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The 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs are down to their final two teams, as the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers meet for the second straight season for the right to lift the chalice. One of the players in this series is going to win the Conn Smythe as NHL postseason MVP.

Mikko Rantanen led the Conn Smythe Watch over the past two rounds of voting. But he’s gone, and so are the Dallas Stars, which means there’s a new leader for NHL postseason most valuable player.

We asked more than two dozen national and beat writers covering the Stanley Cup Final to name their top three MVP candidates after three rounds of play. Ballots were collected and tabulated before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Keep in mind that in the NHL, the Conn Smythe is based on a player’s performance during the entire postseason, not only the championship round. The award is voted on by an 18-person panel of Professional Hockey Writers Association members.


The current MVP leader

McDavid won the Conn Smythe last postseason in a losing effort. Based on his lead for the award heading into that rematch with Florida, he might win it again — whether the Oilers win or lose.

McDavid takes over the lead from Rantanen, moving up from third on our voters’ ballots before the conference finals. He’s the only player to appear on every ballot we collected, and he was ranked first overall on 71% of them. Every ballot that didn’t have McDavid first had him ranked second.

The Edmonton star enters the Final with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 16 games. He roasted the Stars with points in every game, and nine points total in their five-game elimination of Dallas. Two of those goals ended up being game-winners, although the Oilers outscored the Stars by a 19-5 margin in their wins.

“McDavid won me over in the last series,” one voter revealed.

Last postseason, McDavid became the second non-goalie in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe in a losing effort, as the Oilers fell in Game 7 to the Panthers. Now, he’s trying to become the fourth player ever — and the first player since Sidney Crosby (2016-17) — to win consecutive Conn Smythe Trophies.

There’s a non-zero chance he could win a second straight playoff MVP award in a losing effort, given his current level of support from voters. But that’s probably the last thing McDavid wants to experience again.

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McDavid: Everybody stepped up in series win

Connor McDavid reflects on the Oilers heading back to the Stanley Cup Final to play the Florida Panthers.


The other favorites

If it’s not McDavid, “Playoff Bob” might have the inside track for the Conn Smythe over his Florida Panthers teammates.

Bobrovsky has a .912 save percentage and a 2.11 goals-against average in the playoffs. He had a save percentage of .920 or better in four of the Panthers’ five games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals — his worst game statistically was in their Game 5 elimination of the Canes. That’s the only game of his past nine appearances, dating back to the second round against Toronto, in which Bobrovsky had given up more than two goals. Bobrovsky is tied with Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner with three shutouts to lead the postseason.

Bobrovsky was the clear second choice by our voters, thanks to four first-place votes for the Conn Smythe.

“If Florida wins, I assume it’ll be because Bob is amazing,” explained one voter who had him second.

Barkov leads the Panthers with 17 points in 17 games, including six goals. Look no further than Game 5 against Carolina to witness his impact, as Barkov was a one-man forecheck before assisting on the series-clinching goal late in the third period. The Panthers score 57% of the goals and generate 57% of the expected goals when Barkov is on the ice at 5-on-5.

Florida’s captain was first on one ballot we collected and appeared on 63% of all ballots. That’s actually more than Bobrovsky (58%), but Bob had the higher placements.

For what it’s worth: Barkov was second to McDavid in the Conn Smythe voting last season despite not receiving a first-place vote.

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Fortenbaugh’s best bet for Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup rematch

Joe Fortenbaugh explains why he’s taking the Panthers to repeat as champions against the Oilers.


Making their cases

Draisaitl received the most support of any player outside the top three, but there was a palpable gap between him and Barkov. Draisaitl appeared on 42% of the ballots we collected but received only one first-place vote.

The Oilers star is one point behind McDavid, with 25 through 16 games, and has scored one more goal (seven) than McDavid in the playoffs. If Draisaitl has a dominant Stanley Cup Final and Edmonton wins the Cup, he’s in position to potentially hurdle over McDavid for MVP.

“This should probably be a top four thanks to Draisaitl,” argued one voter who had Leon right outside of their top three.

