Stanley Cup 2012: Comparing Kings' Jonathan Quick to Past Conn Smythe Goalies

Star goaltender Jonathan Quick's dominating play between the pipes for the Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs has him at the top of many people's list of Conn Smythe award candidates, and with good reason.

Quick is playing so well that even if the Kings lose in the Stanley Cup Finals, it would be hard to give the Conn Smythe to someone else unless he plays terribly, which seems highly unlikely.

The last player to win the award after not winning the Cup was Jean-Sebastien Giguerre in 2003 with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

How dominant has Quick been in the playoffs? He has been the primary reason why the Kings became just the second No. 8 seed (2006 Edmonton Oilers) to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, and the second team (1989 Calgary Flames) ever to defeat the top three seeds in the conference en route to the finals.

Take a look at Quick's playoff stats and where he ranks among the other playoff goalies. (Via NHL.com)

	GP	Record	GAA	Save %	Shutouts
Quick	12	12-2 (8-0 on road)	1.54	.946	2
League Rank	4th	1st	1st	1st	3rd

Let's compare Quick to the Conn Smythe award-winning goaltenders since 2000.

2010-11) Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup last season thanks to the historic performance of veteran goaltender Tim Thomas, who set the NHL playoff record for most saves in a single postseason.

If not for Thomas' composure and great performances throughout the 2011 playoffs, the Bruins would not have survived three Game 7s.

Right now, it's impossible for Quick to have a worse road record than Thomas did last year, and going into the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kings goalie has a better save percentage and GAA.

Thomas was remarkable in the finals versus the Vancouver Canucks, allowing just eight goals in seven games. If Quick is that good this year, there's no way the Kings lose the Cup.

2005-06) Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes

Cam Ward came out of nowhere to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in the first season following the NHL lockout that unfortunately prevented the 2004-05 season from happening at all.

Ward went 15-8 as a rookie with a 2.14 GAA and a .920 save percentage during the 2006 playoffs. He's still a top-tier goalie, but since the Hurricanes have struggled for the past few years, Ward hasn't been getting the respect he deserves.

Barring a surprising disaster in the finals for Quick, he will have had a better postseason run than Ward in 2006.

2002-03) Jean-Sebastien Giguerre, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Very rarely in sports are playoff MVP awards given to players from teams who did not win the championship, but in the case of Jean-Sebastian Giguerre, the voters got it right.

To this day, New Jersey Devils' fans are angry that goaltender Martin Brodeur did not win the award, but to be fair, Giguerre was a bigger reason for the Ducks' playoff success that year than Brodeur was to the Devils' success.

Quick and Giguerre both had the same record (12-2) entering the Stanley Cup Finals, and if Quick ends up with the same stats at the conclusion of the finals, then he may get the Conn Smythe even in defeat like Giguerre.

2000-01) Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche

Patrick Roy won his third Conn Smythe award in 2001 when he led the Colorado Avalanche to their second Stanley Cup title in team history.

Roy, like the rest of the team, was under immense pressure to win the Stanley Cup for veteran defenseman Ray Bourque, who had never won the Cup before that season in his hall of fame career.

Roy had a 1.70 GAA and a .934 save percentage during the 2001 playoffs, but was backed by a strong defense and an offense led by Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg.

Quick's playoff run thus far has been better than Roy's, especially when you consider that the Kings' goaltender had never been past the first round prior to this year.

In 2001, Roy had already won two Conn Smythe Awards and three Stanley Cups.

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Nicholas Goss is an NHL Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was also the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.