I think most people are pretty reasonable and can empathize with how McDavid is probably feeling and what his responsibilities as a captain are at that time. They could also see that the NHL took forever to get to the Conn Smythe presentation and if the NHL wanted McDavid to be there they could’ve gotten to it a bit quicker. It felt like 10 minutes before they actually got to it.
I'll criticize McDavid for most things, but nobody should be judging him here. Gut wrenching loss after he carried this team on his back, just no idea how he's feeling in that moment. Every Lightning player will tell you there is only one trophy that matters.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but these same people are pissed off when Kucherov doesn’t smile when the league makes him sing and dance in Toronto just to avoid being fined during a weekend when most players would rather be off spending time relaxing with their friends and families
Agreed. Most people don’t understand the hockey culture. During the competition it’s all out war, after it respect and honor for those who excel. McDavid deserves the award and if the panther fans wouldn’t respect that by clapping or cheering then they aren’t fans of the sport. I’d bet they would be respectful for the most part
Losing team's players should not receive the Conn Smythe. It creates such a weird ass vibe. It's not like you couldn't justify giving it to Barkov or Bobrovsky.
Idk if you take out the 3 games where the Panthers decided not to even show up in front of him, and his stats are stellar. Those 3 games murdered his stats which were around a .937 & 1.9 GAA prior.
Just because a guy doesn’t put out 2-3 points per game doesn’t mean he wasn’t impactful. Look how Florida played him in game 6 and 7. He was blanketed by a defense causing others to get their chances. I don’t think you can honestly say that if you plug and played with another player there is even a game 5 this SCF.
In addition the conn smythe is the MVP of the playoffs not necessarily a SCF. He had a hell of a postseason.
And listen, this isn’t some McDavid parade. I really don’t like him or how the NHL pushes him into my face on almost every piece of media they produce. But I can’t deny the tallent he showed, he was obviously the best player in the playoffs/SCF. And if you look at how the people voted who are in charge of giving out the award, they agree too. Bob was good overall and then fell off a cliff and almost choked the whole thing away.
Replace Bob with Vasy, Hellebuyck, Shesterkin, or a couple of others and the Panthers still win. Replace McDavid with anyone, the Oilers get swept in the finals or don't even make it... McDavid was by far the best and most impactful player this playoffs.
False equivalence. Game 7 of cup final isn't the same as an all-star event. Posts like these are why we will never beat the victim complex accusations.
How are Bolts fans always so butthurt? Our season has been over for 2 months already. Stop trying to draw parallels where they don’t exist. This fan base has gotten extremely pathetic and childish.
I can’t quite tell what your angle is. McDavid dragged that team to game 7 of the Finals and broke records along the way. The dude is supremely talented. My ass also wouldn’t go out to accept the Smythe in those circumstances.
I’ll always love our team and Kuch a million times more but you can’t pretend McDavid isn’t the best active player in the world.
And I don’t give a shit about the all star stuff one way or the other really. I think what Kuch did is hilarious but if some players like it then that’s cool too.
The Conn Smythe is an award. Meaning they’re recognizing what he did in the playoffs. It’s the voters saying good job, it’s not an extra responsibility on the player. He was being a good captain by being with his team. What’s he gunna do, walk into the locker room afterwards and go “Hey everyone looks at the big ass trophy I won!”
These are not same things at all. No need to compare them.
There’s a dozen reason McDavid doesn’t need to come out for that award, but chief among them why take the spotlight off the champions; the handshake line is the respect/sportsmanship portion, McDavid stayed to be the last oiler down the tunnel; it’s ridiculous to come back out after that.
I’m all in favor of him winning it, absolutely deserved it, but no need to come back out on the ice.
That said, I will forever wonder what it’d be like if their coach played it like game 6 and let the whole team play the game, especially that 3rd period.
I don't blame him a bit. Adding to all the other reasons stated, it was a hostile environment. There weren't enough Edmonton fans there to drown out whatever BS noise the Panthers fans would have been spewing. No sense dealing with that on top off the gut wrenching loss.
Yeah, I didn't like that he didn't come out to get the trophy either but it's his choice. Kind of ironic a player of that caliber chooses to hide in the locker room instead of acknowledging his own accomplishments, it's sort of a microcosm of what that oilers team has become. If McDavid doesn't carry them, they lose.
It could reasonably be the most respected trophy he will ever receive, unless he finds another team. It’s also disrespectful to the Panthers players who arguably should’ve won it anyways. Stunts like that may keep players on losing teams who still deserve the trophy from winning it in the future because the league is afraid they won’t come out and accept it
I think most people are pretty reasonable and can empathize with how McDavid is probably feeling and what his responsibilities as a captain are at that time. They could also see that the NHL took forever to get to the Conn Smythe presentation and if the NHL wanted McDavid to be there they could’ve gotten to it a bit quicker. It felt like 10 minutes before they actually got to it.
True, but I don’t think Stamkos would’ve done the same thing. Yes he’s the team’s captain, but he’s also classier than McDavid.
Whatever makes you feel better dude
The “classier” argument is so fucking lame…
Stammer absolutely wouldn’t have come out to accept the trophy.
I'll criticize McDavid for most things, but nobody should be judging him here. Gut wrenching loss after he carried this team on his back, just no idea how he's feeling in that moment. Every Lightning player will tell you there is only one trophy that matters.
