After Stamkos was handed the Stanley Cup by Bettman, he gave it to Hedman, his teammate for 11 seasons with the Lightning.
"He and 'Stammer' are the two that have been here the longest, and he's watched players come in and out, he's watched the team change over, they've missed [the] playoffs," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "... Heddy has grown as a leader, and then when 'Stammer' wasn't able to be around, Heddy stepped to the forefront. And just to watch this guy grow, it's remarkable. He was so deserving of the Conn Smythe, and I know Stammer couldn't be happier for him."
Hedman scored 10 goals, third in history by a defenseman in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored 22 points in 25 postseason games for the Lightning, who played three round-robin games in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers before eliminating the Columbus Blue Jackets (five games in a best-of-7), Boston Bruins (five games) and New York Islanders (six games) to win the Eastern Conference.
Lightning forwards Nikita Kucherov (postseason leader with 34 points) and Brayden Point (postseason leader with 14 goals), and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (postseason record 18 wins) were contenders for the award, voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.