Avalanche D-man Cale Makar wins Conn Smythe as playoff MVP

Jun 26, 2022, 8:12 AM | Updated: 10:38 pm

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) controls the puck next to Tampa Bay Lightning center A...

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) controls the puck next to Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (71) during the third period of Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack)

(AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack)

Cale Makar has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the Colorado Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and third in franchise history.

Makar is the second defenseman to win the award over the past three years. He follows Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the back-to-back defending champions eliminated by Colorado in the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night.

“We’ve seen him play this way from Day 1 of the season,” coach Jared Bednar said. “This guy is elite, and with him, the job he does for us offensively and defensively, watching him play, how dynamic he is, he’s just the best defenseman in the game right now.”

And the best player in the playoffs, bringing a wildly creative flair on offense to the speedy, force-the-turnover defense the Avs need to make things go.

No one played or produced more for Colorado during this Cup run than Makar, who also won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman during the regular season. The 23-year-old skated 27 minutes a game and led the Avalanche with 29 points in 20 games — more than anyone not named Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

“I don’t think anything goes to his head,” general manager Joe Sakic said. “Cale is a hard-working, humble guy. He does not pay attention to any outside noise. He deserves everything he’s getting. Such an unbelievable hockey player, and he plays both ways.”

Makar’s evolution into one of hockey’s top stars has taken time since playing junior hockey in Canada’s province of Alberta and getting picked by the Avalanche fourth in the 2017 draft. He helped Canada win world junior gold in 2018 and declined an invitation to represent his country at the Olympics without NHL talent to continue honing his game at UMass-Amherst.

“For my development, I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do,” Makar told The Associated Press in September. “I needed more time to develop my defensive aspect of the game. I just felt like at the Olympics I wouldn’t get that same experience, that they’d maybe just use me for my strengths rather than allowing me to work on my weaknesses.”

Makar cared so much about shoring up those weaknesses that he went back to college for a second season before making his NHL debut for Colorado in the 2019 playoffs. He felt like he wanted to be “overripe” for playing in the pros and thought facing older competition helped gear him up for that.

“For young defenseman that can be a little bit of a struggle, and once you start getting on it early and working on it, then your game starts to take a turn,” Makar said before the final. “But it’s still something that I try to improve on. It’s not something I feel like is a staple of my game, so you have to be better at it every day.”

Makar went into the Lightning series as the Conn Smythe front-runner and then didn’t get a shot on goal in Game 1, which the Avalanche won in overtime. After watching Tampa Bay players block so many attempts, Bednar recalled adjustments Makar made earlier in the playoffs and never lost faith in the young defenseman’s ability to make a difference.

“I’m never going to tell him not to shoot,” Bednar said. “I trust him and his instincts. … If he sees something he likes at the net, I want him to send it there.”

Makar began putting his stamp on the series with two goals in Colorado’s 7-0 rout of Tampa Bay in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead. He was drawing rave reviews from opponents well before the final.

“He’s an amazing player,” Edmonton defenseman Tyson Barrie said in the middle of the Avalanche sweeping the Oilers in the Western Conference final. “Since he’s been in the league, he’s been exceptional and it’s amazing the way he’s creating offense and still playing defense. He’s as good as they come on the back end and the way he skates and moves the puck and retrieves the puck, he’s got every tool.”

Makar used those tools to help this core group hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time.

___

Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno

___

More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

3 months ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

3 months ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

3 months ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

3 months ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

3 months ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

3 months ago

Avalanche D-man Cale Makar wins Conn Smythe as playoff MVP