Victor Hedman Wins 2020 Conn Smythe Trophy After Lightning Win Stanley Cup

It isn't easy to decide which player on the Tampa Bay Lightning was the most valuable during their run to a Stanley Cup championship. Several players made a strong case, but in the end Victor Hedman made the strongest, taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy.  

Imagine having to pick between some of the Lightning's top performers. 

Nikita Kucherov made a strong argument, scoring both the most points (34) and assists (27) in one postseason in Tampa Bay history. Tampa's top-line playmaker paired with Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat to absolutely terrorize opposing defensemen and goalies in these playoffs. 

Speaking of Point, he led the Lightning with 14 goals and was second overall in points (33) behind only Kucherov. Without prolific goal-scorer Steven Stamkos, who has missed almost the entirety of the postseason due to injury, Tampa needed someone to step up in the goals department. Point obliged. 

While Kucherov and Point handled the scoring, Andrei Vasilevskiy was an absolute brick wall in net, finishing these playoffs with an 18-7 record and a .927 save percentage. He was also incredibly clutch, winning six of the team's nine overtime games. It's one thing to stonewall an opposing team during regulation—it's another thing to do it in sudden death. Vasilevskiy couldn't have been any more steady or reliable. 

Those are also adjectives that apply to Hedman. Never mind the steady defense—his 10 goals from his spot on the blue line are the most for a defenseman since Brian Leetch scored 11 for the New York Rangers in 1994. Or how about his NHL best plus-17 rating in these playoffs? Hedman made one hell of a case.