A brief history of the Maruk Trophy, a fake award for the MVP of early NHL eliminations

Has a player from your favorite team ever won the Conn Smythe?Probably not, because your team never wins anything, and the Conn Smythe is very much an award for winners. Even in those rare years where it goes to a player from the team that loses in the final, like Connor McDavid a few seasons ago, you’re still talking about somebody from a team that’s won three rounds. That’s a lot of winning. And since the Conn Smythe is the only playoff-specific award the NHL has, that means anyone whose team doesn’t win goes home empty-handed.Until today. We’re adding a new award to our fake trophy case.Advertisement