Battle of The Captains: Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews, Who Has the Edge?

Sixteen teams, three rounds, 42 days, 82 games, and it all boils down to this: The Stanley Cup Finals.

A run that starts off with the 16 best teams (eight from each conference) all seeking the ultimate goal—the chance to hoist the Stanley Cup.

It has been known throughout history that the star players do not necessarily lead their team to the Stanley Cup. Of course teams may look to their star players to lead the way, but that is not always the case.

Looking ahead to the Stanley Cup Finals we can see that contribution for both the Flyers and the Blackhawks came from the entire team. Even with a full team effort it is hard to ignore the amazing and inspirational play of both team captains Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews.

If we were to look at the paper stats of each captain, Jonathan Toews would have the edge, and well deserved I might add. He leads the playoffs in scoring with 26 points, he's riding a franchise record 13 game playoff point streak, and also leads all forwards on the Blackhawks in ice-time. According to most people, Toews is so far the clear favorite to win the Conn Smythe trophy.

But what about Mike Richards?

The Conn Smythe trophy is awarded to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team during the playoffs. This is not necessarily the top point scorer at the end of the playoffs.

Some of the most recent Conn Smythe winners who did not necessarily accumulate the most points are Scott Niedermeyer in 2007, Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002 and Scott Stevens in 2000. Of course, they may all be defensemen, but that just proves that contribution to a team's success runs deeper than just pure offense.

This is why I believe that Mike Richards' contribution to the Flyers success runs a lot deeper than in just his offensive production. Of course he may be second to Jonathan Toews in scoring this postseason, but there is no denying the heart, dedication, inspiration that he brings to the Flyers makes him their most valuable player.

If we want to look at Richards' stats, just like Toews he leads his team in scoring these playoffs and also just like Toews he leads all forwards on his team in ice time.

I don't think anyone can count out Richards when they are talking about possible Conn Smythe candidates. In my opinion, when you look at a players' impact on the team and not just his offensive capability, Mike Richards is by far the best suited for the award.

Of course the Conn Smythe usually goes to a player on the winning team and with the Blackhawks being the overwhelming favorites, Toews seems to have the edge.

Herb Brooks said in the movie Miracle about the Soviets, "if we played them nine times they might win 10." You might be wondering what kind of context this has, but with the Soviets being the best team in the world for the last 20 years in 1980, everybody expected the underdog Americans to lose.

My case with that historic win for the Americans is that any team can win at any time. If you look at the Flyers and the Blackhawks lineup, their teams are unbelievably similar.

Both teams have that dynamic first line. Richards, Carter, and Gagne for the Flyers and Toews, Kane, and Byfuglien for the Blackhawks.

Both teams have a lot of secondary scoring presence. Briere, Giroux, Leino, and Hartnell for the Flyers and Sharp, Hossa, Bolland, and Versteeg for the Blackhawks.

Both teams have solid defensive players who can assist offensively. Pronger, Coburn, Carle, and Timonen for the Flyers and Campbell, Keith, Seabrook, Sopel, and Hjalmarsson for the Blackhawks.

Both teams like to play a physical brand of hockey with Duncan Keith and Chris Pronger leading the way for their respective teams.

And both teams have that goalie who nobody expected to lead their team to the finals. Leighton for the Flyers and Niemi for the Blackhawks.

This is going to prove to be one of the best and most even Stanley Cup Finals in recent memory. Both teams have the right mix of players that can lead them to victory and both teams have a captain who made it their mission to bring them this far.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that both the Blackhawks and Flyers have major cap issues coming in the offseason? Both teams are going to have to face some major remodeling before next season, but as it stands, this has been the winning formula for them so far.

The last time that Richards and Toews played on the same ice surface with the stakes this high was in the gold medal game at the Olympics for Canada. Although Toews stole the glory and was named the top forward of the tournament, don't expect to see Richards sit back.

I can see the finals being a complete team battle and not just the captains, but when the going gets tough, look for both Richards and Toews to step up.

I'm not going to predict a series winner or even a Conn Smythe winner, but I will say this: This is going to be a very even finals and it will go to seven games. Home ice will be key but when the seventh game comes around, don't expect Philly to sit back and give it to the Blackhawks.