Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP through 3 rounds debated by NHL.com

There is one round remaining to improve one's resume for those players hoping to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, given to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs each season.

Players from the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers will spend the next two weeks adding to their accomplishments in hopes of being considered for the award, which is voted on by select members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Game 1 is at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Who is the MVP of the playoffs through three rounds?

We asked 10 NHL.com staffers who have covered at least one round of the playoffs and will cover the Stanley Cup Final.

Here, in alphabetical order, are their choices.

Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

My pick for MVP is the same as my pick for the Conn Smythe: Barkov. The veteran forward still never gets his due, even as the entire NHL has woken up to how much he impacts every single bit of every single game by somehow seeming to be everywhere. I could have sworn he played 45-plus minutes in each of the games of the past round, because he appeared to be a part of every key play against the New York Rangers (and the Boston Bruins before that). Barkov is an all-time player and an all-time leader and he's a slam dunk for me. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Although his 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) might pale in comparison to the big numbers some of the Oilers players are compiling, he's been as valuable as any player for his play at each end of the ice. There's a long list of offensive players wondering where their offensive production went after playing against Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward for the second time this season. The latest were Chris Kreider (one short-handed goal) and Mika Zibanejad (no goals) in the Eastern Conference Final. Perhaps Barkov's signature moment of the playoffs was his block on David Pastrnak's one-timer late to preserve the Panthers' 2-1 series-clinching win against the Bruins in Game 6 of the second round. (Pastrnak had one goal in that series.) Oh, and he's managed to score three game-winning goals along the way. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

Remember when that seven-year contract the goaltender signed was looking like a bad investment? Well, it's not anymore. Bobrovsky has been exactly what Florida wanted him to be, and he's been excellent in leading the Panthers to their second Stanley Cup Final in as many seasons. What's the name of the game in the playoffs? Steady, and Bobrovsky has been that. He's surrounded by a lot of talent, but your goaltender is the last line of defense, and he's been a big reason the Panthers are allowing only 2.29 goals per game in the playoffs. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Bobrovsky's numbers aren't eye-popping -- 12-5, 2.20 goals-against average, .908 save percentage, one shutout. But he's outdueled Igor Shesterkin, the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, the 2018-19 Vezina recipient, and Jeremy Swayman to help get the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final. "Bob" had three one-goal victories against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final including a 3-0 shutout in the series opener. He defeated the Bruins twice by one goal, including in the series clincher (2-1 in Game 6). He won Games 1 and 2 in the Eastern Conference First Round against the Lightning by the same 3-2 scores. All this to say that when the game is on the line, Bobrovsky has delivered. To me, that's the definition of an MVP. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers

The once-unheralded defensemen continues his ascent toward superstardom in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It will reach its zenith when the 27-year-old is named MVP of the tournament later this month. Forsling does it all for the Panthers and he does it with an ease and a grace that belies how difficult the tasks are that he is asked to tackle. When Forsling is on the ice in 5-on-5 situations, his team owns 58.4 of the shot attempts. He is dangerous in the offensive zone and an eraser in the defensive zone. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

McDavid leads the playoffs in scoring with 31 points (five goals, 26 assists) in 18 games. He has scored big goals, like his double-overtime winner in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, and jaw-dropping goals, like his toe drag around Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen in Game 6 of the conference final. He is already tied for the sixth most in assists in a playoff run in NHL history. The captain of the Oilers looks like he's on a mission to meet the sky-high expectations with which he entered the League as the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

I'm not sure how anyone can see what the Oilers captain is doing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and not select him as the MVP. McDavid has been regarded as the best player in the NHL for years, which his three Hart Trophies, four Ted Lindsay Awards and five Art Ross titles can attest to, but he is having the best playoff of any player in the League by far. McDavid leads in playoff scoring and has elevated his game to another level. It is tough to envision the Panthers keeping him and his partner in crime, Leon Draisaitl, in check in the Final, considering how determined they are to win the Stanley Cup. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

McDavid is only the sixth player in NHL history to have at least 30 points in multiple postseasons (also doing so in 2022). He scored the overtime winner against the Stars in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, then helped eliminate them in a 2-1 victory in Game 6 with a two-point effort including a goal that teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins called "mind-boggling." Let's face it: he's the best player on the planet who is playing like it. Perhaps Draisaitl put it best when he said, "There's only one player in the world who can do things like that." He was referring to McDavid, who is doing those things right now. We rest our case. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers

Clearly the goalie will not win the real Conn Smythe, and heck, his team didn't even win the Eastern Conference Final, but he was the biggest reason the Rangers got that far. In fact, I don't think the Rangers would've defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round without Shesterkin, and they likely would've gotten swept by Florida, too. He faced the most shots of any goalie through the first three rounds (32.8 per game) for a team that averaged 25.8 shots on goal. He had to stand on his head every night, helped steal one series and nearly stole another. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

This pick is for the first three rounds and that simply must go to Shesterkin even though his team lost in six games to Barkov and the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. Shesterkin is the reason that series got to six games. He's arguably the reason why the Rangers got into the conference final. The Rangers wasted an all-world goaltending performance by Shesterkin against the Panthers. Shesterkin faced an average of 33.3 shots per game in the conference final, and allowed 14 goals, posting a 2.25 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. He averaged 31.2 saves per game. He made 32 saves in Game 6, a 2-1 loss. Shesterkin was 10-6 with a 2.34 GAA and .927 save percentage in three rounds. Under siege often, he was brilliant, easily the best player on any team through the first three rounds. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer