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Cale Makar

Poll: If Season Ends Now, Who Should Win Calder Trophy?

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The NHL has every intention in trying to finish out the regular season and have a playoffs to cap off the 2019-20 season. However, with the unknown nature of the quickly changing COVID-19 virus, the season already has been suspended and could be pushed back further and further to avoid players contracting the virus. There has been talk of a drop-dead date as the league doesn’t want the 2019-20 to interfere with the 2020-21 season, which could make the regular season expendable if things begin to extend further and further into the summer. If the regular season ended on March 11, who would walk away as the league’s top rookie?

At midseason, it looked like an obvious choice as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar dominated the first half of the season after coming over from UMass-Amherst last season. The 21-year-old had a dominant 11 goals and 37 points in 41 games before the all-star break. While his numbers dipped slightly, Makar has still been impressive in a much more limited second half. He did miss five games with an upper-body injury in late February where Colorado lost three of those five games, yet he still had a goal and 13 points in 16 games since the break. In total, however, Makar currently has 12 goals and 50 points in 57 games, an impressive feat for a rookie blueliner.

While Makar seemed like the inevitable choice early on, Vancouver Canucks rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes came on late to have his own impressive season. Hughes has been a solid addition to a Canucks defense at the end of last season as he came out of the University of Michigan. While he had solid numbers in the first half, with five goals and 34 points in 48 games before the all-star break, he did explode in February with 15 points in 13 games and tallied eight goals and 53 points in 68 points. While Makar might have had a better points-per-game average, it was Hughes who provided the healthier player on the ice.

There are several other candidates who will receive some consideration, including Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik, who scored 30 goals already in just 68 games in his first season in North America. The 24-year-old had spent his entire career overseas in the Czech League and the NLA, but adjusted to North American skating rinks quickly and was a key piece to the Blackhawks’ squad.

Several goalies dominated this season, but New Jersey Devils goalie MacKenzie Blackwood so far has a 22-14-8 record on a struggling Devils team. While he did post a 2.77 GAA, his save percentage suggests that he has been a dominant netminder for the Devils this season at .915.

So, if the regular season ended today, who would be the Calder Trophy winner?

For Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

Central Notes: Wild, Rantanen, Letestu

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After dealing away Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh and firing Bruce Boudreau as head coach, the Wild have turned things around and have gone 6-2 under new bench boss Dean Evason.  As a result, they’ve pulled themselves right back into the playoff picture.  However, don’t expect GM Bill Guerin to be content with that.  In an appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link), he indicated that there is “absolutely there’s going to have to be some change somewhere within the organization”.  How much of that there is will likely be affected by how they finish this year but for starters, it’s quite possible that the Zach Parise trade talks get revisited this summer while they have more than $10MM in money coming off the books with Alex Galchenyuk and Mikko Koivu slated to be unrestricted free agents.  Former GM Paul Fenton made a few changes last year while Guerin has started to put his own stamp on the team but the changes don’t appear to be done just yet.

More from the Central:

  • Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen skated before practice for the first time since sustaining a shoulder injury last month, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. However, he’s still likely a little while away from returning considering that he still has to get cleared for contact.  Still, it’s at least a little bit of good news on the injury front for Colorado which is something they haven’t had much of lately; on top of also being without goalie Phillip Grubauer, wingers Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert, and Colin Wilson plus center Nazem Kadri, blueliner Cale Makar will also miss his second straight game tonight against Anaheim due to an upper-body issue.
  • Back in October, Jets center Mark Letestu was slated to miss six months after being diagnosed with myocarditis which effectively ended his season. Or so it seemed.  Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun reports that the veteran has resumed skating and head coach Paul Maurice indicated that it’s a possibility that Letestu returns this season.  Having been out for so long though, the 35-year-old will need a while to get back up to speed in terms of his conditioning but the fact that he has received the green light from team doctors is certainly good news.

PHWA Announce 2019-20 Midseason Awards

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Though they have no bearing on the eventual winners, each season the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote for the Midseason Awards to give fans an idea of who is leading the charge around the NHL at the halfway point. Today those ballots have been tallied and the midseason trophies were given out:

Hart Trophy – Most valuable player

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
3. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

Norris Trophy – Best defenseman

1. John Carlson, Washington Capitals
2. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
3. Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes

Selke Trophy – Best defensive forward

1. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Calder Trophy – Best rookie

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
2. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
3. Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres

Lady Byng Trophy – Sportsmanship & gentlemanly conduct

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Vezina Trophy – Best goaltender

1. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
2. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars
3. Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes

Jack Adams Award – Best coach

1. Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Craig Berube, St. Louis Blues

Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award

1. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
2. John Chayka, Arizona Coyotes
3. Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues

Rod Langway Award – Best defensive defenseman

1. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
2. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Comeback Player of the Year Award

1. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
3. Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights

Snapshots: Three Stars, Lemieux, Makar

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The NHL has released their Three Stars of last week and the presumptive Norris favorite is at the top. John Carlson gets the honor after a six-point week with two game-winning goals, taking him to an incredible 43 points in 31 games this season. Carlson is on pace for 113 points this season, something only Paul Coffey and Bobby Orr have done as defensemen.

Second and third place go to Tristan Jarry and Jack Eichel, two more Eastern Conference players just coming into their own. Jarry was picked over Casey DeSmith as the Pittsburgh Penguins backup at the beginning of the season and has been exceptional. Eichel meanwhile has improved his offensive production for the fifth season in a row and now sits at 42 points through 31 games. The Buffalo Sabres captain may be overlooked at times due to team success, but is one of the most explosive scorers in the entire league.

  • Brendan Lemieux has been fined $2,000 for his elbow on Cody Glass over the weekend. Lemieux tried to hit Glass in the corner and ended up contacting him in the head with his elbow when the two spun away from each other. While not a suspension, the fine will impact any future Department of Player Safety decisions in Lemieux’s career.
  • Cale Makar was missing at Colorado Avalanche practice today, but it sounds like he avoided major injury. The team listed him as day-to-day after he was injured on a hit from Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand. Makar has been an incredible story this season as a rookie and seems to be running away with the Calder Trophy.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Makar, Nugent-Hopkins

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With another month having passed, the NHL revealed its Three Stars for the month of November and no surprise that Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid heads the list. The two-time Art Ross Trophy winner dominated November in 14 games, leading the league with 13 goals, 26 points, six power play goals and 11 power play points over the month. That performance has put Edmonton at the top of the Pacific Division with a 7-5-2 record in November.

The Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane round out the top three. MacKinnon ranked second in the NHL in points in November with 10 goals and 25 points in 14 games and did it while being without his two linemates, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog for most of that month. Kane, meanwhile, scored a point in all 15 games that he played, scoring 11 goals and 24 points.

  • The NHL also announced the NHL ’Rookie of the Month,’ handing the award to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who dominated the month of November. The 21-year-old led all rookies with seven goals, 16 points, three game-winning goals, +10 plus/minus and ATOI, averaging 21:25. Makar became the fifth rookie to score seven or more goals in a month and the last to do it since Brian Leetch did it in 1989. Makar beat out New York Rangers’ Adam Fox, Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, Carolina Hurricanes’ Martin Necas, Buffalo Sabres Victor Olofsson and Pittsburgh Penguins’ John Marino.
  • The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that despite rumors that Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a surgical procedure last week on his hand, he did not. Instead, Nugent-Hopkins received an injection, suggesting that the injury is more pain-related than anything else. The Oilers hope to get the top-six forward back sometime later this week.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Abdelkader, Lewis

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week and at the very top is a name not many expected when the season began. Ottawa Senators goaltender Anders Nilsson has been given the first star after stopping 96 of 101 shots for a 3-0 record. Nilsson has actually been excellent since joining the Senators last season, posting a .919 save percentage in 32 appearances.

Two youngsters took home the other two spots, as Auston Matthews and Cale Makar were named second and third respectively. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward has jumped all the way up to sixth in the NHL scoring race after recording nine points last week, while Makar now easily leads all rookies with 17 points through the first part of the season and looks to be running away with the Calder Trophy.

  • The Detroit Red Wings will be without Justin Abdelkader for at least three weeks according to head coach Jeff Blashill. The veteran forward is out with a mid-body injury after blocking a shot in Sunday’s game. Once an important part of the Red Wings’ attack, Abdelkader has zero goals through the first 16 games and is averaging just 13 minutes a night.
  • Trevor Lewis has been placed on injured reserve after missing Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury. It’s not clear how long Lewis will be out, but his absence just opens up more opportunity for the young forwards in Los Angeles to show the Kings’ front office what they can do.

Poll: Who Is The Early Calder Trophy Favorite?

