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Way-Too-Early Favorites for the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy

Conn Smythe, the man whose name signifies player excellence in the Stanley Cup playoffs, wasn't much of a players guy.

First off, his real first name wasn't Conn. It was Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe. He essentially was the boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens for about 30 years, until retiring from the game in 1961.

Smythe was an anti-union guy who thought of players as so much dispensable cattle. He was part of the old-old-school days of hockey when owners essentially told players where they could go if they didn't like their one and only contract offer.