The Denver Gazette

Makar wins Conn Smythe Trophy as series MVP

BY VINNY BENEDETTO The Denver Gazette

Space is Cale Makar’s trophy case is getting increasingly tight.

The Avalanche’s do-it-all defenseman became the third Conn Smythe Trophy winner in franchise history, joining Joe Sakic (1996) and Patrick Roy (2001), after Colorado defeated Tampa Bay, 2-1, in Game 6 on Sunday at Amalie Arena.

“Hard to describe what he means to our team, how special of a player he is, how special of a person he is,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I’m not surprised by anything he does anymore because we’ve been seeing it for a couple of years. Even again, now in the playoffs, he’s found a way to elevate his game and really helped push our team over the top.

“This is an incredible human being and incredible player.”

Makar received all 18 first-place votes, totaling 90 points in the final tally. He is the first unanimous winner in the five years since the NHL started to make the results public.

Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon was second with 47 points.

When asked postgame what other teams around the league might look to duplicate from the Avalanche’s championship run, captain Gabriel Landeskog gave the nod to the team’s young star defenseman.

“Find a Cale Makar somewhere,” Landeskog suggested.

That’s no easy task, as his coach explained.

“Just a humble, hardest-working guy who takes nothing for granted. He’s an unbelievable player,” Bednar said. “The talent and his ability are like nothing I’ve even seen, maybe never will see again from a defenseman. I think (he’s) an even better person. You kind of put that package together, you get Cale Makar.”

Earlier this postseason, the 23-yearold won the James Norris Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league’s top defenseman, on Tuesday.

He’s the first player in franchise history to win the award.

Unlike Most Valuable Player awards in other major sports, the Conn Smythe Trophy is given to the top performer over the entire postseason, not just the final series.

After registering 86 points – 28 goals and 58 assists – in the regular season, Makar scored eight goals and recorded 21 assists in 20 playoff games.

He was at his best in a one-goal, four-assist performance, as the Avalanche swept the Oilers in the conference final to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in more than 20 years. He scored two of Colorado’s seven goals in a dominating win over the Lightning in Game 2 of the Final and added a goal and an assist in Game 5 against the Lightning.

“Obviously (I’m) so grateful and just honored to be a part of this success,” Makar said.

“It’s surreal. I’m not too worried about this individual stuff, just celebrating the main thing with the boys.”

The Avalanche drafted Makar with the fourth pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft after a standout career with the Brooks Bandits in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

He played for a couple of seasons at University of Massachusetts, winning the Hobey Baker Award in 2019, before starting his professional career. He made an immediate impact with the Avalanche, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2020, as the league’s top rookie.

This season, his finished eighth in the Hart Trophy voting.

With just three years of NHL experience to his name and the Avalanche looking like Cup contenders for the foreseeable future, investing in a larger trophy case could very well be a wise investment for Colorado’s latest Conn Smythe Trophy recipient.

“The core of this team is here to stay for a while,” Makar said. “It’s so exciting to be on a team with so many good guys and just to be able to experience that.”

AVALANCHE 2022 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

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2022-06-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.denvergazette.com/article/281977496306349

The Gazette, Colorado Springs