DENVER — Cale Makar was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday.
Makar was voted the winner after he helped the Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001. He finished with seven points (three goals, four assists) in the Final in the six-game victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Makar is the seventh defenseman to win the Conn Smythe since 1990, joining Brian Leetch (New York Rangers, 1994), Scott Stevens (New Jersey Devils, 2000), Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings, 2002), Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim Ducks, 2007), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks, 2015), and Victor Hedman (Lightning, 2020).
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He is the third defenseman in League history to win the Cup, Conn Smythe and Norris Trophy in the same season, joining Bobby Orr (1970, 1972) and Lidstrom (2002).
Makar was third in the NHL with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 19 games this postseason, the most by a defenseman since Leetch had 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 23 games in 1993-94.
Makar made his presence felt throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In Colorado’s first-round sweep against the Nashville Predators, he had 10 points (three goals, seven assists), the most by a defenseman through four games in NHL history. Against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final, he had five points (one goal, four assists) in a 6-5 overtime win in Game 4, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to get five points in a series-clinching game.
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