The next Conn Smythe winner will be crowned on Monday night after the epic duel between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers finally comes to an end after a seven-game battle. While the Montreal Canadiens did not get anywhere near the playoffs this season, the franchise has had more than its fair share of playoff MVP winners. Let’s have a look at the ones who claimed the Trophy while playing up front.
Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden Clutch in Net
We could argue for a long time about who the Canadiens’ top goaltender was, but one thing’s certain these two would be in the conversation. Thankfully arguing for one or the other is not our purpose today; we can just revel in the glory of these two amazing goalies.
When anyone thinks about Ken Dryden, the first thing that comes to mind is his stoic pose in front of his net when the puck was in the opponent’s zone or play was stopped. He oozed confidence in that pose, and it could be intimidating.
When he won his only Conn Smythe, he played in all 20 games the Canadiens played and had a 12-8 record, posting a 3.01 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Those numbers — especially the GAA — might not seem impressive but remember goaltenders had much smaller equipment back then. Having played just six games before the playoffs, the outstanding goaltender was still a rookie when the following season started and to no one’s surprise, he won the Calder Trophy awarded each year to the NHL’s best rookie. He remains the only rookie to have won the Conn Smythe Trophy before the Calder.
Related: Canadiens’ Ken Dryden – Truly One of a Kind
Dryden had a short hockey career; having won everything he left to seek new challenges in the legal field, later becoming a politician and a successful writer. He has written tons of hockey books, and if you have not read them, I highly recommend Game Change: The Life and Death of Steve Montador and the Future of Hockey which talks about the fact the game needs to change if players are to remain healthy.
As for Patrick Roy, he led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups they had no business winning and without “Saint-Patrick” they would still be stuck on 22 Cups. Just like Dryden, he was a rookie when he conducted the Canadiens to their 23rd Cup with a 15-5 record, a 1.93 GAA, and a .923 SV%. It was an amazing performance that he still managed to beat in the 1993 Cup run.
If fans think of Dryden’s pose when they think of him, they think of Roy’s wink on Tomas Sandstrom when “Casseau” is invoked. It was in the 1993 Cup Final when the Canadiens took on Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. Roy was so solid in that postseason that Montreal won 10 overtime games in a row, a record which is unlikely to be beaten. It’s quite an impressive feat as well, it takes 16 wins to win the Stanley Cup and the Canadiens won 10 of those in OT, meaning 63% of their victories were acquired in overtime. It takes nerves of steel to manage that.
In those playoffs, Roy posted a 16-4 record with a 2.13 GAA and a .929 SV%, numbers that are even more impressive when you realize he faced 647 shots that postseason when he had only faced 504 in the 1986 conquest (a difference of 143 shots). No wonder Roy is known as a “money player” who always showed up when the stakes are at their highest.
Roy went on to win two more Cups in his career with the Colorado Avalanche and he also captured another Conn Smythe. To this day, he remains the only player to have won it with two different teams and to have won it three times.
Sergei Savard & Larry Robinson
The Conn Smythe trophy has been awarded since 1964 and so far 29 forwards, 17 goaltenders only 12 defensemen have won it. Two of those 12 times were players of the Montreal Canadiens; Serge “The Senator” Savard and Larry “Big Bird” Robinson.
Both were members of the Canadiens’ dominant 1970s dynasty and were also part of the “Big Three” – perhaps the best trio of defensemen any team ever had in the NHL. Guy Lapointe was the third member of the unit and together they were the pillars of the dynasty.
All too often the Norris Trophy is awarded to the defenseman who produced the most points, something I find tremendously annoying, there is so much more to being a blueliner than getting on the scoresheet. In 1969 however, when Savard won the Conn Smythe, he was 11th in playoff points, and yet his defensive acumen was considered worthy of the award.
As for Robinson, he won his Conn Smythe in 1978 and he did it by tying Guy Lafleur for the most points scored in those playoffs. Both scored 21 points (four goals and 17 assists for “Big Bird,” as his teammates and the media used to call him.) He went on to take part in two more Stanley Cups with the Canadiens before signing with the Kings as a free agent in 1989.
Meanwhile, Savard took part in two more Stanley Cup wins, those of 1986 and 1993. He wasn’t on the ice, though — he was in the general manager’s office pulling the strings.
