NHL names the 'mid-playoff' MVP.

The National Hockey League has just given out something of a bizarre non-award, but it is interesting at the very least because it paints a picture of how some of the league's own staff has viewed the proceedings in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs thus far.

On Sunday the NHL announced that 15 members of their NHL.com staff had been tasked with voting for who they felt was the league's playoff MVP half way through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The result was pretty unanimous but perhaps even more interesting than the winner itself was the fact that one of the league's 4 remaining teams seems to be getting little to no respect from the league's own staff of writers.

First, let's get to the winner. Taking a dominant 37 of a possible 45 points, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price would be named the Conn Smythe winner if the playoffs ended today. Of course that will mean absolutely nothing if his Canadiens fail to advance deeper into the playoffs and many believe that Price and the Canadiens face an uphill climb against a very tough Las Vegas Golden Knights squad.

The top vote getter for the Tampa Bay Lightning was star forward Nikita Kucherov who received 16 points in the vote, good enough for 2nd place. Kucherov and the Lightning are viewed by many as the favorite on their side of the bracket as they are set to face the New York Islanders, and should the Lightning continue to advance in these playoffs he could very well be named the MVP.

Right behind Kucherov was the top vote getter for the Las Vegas Golden Knights and to no one's surprise that man is Marc Andre Fleury. The Golden Knights star goaltender received 15 points in the voting, putting him in third place, and I suspect that should the Golden Knights go all the way he will emerge as the clear favorite on that team to win the award.

As I said however one team got very little respect from the league and that team is the New York Islanders. Both Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal made the list, but they received just a single point each from the NHL.com staff, something that could become bulletin board material for head coach Barry Trotz as he tries to get his team motivated for the third round of the playoffs. 

Do you agree with the league's picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below