Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal became the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner at 37 after Carolina beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game 6 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
ESPN's game summary listed the result as final Sunday night, with Carolina closing the series in six games. ESPN also reported that the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history and their first since 2006.
Staal Adds Playoff MVP To Carolina's Cup Night
The Conn Smythe Trophy goes to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs, as voted by a panel of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Staal's win made him the fourth straight forward to take the award.
Staal had 12 points in 18 playoff games, but ESPN's report made clear why the vote turned toward him late in the run. He scored six goals in the first five games of the Final, becoming only the fifth player in NHL history to score in five straight Stanley Cup Final games.
His defensive work still framed the award. Staal's line handled difficult matchups through the postseason, and ESPN noted that he entered Game 6 having won 56.4% of his playoff faceoffs, including 69% in the Final.
Seventeen Years Between Stanley Cups
The championship also gave Staal a long-distance place in NHL history. He won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, then waited 17 years for the next one, the longest gap from one Cup to another by any player, according to ESPN.
The previous mark was 16 years, held by Chris Chelios from 1986 to 2002. Staal's version came after a 2012 trade to Carolina and 14 seasons with the Hurricanes, including several early years without a playoff appearance.
Staal ranked second in Hurricanes franchise history with 972 games played at the time of the report. That matters here because this was not a short-term rental getting hot for six weeks. It was the captain of a long project reaching the best possible ending.
Carolina Closes The Final With A Shutout
Carolina's 3-0 win in Game 6 supplied the hard edge behind the ceremony. The Hurricanes shut out Vegas on the road, and ESPN's recap described a defense-first finish after earlier games in the series had forced Carolina into higher-scoring stretches.
The result ended the Golden Knights' season and gave the Hurricanes their first championship in 20 years. For coach Rod Brind'Amour, who captained Carolina's 2006 Cup team, the title connected the franchise's two championship eras.
Staal's award gave the night its individual marker. Carolina lifted the Cup, and its captain left Las Vegas with a trophy record that fits the way the Hurricanes got there: patient, difficult to move, and finally finished.