Bennett is the clear third choice on the Panthers. He appeared on 20% of the ballots we surveyed and garnered two second-place votes. Like Draisaitl, he’s only one point off the scoring lead for his team (16 points in 17 games).

Bennett leads the playoffs with 10 goals and has been a physical force for the Panthers in every series. As a pending unrestricted free agent, a Conn Smythe Trophy would do wonders for his earning potential.


On the cusp

Evan Bouchard, D, Edmonton Oilers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F, Edmonton Oilers
Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers
Brad Marchand, LW, Florida Panthers

Bouchard was the only player in this tier to appear on multiple ballots, all of them third-place votes. He’s tied for fifth in the playoffs with 17 points, easily the most by any defenseman in the postseason, with 13 of those points coming at even strength. He leads all Oilers in average ice time (25:01 per game) and has skated to a plus-9.

The rest of the players received only one third-place vote.

Nugent-Hopkins is third on the Oilers, with 18 points in 16 games. He had the game-winner in the first period of their critical Game 2 win over the Stars.

Jones has seven points in 17 games for the Panthers, skating to a plus-9. While he has played on what’s technically the second paring with Niko Mikkola, Jones is leading Florida with 24:59 in average ice time per game.

Finally, Marchand has been huge for the Panthers down the lineup with 14 points in 17 games, bringing his trademark hustle, agitation and offense to the fourth run to the Stanley Cup Final in his career. He also scored the most important goal of the Panthers’ postseason: in overtime of Game 3, down 2-0 to Toronto in the series.

But one voter fancied Marchand’s linemate as an under-the-radar choice. “Eutu Luostarinen would legit be fourth for me,” the voter declared of the Florida winger, who has 13 points in 17 games.


Lack of buzz

Stuart Skinner, G, Edmonton Oilers
Sam Reinhart, F, Florida Panthers
Matthew Tkachuk, RW, Florida Panthers
Carter Verhaeghe, LW, Florida Panthers

According to ESPN BET, these players are among the top 10 in odds to win MVP before the Stanley Cup Final. But none received a vote on any of the ballots we surveyed.

Tkachuk (16 points in 17 games) and Verhaeghe (14 points in 17 games) are both among the Panthers’ leading scorers, with Verhaeghe having scored two game-winning goals in the playoffs. Verhaeghe appeared on one Conn Smythe ballot last postseason, while Tkachuk did not appear on any. Reinhart is right behind them, with 13 points in 15 games, having missed a couple games against Carolina due to an injury.

Skinner is perhaps the greatest reminder that the Conn Smythe is an award for the totality of the playoffs. Skinner has been incredible since his reset, getting benched in favor of Calvin Pickard before returning against Vegas in the second round when Pickard was injured. Since Game 4 against the Golden Knights, Skinner is 6-1 with a .944 save percentage, a 1.41 goals-against average and three shutouts.

Could an MVP effort in the Stanley Cup Final counterbalance Skinner’s struggles earlier in the playoffs? Perhaps. But then he’d still have to overcome McDavid for playoff MVP. And according to the ballots we received, McDavid’s running away with the thing right now.

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Nats slugger Wood commits to Home Run Derby

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Nats slugger Wood commits to Home Run Derby

Washington Nationals slugger James Wood will bring his massive power to the big stage, becoming the third player to commit to the July 14 Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Wood, 22, has delivered 22 home runs in 86 games during his first full major league season. He was acquired by the Nationals in 2022 as part of the package of top prospects Washington received in the trade that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.

Wood announced the commitment on Instagram, with a video montage of himself, along with video clips of former Atlanta Braves star Hank Aaron hitting his record 714th home run in 1974. The video included the words, “Derby bound.”

Wood has 12 homers that have been hit harder than 110 mph. It’s the second most in the league behind Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani‘s 13. Wood also has four dingers that have been launched longer than 445 feet.

The Seattle MarinersCal Raleigh and the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. also have committed to the event, with five more participants still to be named.

Raleigh, who would become the first catcher to win the event, has a major-league-best 33 home runs. Acuna has nine home runs in 36 games after returning from a torn left ACL that also limited him to 49 games last season.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers already has said he will not defend his Home Run Derby crown.

