Winnipeg-born Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the National Hockey League playoffs.
Toews, 22, was rewarded with the trophy after the Hawks clinched the Stanley Cup with a 4-3 overtime victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
“This is just unbelievable, as good as it gets,” Toews told CBCTV after the win. “It’s been an awesome road, and to pull it off like this is just awesome.”
The win in Game 6 saw Chicago take the best-of-seven final, 4-2 in games.
Toews was relatively quiet in the final but was a force early on in the post-season. He finished with seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points in his 22 games, one point behind Philadelphia’s Daniel Briere who led all players in playoff scoring.
“Everything’s gone so well in Chicago. Our team’s turned it around. All year everyone was saying this is the year, and there was a lot of pressure, but we always believed what we could do as a team,” said Toews.
The Chicago captain was a first-round pick (third overall) in the 2006 NHL entry draft by the Hawks.
The Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe wins cap off a tremendous season for Toews who was one of Team Canada’s best players during their gold-medal win at the Vancouver Olympics in February.
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