NHL analyst calls out Olympic voters for choosing Connor McDavid as tournament MVP over Connor Hellebuyck
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Tyler Ball
Feb 22, 2026 (3:13 PM)
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
After Team USA’s historic gold medal win in the Men’s hockey event one analyst believes the Olympic committee made a mistake voting Connor McDavid as MVP.
Despite losing a heartbreaking overtime game against the United States, Canadian captain Connor McDavid was named the MVP of the Olympics.
McDavid’s MVP nod comes after he set the record for most points for most points at a Winter Olympics featuring NHL players.
Despite this impressive record, many believe the award should’ve gone to Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck from gold medal winning Team USA.
NHL analyst calls out Olympic committee for picking the wrong MVP
After the announcement was made regarding the MVP selection, NHL analyst Adrian Dater called the decision to give McDavid the MVP an embarrassment.
Hmmm, gee, let me think on that. What an embarrassment for the voters
Hellebuyck throughout the tournament came up clutch on multiple occasions and finished the tournament with a 1.18 goals against average and a 0.956 save percentage both of which are incredible metrics.
While this could be seen a slight to Hellebuyck who had an incredible tournament the voting did conclude after the first period providing a potential explanation for the decision.
Still, this now reveals a flaw in the Olympics MVP voting system that only a third of the most important game is considered for MVP.
With the outcry from analysts and fans alike it will be interesting to see if the voting process is changed for the next Winter Olympic Games in 2030 to allow voting to commence after the game.
Now, Hellebuyck and McDavid will both return to their respective NHL teams as the playoff push commences.
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