series concludes, he already knows what he would want in a perfect world. 'Listen, this team, I live and breathe for the Florida Panthers,' Ekblad said Tuesday at the Panthers' pre-Stanley Cup Final media day session. 'I bleed for the Florida Panthers. I've given my body and everything to this team, and I want to keep doing it forever, for as long as they'll let me come to the rink.' This is the first time Ekblad has played a season without a guaranteed contract already in place for the following year. He started his career on a standard three-year entry-level contract and signed an eight-year, $60 million extension two years into his Panthers tenure that went through this season. In that time, Ekblad established the franchise's defenseman records for games played (732), goals (118), assists (262) and points (380). He has battled through multiple injuries the past few years to remain in form as a top-pair defenseman, forming one of the top blue line duos in the league with Gustav Forsling, and taking more responsibility on the defensive side of the game after entering the league known more for his offensive production. 'We've played so many games together,' Forsling said. 'We know each other so well. He's an amazing player. He's been great for us, and we're hopefully gonna keep it going here.' Ekblad came into the season knowing full well he was probably 'just going to ride it out and see what happens' in regard to his contract, as he told the Miami Herald during training camp. He had watched how several of his teammates had done the same during the past couple years and gotten rewarded — Sam Reinhart and Forsling being two prime examples. 'You never know what's going to happen,' Ekblad said then. What happened for Ekblad was, in his words, a 'roller coaster.' He played well when he was on the ice, producing 33 points (three goals, 30 assists) in 56 games. But it was the reason he missed time that raised some flags. In addition to missing eight games in a nine-game stretch in January with a lower-body injury, Ekblad was suspended 20 games without pay for violating the terms of the NHL and NHL Players Association's performance-enhancing substances program. That included the final 18 regular-season games and the first two games of this playoff run. Ekblad called the suspension 'the toughest' thing he has been through in his career. 'There's so many ways you look at it,' Ekblad said. 'Respect and integrity and character, family, name, my teammates, fans. It's every single which way you look at it. The money that I lose on top of all that — not that I care about in that sense; I'd give it all back to play. A lot of regret, but is what it is, and I have to find a way to move forward.' Ekblad has moved forward and returned to form in the playoffs. He has 11 points in 13 postseason games, most among Florida's defensemen, and has played stellar on the defensive end as well. He has been a key factor in the Panthers getting back to the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive year and having a chance to win it all once again. But will he and the Panthers be moving on after that? Time will tell. Money will certainly play a factor in things. Florida is slated to enter the offseason with $19 million in cap space and only 16 players under contract (not counting restricted free agent Mackie Samoskevich). In addition to Ekblad, center Sam Bennett is also a pending free agent and will be due a hefty pay raise from his current deal that is paying him an average of $4.425 million per season. It could be a tight squeeze unless Ekblad takes a pay cut for Florida to keep both and still fill out the rest of the roster. Regardless, Ekblad has embraced the learning experience of playing through this season. 'You're playing for your life,' Ekblad said, 'and I'm happy to be in this situation now. It's been a fun experience playing in a contract year. I'm happy with the way things are going.'
