The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded annually to the most valuable player of his team during the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. One of the hottest topics discussed heading into each final is who could take home the award.
There have been 53 different players across league history to take home the prestigious award, with only six of them winning it multiple times. The first Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded in 1965 to center Jean Beliveau of the Montreal Canadiens.
13 goalies have taken home the trophy, with one of them being the only player to win it three times. The first goalie to achieve the accomplishment was Roger Crozier in 1966 with the Detroit Red Wings. There have been six goalies to win it since 2000, and the latest example was in 2021.
Conn Smythe Trophy Winners Since 2000 – Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning; 2021
The last goalie to win the Conn Smythe Trophy was Andrei Vasilevskiy. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2012 and made his NHL debut in the 2014-15 season. He’s been with the Lightning ever since and has been recognized as one of the best goalies of his generation.
To this point, Vasilevskiy has made five All-Star appearances, won the Vezina Trophy in the 2018-19 season, and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. He was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2021, going 16-7 with a 1.90 goals against average and a .973 save percentage to go along with five shutouts. His save percentage and shutouts led all goalies in the playoffs that year.
Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings; 2012
The Los Angeles Kings made the Stanley Cup Final twice in three years, in 2012 and 2014. Jonathan Quick was the goalie for both teams, leading the charge for the best era in team history. When they won it all in 2012, it was the Kings’ first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It was also the best season in Quick’s career.
In the regular season, Quick went 35-21-13 with a career-best .929 save percentage and a 1.95 goals-against average. He also had a league-leading 10 shutouts. Quick carried over his stellar play into the playoffs, going 16-4-0 with an incredible .946 save percentage and a 1.41 goals against average with three shutouts. His performance earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy, which marked the second consecutive year a goalie won the award.
Tim Thomas – Boston Bruins; 2011
Tim Thomas kicked off the back-to-back years of goalies winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, as he won it in 2011 with the Boston Bruins. He faced the most shots among all goalies in that playoff run and came out with a 1.98 goals against average and the best save percentage (.940) among all at his position to secure Lord Stanley’s Cup.
The Vancouver Canucks took the Bruins to a game 7, and if it was not for the sensational play of Thomas, Boston does not win the Stanley Cup. What makes his playoff run even more impressive is that he ended up winning the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the regular season.
Thomas was a playoff performer, and while he only came away with one cup for the Bruins, he holds the all-time record for the best save percentage throughout a Stanley Cup Playoff career with a .933 mark.
Cam Ward – Carolina Hurricanes; 2006
The Carolina Hurricanes won their one and only Stanley Cup in 2006 and it was on the back of their rookie goaltender Cam Ward. He only started 28 games in the regular season and didn’t particularly have strong numbers, but turned it on when it mattered the most.
He opened up his playoff series debut with a 1.54 goals against average and a .940 save percentage, disposing of the Canadiens in five games. Those were dominant numbers put up in his first playoff appearance, and while he didn’t quite repeat those numbers throughout the rest of the way, his overall numbers earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy. Ward finished the playoffs with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage, along with two shutouts in 23 games.
Ward became the fourth rookie to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, joining Ken Dryden (1971), Patrick Roy (1986) and Ron Hextall (1987). He also became the second-youngest player to win the trophy at 22 years of age, making it one of the best rookie performances we’ll see in Stanley Cup Playoff history.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere – Mighty Ducks of Anaheim; 2003
In 1995, the Hartford Whalers drafted Jean-Sebastien Giguere with the 13th overall pick. He only played eight games for them in 1996-97 before getting traded to the Calgary Flames. He spent two seasons in Calgary before getting traded again, this time to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He stuck around in Anaheim for nine seasons, making two Stanley Cup Final appearances with the team, winning one in 2007.
Despite winning the cup in 2007, that wasn’t the year that Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy. He actually won the award in 2003, when Anaheim took the New Jersey Devils to seven games in the final but ultimately lost. At the time, Giguere became only the fifth player to capture the Conn Smythe Trophy despite not winning the Stanley Cup.
He ended the playoffs with a 15-6 record, putting up a 1.62 goals against average to go along with a .945 save percentage. His GAA in that playoff was the second-best of any goalie in history at the time, and his save percentage was the best of any goalie in the 2003 playoffs. Giguere also had five shutouts as a whole, with three of them coming in the conference final, where he swept the Minnesota Wild with an outstanding 0.22 goals against average and a .992 save percentage.
It was a shame he didn’t win it all with those numbers in 2003 but he came back to capture the ultimate prize a few years later.
Patrick Roy – Colorado Avalanche; 2001
One of the best goalies of all time is none other than Roy, who split his 17-year career between the Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche. He did a lot for both teams, winning two cups each for both franchises. Of those four cups, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy three times, the only player to do so in NHL history.
Roy’s first cup came in his first full season, going 15-5 in the playoffs with a 1.93 goals against average and a .923 save percentage with Montreal. To this day, he is still the youngest player to ever win the award at 20 years old. His second cup with Montreal came in 1993, where he won his second Conn Smythe Trophy as well, with a 2.13 goals against and a 9.29 save percentage in his run to the cup.
Two seasons later, he was traded to the Avalanche, where he won his third Stanley Cup and his first in Colorado. He didn’t capture the Conn Smythe that season, though.
However, he ended up winning his third Conn Smythe Trophy when he won his fourth Stanley Cup in 2001. In that run with Colorado, he went 16-7 with a 1.70 goals against average and a .934 save percentage, saving his best playoff performance for his last cup and Conn Smythe win.
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