Top 3 favorites to win the Conn Smythe heading into the Stanley Cup Final.

The stage has been set for the Stanley Cup Final with the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights advancing from their respective conferences, and now all eyes have shifted to that highly anticipated matchup which will get underway this coming week.

Coming into the Stanley Cup Final there has been plenty of debate surrounding who the favorite, or favorites, should be to win the Conn Smythe Trophy and with the final now set the odds are heavily favoring 3 players in particular.

Today I will be looking at each of these players in descending order, starting with the odds on favorite to win arguably the National Hockey League's most prestigious individual award.

#1 Mitch Marner

It has been an almost surreal journey for those who have followed Marner's career since his time as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Marner seemingly exorcising all of his postseason demons in a single playoff run with the Vegas Golden Knights and currently poised as the odds on favorite to be named playoff MVP.

Marner has inarguably been the most dominant offensive player in the Stanley Cup playoffs so far with a very impressive 7 goals and 14 assists for 21 points despite playing in just 16 games. Marner does it on both sides of the ice as well and despite his defensive responsibilities he currently boasts a plus minus rating of +12 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

If Marner can maintain his current pace and the Golden Knights go on to win it all, he seems destined to win the Conn Smythe along the way.

#2 Frederik Andersen

Andersen trails closely behind Marner as the second odds on favorite to win the Conn Smythe and for very good reason. In 13 playoff games so far Andersen has tasted defeat just a single time and boasts a 1.41 goals against average and a .931 save percentage in these Stanley Cup playoffs.

You can certainly make the argument that Andersen benefits tremendously from the system played by the Hurricanes but at the end of the day he is doing his job and doing it exceptionally well thus far.

Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart has also been excellent but even his numbers, a goals against average of 2.22 and a save percentage of .924, pale in comparison to what Andersen has provided for the Hurricanes.

#3 Taylor Hall

At 34 years old Taylor Hall has seemingly found the fountain of youth and is changing the narrative around his NHL career in real time with strong performance after strong performance for the Hurricanes.

Hall has been a thorn in the side of opponents and his commitment to physical play has led to some of those opponents feeling the ill effects of Hall's presence on the ice. Combined with the fact that he has produced 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points in just 13 games, as well as a plus minus rating of +11, and you've got the makings of a serious Conn Smythe candidate.

While Hall is admittedly much more of a long shot that either Andersen or Marner, he could very well make himself a favorite if he continues to play at the level he has shown so far in these playoffs.

Let me know your prediction on who will take home the Conn Smythe this year in the comments.