Just four games into what’s been an incredible Stanley Cup final thus far, it’s become quite clear who the front-runner is to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup playoffs’ most valuable player.

Based on his point production, the timeliness of that offence and his ability to play defence by controlling possession of the puck, Vegas’s Mitch Marner is skating away from the field at a record pace.

But as valuable to the Golden Knights and their impressive playoff run have been the contributions of Oakbank, Man.’s Brett Howden.

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He leads the league in playoff goal scoring with 14, including a Golden Knights playoff record three short-handed goals and three game-winners, and has provided the type of compete on every shift necessary to put him and his team in a position to win their second Stanley Cup.

And he’s spread it out, with an overtime winner against Utah and other game-winning goals against Anaheim and Colorado. No team in these playoffs has been spared Howden’s wrath.

Now, the eight-year NHLer doesn’t have the cachet that other major contributors on the Golden Knights like Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl or even Mark Stone hold, but ask anyone on his team about his importance and unanimously they would admit their situation wouldn’t be the same without him.

And at just 28 years old and with four years left on his contract, it appears he’s just getting started, as he moves firmly into his prime and with a growing presence on an already star-studded roster.

At this point of the Stanley Cup final, Marner is the favourite to win the Conn Smythe, but without the contributions of his linemate through these playoffs, Vegas might not be sitting exactly where they are this June.

As such, Marner might be the front-runner to win the playoff MVP award, but Howden’s worth to his team’s Stanley Cup push to date has been uniquely just as valuable.

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