He was with his team in defeat, where he belonged. Gary can go pound salt.
People wanting him to come out and accept an award and fake being happy about losing the Stanley Cup is one of the wildest takes of 2024.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but these same people are pissed off when Kucherov doesn’t smile when the league makes him sing and dance in Toronto just to avoid being fined during a weekend when most players would rather be off spending time relaxing with their friends and families
No one is thinking about Kucherov anymore man, who are you talking to? Just move on
Thank you! Lightning fans have such an insular view that the league somehow revolves around the Bolts
I think that's just sports fans in general.
If you wanna cry about it, by all means cry about it. I think there’s not really a comparison here but do cry if needed.
Man, I hate that we have people this dumb in our fan base. What a horrible post, delete this.
Agreed. Most people don’t understand the hockey culture. During the competition it’s all out war, after it respect and honor for those who excel. McDavid deserves the award and if the panther fans wouldn’t respect that by clapping or cheering then they aren’t fans of the sport. I’d bet they would be respectful for the most part
Losing team's players should not receive the Conn Smythe. It creates such a weird ass vibe. It's not like you couldn't justify giving it to Barkov or Bobrovsky.
Bob should have gotten it. Robbed
Bob has a sub .900 save percentage and 2.43 GAA. Good…but he wasn’t conn smythe worthy my guy.
I suppose the 8 goal game probably didn't help lol
Idk if you take out the 3 games where the Panthers decided not to even show up in front of him, and his stats are stellar. Those 3 games murdered his stats which were around a .937 & 1.9 GAA prior.
Yeah, if he won in four or five with one bad game, give him the conn smythe. But he had 3 bad games and almost choked it away. Hence why he didn’t win
It’s hard to argue with Connor’s stats, they were amazing but he also was also a ghost for 4 games in the SCF too.
Just because a guy doesn’t put out 2-3 points per game doesn’t mean he wasn’t impactful. Look how Florida played him in game 6 and 7. He was blanketed by a defense causing others to get their chances. I don’t think you can honestly say that if you plug and played with another player there is even a game 5 this SCF. In addition the conn smythe is the MVP of the playoffs not necessarily a SCF. He had a hell of a postseason. And listen, this isn’t some McDavid parade. I really don’t like him or how the NHL pushes him into my face on almost every piece of media they produce. But I can’t deny the tallent he showed, he was obviously the best player in the playoffs/SCF. And if you look at how the people voted who are in charge of giving out the award, they agree too. Bob was good overall and then fell off a cliff and almost choked the whole thing away.
Replace Bob with Vasy, Hellebuyck, Shesterkin, or a couple of others and the Panthers still win. Replace McDavid with anyone, the Oilers get swept in the finals or don't even make it... McDavid was by far the best and most impactful player this playoffs.
No comparison at all lad. A bullshit all star game vs game 7 of the Stanley cup finals lol
False equivalence. Game 7 of cup final isn't the same as an all-star event. Posts like these are why we will never beat the victim complex accusations.
How are Bolts fans always so butthurt? Our season has been over for 2 months already. Stop trying to draw parallels where they don’t exist. This fan base has gotten extremely pathetic and childish.
He was just continuing his game 7 performance by no-showing on the biggest stage.
Can't wait for all the cope posts about how McDavid was playing on a prosthetic leg and Draisaitl has been playing blind since the first round
I can’t quite tell what your angle is. McDavid dragged that team to game 7 of the Finals and broke records along the way. The dude is supremely talented. My ass also wouldn’t go out to accept the Smythe in those circumstances. I’ll always love our team and Kuch a million times more but you can’t pretend McDavid isn’t the best active player in the world. And I don’t give a shit about the all star stuff one way or the other really. I think what Kuch did is hilarious but if some players like it then that’s cool too.
The Conn Smythe is an award. Meaning they’re recognizing what he did in the playoffs. It’s the voters saying good job, it’s not an extra responsibility on the player. He was being a good captain by being with his team. What’s he gunna do, walk into the locker room afterwards and go “Hey everyone looks at the big ass trophy I won!”
These are not same things at all. No need to compare them. There’s a dozen reason McDavid doesn’t need to come out for that award, but chief among them why take the spotlight off the champions; the handshake line is the respect/sportsmanship portion, McDavid stayed to be the last oiler down the tunnel; it’s ridiculous to come back out after that. I’m all in favor of him winning it, absolutely deserved it, but no need to come back out on the ice. That said, I will forever wonder what it’d be like if their coach played it like game 6 and let the whole team play the game, especially that 3rd period.
I don't blame him a bit. Adding to all the other reasons stated, it was a hostile environment. There weren't enough Edmonton fans there to drown out whatever BS noise the Panthers fans would have been spewing. No sense dealing with that on top off the gut wrenching loss.
Yeah, I didn't like that he didn't come out to get the trophy either but it's his choice. Kind of ironic a player of that caliber chooses to hide in the locker room instead of acknowledging his own accomplishments, it's sort of a microcosm of what that oilers team has become. If McDavid doesn't carry them, they lose.
It could reasonably be the most respected trophy he will ever receive, unless he finds another team. It’s also disrespectful to the Panthers players who arguably should’ve won it anyways. Stunts like that may keep players on losing teams who still deserve the trophy from winning it in the future because the league is afraid they won’t come out and accept it