Hurricanes' Jordan Staal, 37, becomes oldest Conn Smythe winner

LAS VEGAS --Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staalwas awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs, becoming the oldest player to win it at age 37.

The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history and the first time since 2006, eliminating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games Sunday night.

Staal became the first player in NHL history to go 17 years from one Stanley Cup to the next, adding to a championship he won with the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins. The previous mark of 16 years was held by Chris Chelios (1986 to 2002).

"This is something I've been going after ever since we got the first one," Staal said. "You want to win it again and again and again. And what a feeling, what a battle."

Staal had 12 points in 18 playoff games. He's the fourth straight forward to win the Conn Smythe, which is determined in a vote by a panel of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Staal was traded from Pittsburgh to Carolina in 2012, and he spent the next 14 seasons with the Hurricanes. He ranks second in franchise history with 972 games played. He spent his first six years with them without a postseason appearance.

"I don't want to say that the losing that he had to do for four, five years when he got here might have fueled him even more, but I think it did,"Jordan Martinooksaid of Staal. "The fact that he's seen some pretty dark days here and then to be on the other side of it ... he stuck through it the whole time."

Though he had 499 points with Carolina, Staal was best known as one of the most dominant defensive centers in the NHL, despite never winning the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward. Both sides of his game were on display in the Hurricanes' run to the Stanley Cup. Staal's checking line frequently took on the toughest defensive assignments through all four rounds. He was dominant in the faceoff circle: Entering Game 6, Staal won 56.4% of his faceoffs in the playoffs. He was especially dominant in the Stanley Cup Final winning at a 69% clip.

But it was Staal's offensive game that ultimately won him playoff MVP honors. The Hurricanes center scored six goals in the first five games against the Golden Knights. He became only the fifth player in NHL history to score a goal in five straight Stanley Cup Final games.

"He's doing it all right now and it's a lot of fun to watch. That's what you want your captain to do," teammate Jackson Blakesaid. "He's done so many good things for us. He's so good defensively, but scoring every night, winning faceoffs, penalty killing, on the power play, you name it -- he's doing it. So he's been special and a lot of fun to watch."br/]