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The Calder Trophy is one of the most intriguing awards in the NHL. Every year a new crop of rookies compete for the title of league’s best and with it a shining star at the start of their NHL careers. The list of winners includes many of the best players the game has ever seen—Terry Sawchuk, Frank Mahovlich, Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Mario Lemieux and Alex Ovechkin are all part of the exclusive group—but also has some names that haven’t had quite the careers their early success implied.

Last year’s winner was Elias Pettersson, who beat out Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington in voting after a 66-point season. Pettersson only played in 71 games making his point totals even more impressive and enough to eclipse the turnaround that Binnington provided the St. Louis Blues in the second half.

Could Vancouver have another winner on the roster this time around? Quinn Hughes is off to an incredible start with the Canucks in his first season, logging some of the best possession numbers in the NHL and posting ten points in 13 games. Hughes looks to have escaped major injury recently when his leg was twisted underneath him, but he’ll have to return soon if he has a chance at holding off the field.

In fact, he’s not even leading rookies in scoring this season. That honor is split between two very different players. Cale Makar, another outstanding young defenseman that showed what he could do in the playoffs last season has 11 points in 14 games. The Colorado Avalanche have loved every minute of their rookie phenom, and are giving him even more opportunity of late.

He’s tied with Ilya Mikheyev though, who has the advantage of several years of professional hockey under his belt. Mikheyev is already 25 years old, but is playing in his first NHL season after signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the KHL. It’s not like the NHL hasn’t seen a situation like this play out before. Artemi Panarin beat out Connor McDavid in 2015-16 as a 24-year old rookie out of the KHL, though he needed a 77-point season and an injury to the Edmonton Oilers’ superstar to do it. Mikheyev would probably need some good fortune to come out on top, but 11 points in his first 15 games is nothing to ignore.

There are plenty of others to consider however. Victor Olofsson leads all rookies in goal scoring with six, all of which have been on the powerplay. If his even-strength contributions could catch up there’s a real chance he could lead all first year players in points by the end of the year. Jack Hughes has also been effective, even after an extremely slow start. He has the benefit of notoriety that comes with being the first overall pick, but he’ll likely need at least a bit of team success to take home the trophy.

Others like Martin Necas, Cody Glass and Alexander Nylander have all been given amazing opportunities playing with great NHL talent, while defenders like Ethan Bear and Dante Fabbro impress in their own end. Kaapo Kakko, who may have been expected to contend for it after his outstanding international performances, will need to really turn his early season struggles around in order to catch the clubhouse leaders.

Who do you think is the favorite right now? Who will eventually win? We’ve included some of the major candidates below, but make sure to suggest other possibilities in the comment section.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Notes: Beaulieu, Rust, Makar

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The Winnipeg Jets already lost several defensemen this summer to various means, and now will be without another for the first month of the season. Nathan Beaulieu has suffered an upper-body injury and will be out for four weeks according to Murat Ates of The Athletic. Beaulieu was one of the players expected to pick up some slack this season after re-signing with the Jets for $1MM, but will have to work hard to get back into the lineup at some point in the future. The team claimed Carl Dahlstrom off waivers today to give them some more depth.

Ates also notes that Bryan Little did indeed suffer a concussion when he was hit by Luke Kunin in a game this weekend. Though there is no timetable for his return at this point, it comes as just another blow to a weakened Jets team that can’t seem to find any respite these days.

  • Another team that might be facing a lengthy absence from an important player is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters today that Bryan Rust will be out “longer-term” after blocking a shot against the Buffalo Sabres. Rust took the shot right to the palm of his hand, though there has been no confirmation if it is broken at this point. Sidney Crosby, who also blocked a shot and suffered a minor injury, was back out on the ice today for the Penguins.
  • Alarm bells went off in Colorado today when Cale Makar was missing from practice with the Avalanche, but head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic that it was just a “little tweak.” Makar is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
  •  The same can be said about Mikael Backlund who skated by himself before Calgary Flames practice today. Backlund has a minor lower-body injury and according to GM Brad Treliving (via Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet) is expected to practice tomorrow and be in the lineup when the Flames take on the Avalanche on Thursday night.

Central Notes: Colorado’s Defense, Little, Kiviranta

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After impressive performances on the ice at their rookie tournament over the past two days, the Colorado Avalanche dream of a dominant group of franchise defensemen are much closer than they had initially imagined. The team already has two established cornerstones on defense in Samuel Girard and Cale Makar, but the play of 2019 first-round pick Bowen Byram and 2017 second-rounder Conor Timmins suggest they might be closer to join the other two sooner rather than later, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post.

