EDGE stats behind Staal winning Conn Smythe Trophy with Hurricanes

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we break down key advanced stats behind Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal becoming the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

1. High-danger offense

17 years after capturing his first championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, Jordan Staal won his second Stanley Cup and became the 54th different winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, the annual award given to the most valuable player to his team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is Staal's first individual award in 20th NHL season and, at 37 years, 277 days, makes him the oldest playoff MVP since the trophy was first awarded in 1965. He tied the NHL record for longest goal streak in a Stanley Cup Final (five games), becoming the fifth player ever to accomplish that feat; the others were Yvan Cournoyer (1973), Jean Beliveau (1956), Maurice Richard (1951) and Cyclone Taylor (1918).

Staal, who joined Wayne Gretzky (1985) as the second captain in the past 105 years to score at least six goals in a Stanley Cup Final, led the championship series in both high-danger goals (five) and high-danger shots on goal (14). Staal, who’s the longest-tenured player in team history at 14 seasons, had not had a five-game goal streak since 2007, when he was 18 years old and playing for the Penguins.

Staal’s versatility allowed him to fit in seamlessly on a new line with Seth Jarvis and Nikolaj Ehlers and also be a difference-maker on the first power-play unit against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Cup Final. He scored two goals in Game 4 at Vegas, both coming from high-danger zones, and became the third-oldest player (37 years, 272 days) to record a multigoal game in the Cup Final (others: Mark Recchi at 43 years, 125 days in 2011; Igor Larionov at 41 years, 187 days in 2002). Seven of Staal’s eight goals this postseason were high-danger goals, and five of his six goals in the Cup Final were high-danger goals.

NHL EDGE IQ insights: Staal led all players in scoring chances (20) during the Stanley Cup Final. Scoring chances are defined as inferenced shot attempts with a “Projected Goal Rate” (PGR) greater than or equal to 5.0 percent; inferenced shot attempts exclude those taken from outside of 60 feet, beyond the goal line and on an empty net.

Of those 20 scoring chances, four resulted in a goal, 10 forced Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart to make a save, and the other six were either blocked (four) or missed the net (two).

2. Power-play impact

Staal played a prime role in the Hurricanes’ power-play success during the Cup Final; Carolina went 6-for-19 (31.6 percent) with the man advantage in the series, significantly outperforming Vegas (2-for-18; 11.1 percent). Staal ranked second in the Cup Final in power-play goals (two; behind Andrei Svechnikov’s three), was tied for third in power-play points (three; behind Shayne Gostisbehere’s five, Svechnikov’s four) and was tied for the series lead in shots on goal overall (18 in six games).

This was a significant uptick in power-play production compared to this regular season, when Staal had four power-play goals and no power-play assists in 75 games playing mostly on the second unit when given those opportunities. Over the past four regular seasons combined, Staal, who was not always on one of Carolina’s power-play units in recent seasons, only had a combined five power-play points (four goals, one assist) over the past four regular seasons combined (no power-play points in 2024-25 or 2022-23). Over those past four regular seasons combined, Staal had nine shorthanded points (four goals, five assists) and was more known as a fixture on Carolina’s top penalty kill unit.

It’s also worth noting the Hurricanes’ power play was not a strong point of the team over the first three rounds, when they went 12-1 to start the postseason; Carolina’s power-play percentages in each previous round were 13.3 against Ottawa Senators, 13.6 against Philadelphia Flyers and 10.5 against Montreal Canadiens for an average of 12.5.

3. Offensive zone time

Staal, a grizzled veteran who contributes in all areas of the game, also dominated face-offs in the series (68.0 percent; won 83 of 122 face-offs) and in the playoffs overall (56.8 percent; won 260 of 414 face-offs). Staal’s face-off percentage in the Final was the highest on record (since 1998; minimum 100 face-offs) and his face-off percentage in the postseason ranked 16th among the 69 players with at least 400 face-offs in a single playoff year. Additionally, Staal became the first player since hits were first tracked in 2006 to have at least six goals and 20 hits (22) in a championship series. Staal was also matched up against elite Vegas center Jack Eichel and helped hold him without a goal in the entire series.

Staal set a franchise record for goals in any series (six) with his elite advanced stats playing a huge part in his offensive outburst. Staal ranked fifth among forwards in offensive zone time percentage at even strength (46.9) this postseason and is also in the 80th percentile among forwards or higher in many other key EDGE categories:

• Hardest shot: 88.57 mph (85th percentile)
• Max skating speed: 22.84 mph (88th percentile)
• 20-plus mph speed bursts: 29 (86th percentile)
• Total skating distance: 54.34 miles (94th percentile)
• Most miles skated in single game: 4.66 (95th percentile)
• Midrange shots on goal: 11 (87th percentile)
• Offensive zone time percentage: 46.6 (87th percentile)

Per NHL EDGE IQ, Staal ranked third in goals scored on offensive zone plays this postseason (eight; behind Pavel Dorofeyev’s 10, Logan Stankoven’s nine), meaning when a goal is scored after the puck has been in the offensive zone for at least five seconds.

Staal is the fourth active player to win the Conn Smythe as a captain, following Connor McDavid (2024), Sidney Crosby (2016, 2017) and Alex Ovechkin (2018).