Way-Too-Early Favorites for the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy

Conn Smythe, the man whose name signifies player excellence in the Stanley Cup playoffs, wasn't much of a players guy.

First off, his full name was Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe. He essentially was the boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens for about 30 years, until retiring from the game in 1961.

Smythe was an anti-union guy who thought of players as dispensable cattle. He was part of the old-old-school days of hockey when owners essentially told players where they could go if they didn't like their one and only contract offer. 

Yet, Smythe was a genuine war hero who fought for Canada in both World Wars. He landed at Normandy in World War II. Kelly McParland wrote in his book The Lives of Conn Smythe: From the Battlefield to Maple Leaf Gardens: A Hockey Icon's Story about the two years Smythe spent as a German prisoner of war starting in 1917. 

Smythe essentially developed the concept of Hockey Night in Canada, hiring legendary announcer Foster Hewitt as the voice of the iconic Saturday night show that continues today. So, maybe an award honoring a player on his behalf looks strange, but there is no doubt Smythe was a leading architect of the game.

The Conn Smythe remains probably the most coveted trophy in the sport, and these are the early candidates to hoist it later this spring, based on their postseason play so far. We're still only in the first round, but these guys are off to a great start.

8. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild

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He's posted four points in the first three games against St. Louis (one goal) and a plus-two rating. Mikko Koivu has more seniority on the Minnesota Wild, but Parise is clearly the team leader.

Parise's playoff intensity is infectious. He's relentless around the puck, especially on rebounds around the side of the net. His wraparounds are probably the most effective in the league. He's fearless in clutch situations, as anyone who watched last season's first round against Colorado or saw the USA play against Canada in the 2010 Olympics would attest.

He's managed to be as good as he ever was in the second half and playoffs despite losing his father, J.P., in January.

7. Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks

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The Swedish right winger has been a star so far in the postseason, with two goals and two assists through the first three games against Winnipeg.

He's averaged about 0.40 points per game in his still-young NHL career but is over a point a game so far this postseason. He has a lot of skill, so on a team where opposing checkers are more focused on Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler, Silfverberg has a chance to make hay in the secondary market.

6. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

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I'll never forget seeing this kid play in an NCAA quarterfinal game last year in Manchester, New Hampshire, for Boston College against the University of Denver. Before I could practically set up my laptop and grab a second cup of coffee, Gaudreau posted five points in a rout of DU at the Verizon Center.

He's so small: 5'9", about 155 pounds. And yet, he's so good. Calgary drafted him in the fourth round (104th overall) in the 2011 draft, and wow, does that pick look good now.

His hockey IQ is off the charts, scouts have told me in passing. Everybody knew that, but nobody believed he could be this good at this level at his size. 

He was a main player in Calgary's Game 4 win over Vancouver on Tuesday night; it was the third game of the series he posted at least one point. 

In Calgary, everybody knows who "Johnny Hockey" is now.

5. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

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Carey Price will win the Vezina Trophy in a rout and maybe the Hart Trophy too. If he can add a Conn Smythe Trophy, the goalie of the Montreal Canadiens would be the first player in NHL history to win all three trophies in one season.

Tim Thomas won a Vezina and Conn Smythe in 2011 for Boston but no Hart. Or, as they would say outside the TD Garden: "No Hahht." Ron Hextall won a Vezina and Conn Smythe in 1987 but didn't win the Hart. Bernie Parent won a Conn Smythe and Vezina in 1974 and 1975 but didn't win the Hart.

Jacques Plante did win the Vezina and Hart for Montreal in 1961-62, but there was no Conn Smythe that year. The NHL didn't start awarding the Conn until the 1964-65 season.

Price has been just as good so far in the playoffs (3-0, 1.88 GAA, .939 SP) as he was in the regular season. If all things stay equal, he will probably make NHL history. There are 13 more wins to go, though, until Montreal can claim its first Cup since Patrick Roy (a three-time Conn Smythe Winner and three-time Vezina winner, but zero Hart winner) led the Habs to one in 1993.

4. Jason Pominville, Minnesota Wild

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Buffalo still has draft picks to mature before we can fully judge the 2013 trade of Pominville to Minnesota, but so far it's been a steal for the Wild and general manager Chuck Fletcher.

Pominville is more than just a talented player. He has leadership qualities. He's there in clutch moments. Entering Game 4 against St. Louis, Pominville has one game-winning goal in the series, with four in his 82-game playoff career. In the last two regular seasons, he posted nine game-winning goals combined.

Pominville's four points (two goals) and plus-three in the first three games is a major reason why the Wild are up 2-1 against the Blues.

3. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

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The captain of the Chicago Blackhawks won the Conn Smythe in 2009-10 and is off to a great start in pursuit of a second. He posted five points in the first three games against Nashville, an improvement on the three he had in the first three games of last season's first round against St. Louis.

One point per game, at least, is what you can usually expect from Toews, who is vying for his third Stanley Cup despite being only 26. Toews doesn't just play in one end. He's at a plus-two in the series and won 65.1 percent of his faceoffs in Games 2 and 3.

2. Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

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It wasn't a classic Pavel Datsyuk goal that got the Detroit Red Wings started in their Game 3 victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. He redirected a slap shot into the net off his skate. 

It still counted, and the marker was the Russian veteran's second goal to that point in the series and fourth in the previous five dating to the regular season. More important, Datsyuk has done a nice job of stemming the production of Lightning star Steven Stamkos through the early part of the series. Stamkos still is looking for his first goal of the postseason.

1. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks

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Three games, three goals, two assists. That was good enough to lead all NHL playoff scorers entering Tuesday's games. Most important, Perry's Anaheim Ducks have a 3-0 series lead over the Winnipeg Jets.

Perry has dished out his share of borderline (OK, dirty at times) hits in his career. One major thing in his favor, though: He doesn't whine when he gets return treatment. Case in point: Perry took a major cheap shot, a sucker punch from Dustin Byfuglien, after scoring a goal in Monday's Game 3 against the Jets at the MTS Centre. 

Perry just played on and helped Anaheim get to within one game of the second round.