Both will be with the team on Friday when training camp begins. Byram will have to prove that he’s ready for the challenges of the NHL already as a recently-turned 18-year-old. He broke out in a big way in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, scoring 26 goals and 71 points, but he either must make the Avalanche or be returned to Vancouver. Timmins is a different story. The 20-year-old missed the entire 2018-19 season last year after dealing with concussion-like symptoms and likely will begin the season in the AHL until he gets some game experience, but could be recalled at any time if Colorado needs him.

  • One story that has been an issue for years in Winnipeg has been the Jets’ need to establish a No. 2 center. The team has gone with veteran Bryan Little over the years only to acquire a second-line center at the trade deadline the previous two years in Paul Stastny back in 2018 and Kevin Hayes in 2019. Unfortunately, due to cap issues, the Jets were unable to retain either player and are once again on the lookout for someone internally to step up into that role. For Little, the job remains his to lose. The 31-year-old’s numbers continue to decline little by little, scoring 15 goals and 41 points (his least productive season since 2009-10), but he remains the top option, according to Winnipeg Free Press’ Mike McIntyre. The only other options look to be Andrew Copp and Jack Roslovic, both of which seem like longshots to claim that role.
  • The Dallas Stars have a number of young prospects who might have a chance to make their opening day roster, including prospects Ty Dellandrea, Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov and Riley Tufte amongst many. However, the Stars might have another player who could step up after Joel Kiviranta scored a hat trick against the New York Rangers squad Saturday, suggesting that the recently signed forward out of Finland could make an immediate impact for Dallas, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. The 23-year-old Kiviranta  is still adjusting to the smaller North American ice, but has a lot of experience playing amongst men in Finland after five years there. He has tallied 35 goals over the past two years there.

College Notes: Rowe, Stratton, Makar

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It’s been a difficult stretch for goaltender Cameron Rowe. The backup to first-round pick Spencer Knight for the U.S. National Team Development Program this season, Rowe nevertheless entered the draft expecting to be selected based on countless reports. NHL Central Scouting in particular ranked him as the No. 4 goaltender in North America. Yet, the young netminder did not hear his name called this year. Now, his future is changing again. According to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, the University of North Dakota has released Rowe from his commitment. Rowe was expected to arrive at North Dakota in 2020-21, but instead will be playing elsewhere. Schlossman reports that the Fighting Hawks staff grew frustrated with Rowe’s interest in pursuing the Canadian junior route instead of the NCAA path and did not want to wait around to find out if they had a starting goalie of the future or not. It’s unclear now what Rowe will do moving forward, although he is currently expected to play for the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers next season. Rowe could simply commit to a new college program or, as North Dakota suspected, could sign with the OHL’s London Knights, who own his CHL rights. Either way, the winding and unpredictable development path for Rowe is not done twisting and turning just yet.

  • North Dakota also lost the commitment of BCHL forward Murphy Stratton, Schlossman writes. Stratton, 19, played 45 games for the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen in 2016-17 before realizing that the major junior route was not for him. Stratton wished to pursue the collegiate route, but the NCAA considers the CHL to be a “professional league” barring former players from NCAA participation due to amateurism rules. In some cases, limited CHL action has been overlooked at a cost in terms of eligibility years, but Stratton’s half season would have been an unprecedented case. Yet, he still committed to UND last year, expecting a ban of one year and seven games to begin his sophomore year. Schlossman reports that Stratton recently found out that the ban would actually be much longer and has opted to change course on the college level as a result. He will not play at North Dakota nor any other NCAA program and is likely to return to the WHL. Over the past two years, Stratton has compiled 99 points in 110 games as arguably the best player for the BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild, so this is a substantial loss for the Fighting Hawks. Stratton however should be able to continue pushing for pro hockey relevance if he can produce at a similar level in the WHL.
  • Another Makar is headed to the University of Massachusetts. The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark reports that Taylor Makar, brother of Colorado Avalanche top prospect Cale Makar, has committed to UMass. Now, Taylor is not the player that Cale is; Taylor is an undrafted center who put up pedestrian numbers for the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits – another former team of Cale’s – this season. However, Taylor is likely familiar with head coach Greg Carvel and his staff and should head to a great environment for him to grow as a player and perhaps break out. No one is expecting Taylor to ever come close to his Hobey Baker-winning brother, but his tenure in Amherst will certainly be interesting to follow.

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