Quick Hits: The Ranking Edition
In Red Wings Land
The Detroit News ranks top 50 Red Wings in organization by value for 2020
Of course the first choice is obvious, although I’d be interested to see how many people would argue that Anthony Mantha could be considered here. I think if he had been healthy all season, it could have been a horserace. But, of course he wasn’t.
1. Dylan Larkin, center: The numbers are down slightly from last season, but Larkin took a significant step, yet again, in terms of leadership and taking ownership of the locker room. On a variety of levels, Larkin is the most important player in the organization.
Around the NHL
Top Conn Smythe Trophy winners debated by NHL.com
I typically like these type of lists more where it’s not a ranking, but a list of “which performances were really good?”
There’s not really any weak choices here, although I know which one the commenters will argue against.
The Conn Smythe Trophy turns 55 today. First awarded on May 1, 1965, to honor the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the trophy is named after Conn Smythe, a coach, general manager and owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was first presented to Montreal Canadiens center Jean Beliveau and has been won by 47 different players among the 54 times it has been awarded, most recently by St. Louis Blues center Ryan O'Reilly in 2019.
To celebrate the anniversary of the award, which was voted on by the NHL governors for the first seven seasons and the Professional Hockey Writers Association since 1971, NHL.com asked 14 writers to pick the best Conn Smythe-winning performance in the history of the award:
I’ll just leave this here as an example of someone who was snubbed that should have made the list.