Updated Conn Smythe Trophy Rankings for 2015 NHL Playoffs

This is one of the most wide-open Conn Smythe Trophy sweepstakes in recent memory. With the Stanley Cup Final having kicked off Wednesday night, a number candidates could realistically see their name etched on the maple leaf-themed trophy.

It's possible that none of the six candidates featured here will win it. We could still see someone who had been on the fringe—Steven Stamkos, anyone?—take home the honor with a huge performance in the Final.

This list includes three players each from the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning. Though there are arguably more than six deserving candidates, these are the creme de la creme of the postseason so far.

The criteria for inclusion is pretty simple: Along with my uncanny intuition for picking winners in general, good statistics aren't enough on their own. These players have to deliver some clutch moments and performances that go beyond the normal realm of expectations. More detail as to why they were selected will be included with each slide.

They're ranked here from sixth to first, with the No. 1 candidate being the most deserving to win at this point.

6. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay

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There was some tough internal debate over whether to include the big Lightning defenseman, especially over a guy who has come on strong of late, Steven Stamkos.

Hedman ultimately earned the final nod over Stamkos and others, though. While he hasn't gotten the publicity of a guy like Duncan Keith, Hedman has been outstanding at both ends while playing big minutes for coach Jon Cooper.

He has played at least 21 minutes in all 21 Lightning postseason games, with 10 points (one goal, nine assists) and a team-leading plus-10. He has played against opponents' top forwards night after night and done an excellent job of taking away their space. He's physical when he needs to be and skates so well for a big man. That earns him a spot on this list ahead of someone like, say, a Brent Seabrook or Niklas Hjalmarsson, whose numbers don't quite measure up to Hedman's.

As Tom Spousta recently wrote for the New York Times: 

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Hedman does not stalk opponents while looking to rule the ice by brute force. He patterns his game more in the style of his fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom, the defenseman and longtime captain of the Detroit Red Wings who was one of Hedman’s favorite players when Hedman was a youngster.

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We're all starting to realize why Hedman went second overall in the 2009 NHL draft behind John Tavares and ahead of Matt Duchene. He's only 24, too. He has a lot of great years ahead for Lightning fans to savor. 

5. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay

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The Russian right wing has proven his 29-goal, 65-point regular season was no fluke, posting 19 points in 21 playoff games.

Three of his nine goals have been game-winners, and his shooting percentage is a sparkling 19.1 percent. Not bad for a 21-year-old who came into this season with just two NHL postseason games on his resume. 

His overtime goal that won Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers started to get the Lightning back on track when they were close to falling into a series hole. And to think, he slid all the way down to the No. 58 selection in the 2011 NHL draft.

As Ray Slover of Sporting News noted:

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The Lightning nabbed him in the 2011 NHL Draft's second round. Al Murray, a man with an eye for talent and the team's director of amateur scouting, believed Kucherov was better than No. 1 overall pick Nail Yakupov.

Hard to argue with that while watching Kucherov this season — and in these playoffs. An offseason spent learning to play a complete game and learning English by watching TV paid off.

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4. Patrick Kane, Chicago

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He was questionable to even be available for the start of the playoffs because of a fractured clavicle. That's the fancier word for the collarbone, the most frequently broken bone in the human body, according to Medical Daily.

Eighteen games later, as many as any other Blackhawk has played in the postseason, Kane has 10 goals and 10 assists. That ranks second in all NHL playoff scoring. That gets him the nod in the rankings just ahead of Kucherov.

Three of his goals have been game-winners and his shooting percentage is 18.9 percent. This from a guy who wasn't sure he'd play at all in this postseason. That makes his selection over Kucherov a little more deserving, too.

As the Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom noted, Kane is often at his best when the other team is on the ropes:

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In 30 career elimination games -- combining those in which the Hawks as well as the opponent could be sent home -- Kane has amassed 42 points on 18 goals and 24 assists.

