Who won the Conn Smythe? Hurricanes' Jordan Staal wins NHL's playoff MVP

The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in 20 years, when goalie Cam Ward earned Conn Smythe honors and Rod Brind'Amour captained the team to immortality.

With Brind'Amour on the bench as head coach and another inexperienced goalie in net, the Hurricanes closed out the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to put the franchise's past playoff disappointments out of mind.

Brandon Bussi perhaps saved the Hurricanes' season after replacing Frederik Andersen, but he wasn't the one who skated away with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Here's a look at which player earned the honor after Game 6.

MORE: How Rod Brind'Amour is responsible for nearly every playoff win in Hurricanes history

Who won the 2026 Conn Smythe?

Jordan Staal has been with the Hurricanes for 14 years, so it's only fitting he was the player celebrated with the Conn Smythe Trophy after the Hurricanes finished off their title run.

Jordan Staal accepts the Conn Smythe Trophy as the OLDEST player to ever win it 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/KuVACoGzyA

The award was earned regardless of Staal's experience level, as the 37-year-old put together a magnificent playoff run with 12 points on eight goals and four assists in 17 games. Staal averaged 0.71 points per game after averaging 0.48 points per game in the regular season, and he was unstoppable in the Stanley Cup Final with six goals in six games.

Staal scored in each of the first five games of the Stanley Cup Final for Carolina, and that performance on the NHL's biggest stage earned him an award that will etch his name among some hockey greats.

He was chosen over other Carolina forwards such as Long Stankoven and Taylor Hall. 

Full list of Conn Smythe winners

Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy the last time the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup Final.

Here's a full list of all the Conn Smythe winners in NHL history.