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Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman is the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy

Victor Hedman, six-foot-six before his skates go on, is used to standing head and shoulders above everybody on the ice. He’s doing it again, this time as the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman had 10 playoff goals going into Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final Friday night. Bobby Orr never had that many in a single playoffs; only Paul Coffey, with 12, and Brian Leetch, with 11, scored more in one post-season. Three of Hedman’s 10 were game-winners.

“I like to contribute offensively, but we’re not here for our personal stats,” Hedman said. “We’re here for one thing, that’s winning the Stanley Cup. I’m happy with the way things are going but, at the end of the day, if that’s by a goal or a blocked shot, it doesn’t matter to us, the goal is still the same.”

Hedman leads all players that lasted beyond the first round in average ice time on ice, at 26 minutes. More importantly, perhaps, he took over leadership of the Lightning with captain Steven Stamkos sidelined in these playoffs until taking five shifts in Game 3 Wednesday.

“(Hedman) controls the game,” teammate Mikhail Sergachev said. “He plays all situations. He not only eats minutes, he’s so great killing penalties, playing the power play, five-on-five. It’s unbelievable how well he plays.

“He has done everything for us. He’s been huge.”

The Conn Smythe award, given to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup tournament, won’t get handed out until the Cup itself is awarded. Tracking the favourites is a bit like the stock market. A player’s value goes up and down with each passing game, each passing series.

The award, as voted on by 18 members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, is supposed to reflect the entire playoffs, but typically the final round carries a bit more weight. Here’s a look at the favourites for the Conn Smythe, named in honour of the founder of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

  • Victor Hedman, Lightning: He was a Norris finalist for the fourth year in a row, but he has won the top defenceman’s award only once. The Conn Smythe would mean more, though the Stanley Cup itself is the goal. Hedman has been steady since the outset of the playoffs, putting up points and logging minutes in each series. He’s an intimidating presence. The other team barely scores when he’s on the ice, which is the mark of a top-end defenceman.
  • Nikita Kucherov, Lightning: If Hedman has been the spiritual leader of the Lightning in the absence of Stamkos, then Kucherov is their offensive leader. He led the playoffs in points through Game 3, and though scoring goals had been an issue, his passing has been brilliant. There was also high praise for his work ethic and tenacity. When a talented player gets gritty, the world pays attention. It makes him that much harder to play against. As Stamkos put it: “He’s the best player in the world right now.”
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning: The Russian goalie has played every minute for Tampa Bay, never once ceding the net to backup Curtis McElhinney. He has been that reliable. He’s only allowed three or more goals six times in the playoffs, so each game is always in reach. He is 16-6, with a 1.89 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. And as much as he’s played, he hasn’t looked tired.
  • Anton Khudobin, Stars: The other Russian goalie in these playoffs earned great accolades coming into the final, having taken over the Dallas net when starter Ben Bishop got hurt. He has an unorthodox style, but got the job done in getting the Stars this far. If he posted a shutout or two to get the Cup in Dallas’s hands, he’d earn back some of the praise that went silent through Games 2 and 3. “He’s been solid, he’s been consistent, he’s done everything you want your starting goalie to do, which is give you a chance to win the game,” Dallas coach Rick Bowness said.

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  • Miro Heiskanen, Stars: Early in the playoffs, it seemed Heiskanen had arrived as a star defenceman to be reckoned with, with eight points in the conference quarterfinal against Calgary, and nine in the conference semifinal against Colorado. His game has waned somewhat lately — he managed one assist in the conference final against Vegas — and he seems less dynamic. He made a big error that led to a Kucherov goal in Game 3. But if he’s a quick learner and Dallas turns things around, his Conn Smythe hopes can be saved.

  • Jamie Benn, Stars: His usual linemates, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov, have had their share of struggles, making life harder on Benn. But the big winger has risen above the struggles of his teammates, producing each round on the way to the final (though he had not hit the mark three games into the Cup final). He’s really the only top player on Dallas who has been playing to his potential. He does himself no favours in voting by offering up short, cliché-ridden answers to the media. But he’s not here to curry favour, or make friends. He’s here to win the Cup and he’ll do it with big goals and big hits.

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