All throughout the 2013 NHL Playoffs, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has been consistent and clutch. It was Kane who recorded a hat trick in a Game 5 win that finished off the defending champion Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Finals and it was Kane who led the Hawks with 19 points in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. No better player deserved the Conn Smythe Trophy, which was presented to Kane following Chicago’s epic 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the NHL Finals to win the Stanley Cup.
Afterward, Kane said “it was the best year of [his] life,” and who can argue? He was arguably even more sensational in this postseason than he was when the Hawks won the cup in 2010, and that’s saying something.
Jonathan Toews won the Conn Smythe Trophy during the Hawks’ run to the title three years ago and he was definitely solid in these playoffs, despite battling through injury, especially after the vicious hit he took in Game 5 of the Finals. However, Kane was as steady as the day is long throughout the playoffs and especially against the stifling Bruins defense, most notably when it mattered and his teammates needed him the most. No better player deserves the trophy this year.