Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was the runaway winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
Staal led the Hurricanes to a 3-0 victory in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals as Carolina defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in the series to capture the franchise’s second-ever Stanley Cup.
Following the game, Staal was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Now, we have the voting results.
Voting Results for Conn Smythe Trophy
Here are the full voting results for the Conn Smythe Trophy courtesy of the PHWA. As you can see, Staal was named first on 17 of the 21 ballots, with fellow Hurricanes veteran Taylor Hall collecting the other four first-place votes.
2026 Conn Smythe Trophy Ballots
| Voter (outlet) | First | Second | Third |
| Chip Alexander (News & Observer) | Jordan Staal | Taylor Hall | Jackson Blake |
| Mark Anderson (Associated Press) | Hall | Staal | Logan Stankoven |
| Jonathan Bernier (Quebecor Media) | Staal | Hall | Stankoven |
| Per Bjurman (Aftonbladet) | Staal | Hall | Mitch Marner |
| Steve Carp (The Sporting Tribune) | Staal | Hall | Brandon Bussi |
| Luke Fox (Sportsnet) | Staal | Hall | Nikolaj Ehlers |
| Elliotte Friedman (Sportsnet) | Staal | Hall | Ehlers |
| Sean Gentille (The Athletic) | Hall | Staal | Stankoven |
| Jesse Granger (The Athletic) | Staal | Hall | Stankoven |
| Ryan Henkel (The Hockey News) | Staal | Hall | Blake |
| Chris Johnston (The Athletic) | Staal | Stankoven | Hall |
| Emily Kaplan (ESPN) | Staal | Stankoven | Marner |
| Cory Lavalette (North State Journal) | Staal | Hall | Stankoven |
| Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic) | Staal | Jaccob Slavin | Hall |
| Justin Pelletier (News & Observer) | Staal | Hall | Stankoven |
| Michael Russo (The Athletic) | Staal | Stankoven | Hall |
| Frank Seravalli (Hockey 24/7) | Staal | Hall | Stankoven |
| Teemu Suvinen (Ilta-Sanomat) | Staal | Hall | Ehlers |
| Danny Webster (Las Vegas Review-Journal) | Staal | Marner | Ehlers |
| Stephen Whyno (Associated Press) | Hall | Staal | Stankoven |
| Greg Wyshynski (ESPN) | Hall | Staal | Marner |
Voting Point Totals
Jordan Staal, Carolina: 97 points
Taylor Hall, Carolina: 59 points
Logan Stankoven, Carolina: 17 points
Mitch Marner, Vegas: 6 points
Nikolaj Ehlers, Carolina: 4 points
Jaccob Slavin, Carolina: 3 points
Jackson Blake, Carolina: 2 points
Brandon Bussi, Carolina, 1 point
Points were awarded on a 5-3-1 basis and the deadline to submit ballots to the NHL occurred with 10 minutes remaining in Game 6.
Jordan Staal is the Hurricanes’ Heart and Soul
After spending the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Hurricanes traded for Staal in 2012, and he has turned out to be one of the greatest players in franchise history.
Staal actually won the Stanley Cup back in 2009 in just his third year in the league, so he has tasted victory before in the NHL’s ultimate finale. Now, 17 years later, he has hoisted the Stanley Cup for a second time, only this time as a grizzled veteran and as the captain of the Hurricanes.
In 20 seasons in the NHL, Staal has played in 1,403 regular-season games, scoring 318 goals and 747 points. He has also played in 181 playoff games, adding 46 goals and 85 points.
He is the heart and soul of the Hurricanes, and he is a huge reason why they won, as he was on fire scoring goals in the Stanley Cup Finals against Vegas, even though he is primarily a checker.
Now, he’s a 2x Stanley Cup Champion and a Conn Smythe Trophy winner, too.
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