Jean Beliveau
“Le Gros Bill” had the distinct honor of receiving the first-ever Conn Smythe Trophy in 1965. After the Canadiens had won the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Black Hawks, it was Jean Béliveau’s turn to receive some hardware: the Conn Smythe Trophy. Even though he was second in points to Bobby “Golden Jet” Hull, it was the Canadiens’ captain who got the nod.
Béliveau’s illustrious career lasted 20 years, including 10 as the team’s captain. He was a leader on and off the ice and can be credited with starting the Canadiens’ visit to sick kids in hospitals around Christmas. Today, he remains fourth in games played with the franchise, third in goals scored, second in assists, and second in points, trailing only Guy Lafleur.
He didn’t win another Conn Smythe, but it doesn’t mean his trophy case wasn’t full. He also won the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer once, the Hart as the league’s most valuable player twice, and the Stanley Cup 10 times.
Yvan Cournoyer
Montreal’s very own little speedster, nicknamed “The Roadrunner,” won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1973. Yvan Cournoyer had 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points, one point more than his nearest competitor, Dennis Hull from the Black Hawks. However, regarding goals, his closest rival only had 10 to his 15.
Just like Beliveau, he has 10 Cups to his name. In 968 games with the Canadiens, he gathered 428 goals which gives him the fourth place in Canadiens’ history and he sits in sixth place in points with 863. The right winger also found his way on the top 100 NHL players of all time and in Eric Engels’ Canadiens all-time dream team for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Aside from his accomplishments in the NHL, Cournoyer can also be remembered as the player who scored the tying goal in the eighth game of the Canada-USSR series in 1972, also known as the Series of the Century or the Summit Series. It’s thanks to his goal that Paul Henderson had a chance to score the series-winning goal.
Unfortunately, his career was cut short by a herniated disc. He had an operation with mitigated results, which forced him to retire shortly thereafter.
Bob Gainey
The best defensive forward in the history of the game, Gainey even had a trophy invented for him: the Selke Trophy. The left winger won the first four Frank J. Selke Trophies and also captured the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1979. He won the trophy that year even though he only had 16 points and four players had at least 20 (Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, Don Maloney, and Phil Esposito). His defensive performance was recognized as he helped the Canadiens oust two of the top five scoring teams from the regular season.
Related: Montreal Canadiens’ Conn Smythe Trophy Winners
On their path to the Stanley Cup, the Canadiens held the Boston Bruins to two goals or fewer in four of the seven games. Against the New York Rangers, he stifled Maloney and Esposito, who only scored three points each in the seven games the Stanley Cup Final lasted.
It’s quite rare to see a defensive performance by a forward be rewarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy. Most of the time, it’s all about the goals scored and the points gathered. That’s how remarkable Gainey’s defensive performance was; he defended so well and constantly that he just couldn’t be ignored.
Guy Lafleur
Last but not least, “Flower” or “Le Demon Blond” for the French speakers, Lafleur captured the Conn Smythe Trophy in the 1977 Playoffs. The right winger led all players in points with 26 points (14 goals and 9 assists), finishing the playoffs with a plus-20 rating.
That year, on top of the playoffs MVP Trophy, he also claimed the Lady Byng, the Hart, the Art Ross and Lester B. Pearson Trophies. He was selected for the first All-Star Team, which is hardly surprising considering he had 136 points in 80 games that season, the best of his career.
Lafleur was pushed to retirement by coach Jacques Lemaire, who diminished his ice time and essentially made him quit. He was 33 when he left the ice and retired for the first time. Then the Canadiens organization offered him a low-level office job, which he eventually quit as well before returning to the NHL with the Rangers in the 1988-89 season. When he returned to the Forum with the Rangers, he scored twice against Patrick Roy as if to show the organization he could still dominate in the NHL, but the Canadiens still won the game 7-5.
You don’t have to wonder who would have won the Conn Smythe Trophy if the Canadiens had won the Cup Final in 2021. Carey Price’s name could have been etched on it following the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. When will the Canadiens get there again and who will be a candidate for the MVP trophy at that point? That’s pretty hard to say right now, but I’ve got a suspicion it won’t be a goaltender now that Montreal no longer runs their goalie until exhaustion and hope for the best.
