We already know that Alex Ovechkin, after scoring a franchise-record 15 postseason goals in helping the Washington Capitals win their first ever Stanley Cup, was able to add yet another trophy to his collection when he was awarded the 2018 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
By doing so he became just the fourth non-North American born player to ever win the award.
Now we know exactly how he won it in terms of the voting.
On Tuesday morning the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association revealed the ballots for the 2018 award, showing that Ovechkin received 13 out of a possible 18 first-place votes.
The other five belonged to his teammate, Evgeny Kuznetsov, who finished as the NHL’s leading point producer in the playoffs.
Every ballot had Ovechkin and Kuznetsov in its top two.
The only players to receive third-place votes were the two goalies, with Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby collecting 13 third-place votes and Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury getting two.
Following an internal vote back in March the PHWA decided it will reveal the full awards ballots for every voter in the interest of full transparency (in additional transparency, I voted “yes” in that vote).
This will also be true for the Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, Selke Trophy, Masterton Trophy, and Norris Trophy when those results are announced later this month.
Here are the ballots for the Conn Smythe Trophy, via the PHWA:
Either Ovechkin and Kuznetsov would have been a worthy recipient of the award as they were both not only the leaders in key offensive categories (Ovechkin in goals; Kuznetsov in total points with one of the highest point totals in recent Stanley Cup playoff history) but also scored some of the biggest goals of the playoffs for the Capitals. They had the production. They had the moments.
Related: Alex Ovechkin wins Conn Smythe Trophy
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.