Cale Makar has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as a playoff MVP after leading the Colorado Avalanche to his first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and the third in franchise history.
Makar is the second defender to win the award in the last three years. He follows Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the consecutive defending champions eliminated by Colorado in the Stanley Cup final Sunday night.
“We’ve seen him play like this since the first day of the season,” coach Jared Bednar said. “This guy is elite, and with him, the work he does for us offensively and defensively, watching him play, how dynamic he is, is the best defense of the game right now.”
And the best player in the playoffs, bringing a touch of wild creativity to the attack on the fast-paced, strength defense the Avs need to get things out.
No one played or produced more for Colorado during this Cup race than Makar, who also won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman during the regular season. The 23-year-old skated 27 minutes per game and led the Avalanche with 29 points in 20 games, more than anyone other than Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.
“I don’t think anything goes through his head,” CEO Joe Sakic said. “Cale is a hardworking and humble boy. It pays no attention to any outside noise. He deserves everything he receives. Such an amazing hockey player, and he plays both ways. “
Makar’s evolution into one of the best hockey stars has taken time since he played youth hockey in the Canadian province of Alberta and was selected by the fourth Avalanche in the 2017 draft. Canada to win the youth world gold in 2018 and declined an invitation to represent his country at the NHL’s untalented Olympics to continue perfecting his game at UMass-Amherst.
“For my development, I just didn’t think it was right,” Makar told The Associated Press in September. “I needed more time to develop my defensive aspect of the game. I just felt like I wouldn’t have the same experience at the Olympics, that maybe they would just use me for my strengths instead of allowing me to work on my weaknesses.”
Makar was so concerned with reinforcing these weaknesses that he returned to college for a second season before making his NHL debut with Colorado in the 2019 playoffs. He felt he wanted to be “too mature” to play for the pros and thought facing an older competition helped him prepare.
“For a young defender this can be a little difficult, and once you start doing it early and working on it, your game starts to take a turn,” Makar said before the final. “But it is still something I am trying to improve. It’s not something I think is a staple of my game, so you have to get better every day. “
Makar entered the Lightning series as Conn Smythe’s favorite and then failed to get a shot on goal in Game 1, which Avalanche won in overtime. After seeing Tampa Bay players block out so many attempts, Bednar recalled the adjustments Makar made earlier in the playoffs and never lost faith in the young defender’s ability to make a difference.
“I’ll never tell him not to shoot,” Bednar said. “I trust him and his instincts. … If he sees something he likes on the net, I want him to send it there.”
Makar began to put his stamp on the series with two goals in Colorado’s 7-0 loss to Tampa Bay in Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the series. He was receiving favorable reviews from opponents long before the final.
“He’s an amazing player,” Edmonton defender Tyson Barrie said in the middle of the Avalanche sweeping the Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. “Since he has been in the league, he has been exceptional and the way he creates offense and continues to play defense is incredible. It’s as good as they come at the back end and the way he skates, moves the record and gets the record back, he has all the tools. “
Makar used these tools to help this central group climb the Stanley Cup for the first time.
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