3. Patrick Kane (2013)
Back in 2013, Patrick Kane helped the Chicago Blackhawks win their second Stanley Cup in four seasons. He nearly won the Conn Smythe in 2010 and perhaps should have won it, as he finished just one point behind Jonathan Toews and it was Kane who rather unceremoniously ended the Stanley Cup Final.
2013 was a very weird year. Only one player who played in the Stanley Cup Final averaged over a point per game, and that was David Krejci of the Boston Bruins. So you’d think voters would go with a defenseman or a goalie, right? Wrong. It was Kane who won with 19 points in 23 games.
There weren’t any good defensemen to choose, either. Duncan Keith only had 13 points in 23 games. So unless you want to argue Zdeno Chara should have won the Conn Smythe, a defenseman wasn’t the right pick either.
This leaves us with one choice – Corey Crawford. In 23 games, Crawford posted a 16-7 record while putting up a .932% save percentage. Sure, you could argue Tuukka Rask should have won it. But that wasn’t happening after Game 6, during which Rask allowed two goals in under 17 seconds. Ultimately, Crawford should have won the Conn Smythe over Kane.