Since the start of the Hawks’ last Stanley Cup march in 2013, Kane has 23 points on nine goals and 16 assists in 16 elimination games.

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Kane should have plenty of room to skate in this series, as the Lightning prefer to play an uptempo style like Chicago. Perhaps Lightning coach Jon Cooper should rethink just how much he wants his team to skate with the Hawks, though, because nobody is better in open ice than No. 88.

3. Jonathan Toews, Chicago

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The accolades just just keep rolling in.

On Tuesday, Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman was asked what separates his captain from other mere mortals (or something like that).

"From where I see it, Jonathan is incredibly competitive. He hates to lose," Bowman told reporters at an NHL-sponsored press conference at Amalie Arena. "That’s probably a common trait for all athletes. Nobody wants to lose. But he’s incredibly competitive. He just wills his way to it. You watch him in practice, he gets mad if things don’t go his way. He has a high standard for himself. He holds himself accountable. For that reason, he is the thing that makes everything go."

By now, we're familiar with Toews' resume: two Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, etc. All by age 27. In 18 playoff games, Toews currently has nine goals and nine assists, including five goals in the last five games.

It was one thing for Toews' own general manager to shower him with praise. How about Lightning GM and Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman? What does he think?

“The reality is that Jon is bigger, stronger … better. He just is. Tremendous all-around player, great person,” Yzerman told reporters. 

Maybe Stevie Y was blowing smoke, trying to kill the Hawks' captain with flattery. He has to try something.

Toews jumped up the list with that great Game 7 against the Ducks in the Western finals. Two goals in the first period, on enemy ice in a deciding seventh game - that's what the Conn Smythe is all about.

2. Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay

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Tyler Johnson is more than just a sentimental favorite to win the Conn Smythe. The 5'8" Lightning forward remains a genuine favorite.

His 12 goals and 21 points led all NHL players entering the Final. And to think, this guy wasn't even drafted. He deserves a higher spot on the rankings because, well, did anyone expect this? Sure, we expect a lot out of guys like Toews and Kane, but Tyler Johnson, playoff scoring leader? He doesn't even skate on Tampa Bay's top line.

Only Ondrej Palat (25.0 percent), a partner of Johnson's on the "Triplets Line" along with Nikita Kucherov (19.1 percent), has a higher shooting percentage than Johnson's 23.1 among Lightning players.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper told reporters before the Final that Johnson is more than just a scoring threat: "Johnny learned how to be a pro hockey player. He learned that there were two nets on the ice. What he's doing in the NHL started in the American League."

Cooper added: "You even look when he first came to the NHL, he didn't make the league when he first came in. He had to navigate himself around and understand how much time and space he has and that he's got to play D and different things he has to do on the ice to succeed."

1. Duncan Keith, Chicago

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Duncan Keith is averaging 31 minutes and 27 seconds of ice time per game, the most of any player left playing in the postseason. His own coach, Joel Quenneville, used the word "freak" to describe his metabolism and conditioning.

He had two goals and 17 assists in 18 games entering Game 1 of the Cup Finals, which had him ranked second on the Blackhawks in scoring. Then, he went out and assisted on Antoine Vermette's third-period game-winner in Game 1 against the Lightning. His plus-14 rating leads all postseason players.

As Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski put it, one more series like the three he's already had this season, and we're likely talking about the next Conn Smythe winner:

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This is Keith’s moment: Final round, end of the journey, facing the next dominant offensive challenge from the Tampa Bay Lightning after overcoming the last one from the Anaheim Ducks. He has 18 points in 17 games, and is an NHL-best plus-13 in the playoffs. He’s in the Conn Smythe conversation, near the forefront.

Exhaustion can wait. Pain will be delayed. The Freak just wants to keep playing until he hoists the Holy Grail for the third time in six years.

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Keith has been the best overall player so far in these playoffs. He would deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy if the season had already ended...but there's still one round to go.