Field Level Media and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Astros GM: Alvarez setback not as bad as feared

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Astros GM: Alvarez setback not as bad as feared

DENVER — Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez‘s setback to his recovery from a fractured right hand is not as serious as first feared, general manager Dana Brown said Thursday.

Alvarez, who suffered the injury on May 2, was shut down after experiencing pain in his right hand. He had taken some swings at the team’s spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday and when he arrived there Tuesday, the area was sore.

He was examined by a specialist, who determined inflammation was the issue and not a setback with the fracture.

“It had nothing to do with the fracture, or the fracture not being healed,” Brown said before Houston’s game at Colorado. “The fracture at this point is a nonfactor, which we’re very glad about. And so during the process of him being examined by the specialist, we saw the inflammation, and Yordan did receive two shots in that area.”

Alvarez first experienced issues with his hand in late April but stayed in the lineup. He was initially diagnosed with a muscle strain but a small fracture was discovered at the end of May.

Brown said there has not been an update on the timetable for Alvarez’s return but said with the latest update it “could be in the near future.”

“Yordan is going to be in a position where he’s going to let rest and let the shot take effect, and then as long as he’s starting to feel better, we’ll put a bat in his hand before we start hitting, but we’ll just let him feel the bat feels like,” Brown said. “And then we’ll get into some swings in the near future, but I felt like it was encouraging news. Now, with this injection into the area that was inflamed, we feel a lot better.”

Alvarez, who averaged 34 home runs over the previous four seasons, has just three in 29 games this year and is batting .210. He was the 2021 ALCS MVP for the Astros and finished third in the AL MVP voting for 2022.

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Sources: Guardians’ Ortiz faces gambling inquiry

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Sources: Guardians' Ortiz faces gambling inquiry

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is under investigation by Major League Baseball after a betting-integrity firm flagged a pair of pitches that had received unusual gambling activity, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Sources said betting-integrity firm IC360 sent an alert in June to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz, whom MLB has placed on “non-disciplinary paid leave” through July 17.

The alert, according to sources who reviewed it, referenced action on Ortiz’s first pitches in select innings to be a ball or a hit batsman in two games: June 15 against the Seattle Mariners and June 27 against the St. Louis Cardinals. In both the bottom of the second inning against the Mariners and the top of the third inning against the Cardinals, Ortiz threw a first-pitch slider that was well outside the strike zone.

The alert on Ortiz’s first pitches flagged bets in Ohio, New York and New Jersey. Betting on the result of first pitches is offered by some sportsbooks, with such wagers commonly referred to as microbets.

Ortiz’s paid leave, which ends at the conclusion of the All-Star break, was negotiated between the league and the MLB Players Association. If the investigation remains open, the leave could be extended.

Ortiz had been scheduled to start Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

“The Guardians have been notified that Luis Ortiz has been placed on leave per an agreement with the Players Association due to an ongoing league investigation,” the team said in a statement. “The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process.”

The investigation into Ortiz’s potential violation of the league’s gambling policy comes a little more than a year after MLB levied a lifetime ban against San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for placing nearly 400 bets on baseball. Four other players received one-year suspensions for gambling on baseball while in the minor leagues. In February, MLB fired umpire Pat Hoberg — widely recognized as the best ball-strike arbiter in the game — for “sharing” a legal sports betting account with a friend who bet on baseball and later deleting messages key to the investigation.

A 26-year-old starting pitcher, Ortiz was acquired by Cleveland from the Pittsburgh Pirates over the winter as part of the three-team trade in which the Guardians sent second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays. With a 4-9 record and 4.36 ERA, Ortiz has been a staple in a Guardians rotation whose 4.13 ERA ranks 18th in MLB.

Ortiz’s leave comes amid a slide for the Guardians, who have lost six consecutive games to drop to 40-44. While Cleveland remains in second place in the American League Central, it trails first-place Detroit by 12½ games.

Ortiz signed with the Pirates in 2018 at 19 years old, far later than the typical prospect, and didn’t reach full-season ball until 2021. He quickly shot through the Pittsburgh organization and debuted in 2022, eventually throwing 238⅓ innings and posting a 3.93 ERA in his three seasons with the Pirates.

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