Jennifer Beals posing with
the Conn Smythe Trophy at the 2011 NHL Awards at Palms Casino Resort
in Las Vegas on June 22, 2011.
What is the Conn Smythe Trophy?
The Conn Smythe Trophy is
awarded annually to the player judged most valuable to his team during
the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs. The Conn Smythe
Trophy has been awarded 46 times to 40
players since the 1964–65 NHL season. Each year, at the conclusion of the final game of the Stanley
Cup finals, members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association
vote to elect the player deserving of the
trophy. The trophy is handed out
prior to the presentation of the Stanley Cup by the NHL commissioner.
Unlike the similar MVP awards
presented in the other major professional sports leagues
of the United
States
and Canada (the Super Bowl MVP, the NBA Finals MVP,
and the World Series MVP), the Conn Smythe is based on the entire
NHL postseason instead of just the championship game or series.
Image Credit: © Erik Kabik/
RETNA/ erikkabik.com
