Dater’s Daily Links: Makar Should Win Calder Tonight

Happy Monday, if there is such a thing. Pretty rough weekend sports-wise, right? Pretty tough month, sports-wise. I think there will be a few smiles on the faces of Avs fans tonight, at least, when the NHL hands out the biggest awards. I think Cale Makar will win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

The Calder is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and while I do NOT know who will win, I think I have a decent idea he’ll win, based on some informal polling I’ve done with other voters. I do think it’ll be a fairly close vote, but I do think Makar will be your Calder Trophy winner.

We’ve posted this already, but: here are reasons why Makar deserves to win over Quinn Hughes. And, here are some other reasons why Makar deserves to win over Quinn Hughes.

I wish I could say the same for Nathan MacKinnon and the Hart, but I think Leon Draisaitl is going to win. Remember, all the votes were tallied at the end of the regular season. I think a lot of writers would change their votes now, based on the playoff MacKinnon had. Alas, that wasn’t an option.

Some links:

• Former DU coach Jim Montgomery is back in the league, as an assistant with the Blues. Like many of us have, Monty suffered from some substance abuse issues, but has gotten help and seems to be back on the right path. Good news (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Alex Pietrangelo is headed to the open market, and, yes, I do think the Avs will be interested. He wants a lot of money, however (maybe $9 million per) and that would be a stretch for the Avs, even with some good cap room available this off-season. But anytime a defenseman of his caliber becomes available, you have to strongly consider it. The rumor is that Pietrangelo and the Vegas Golden Knights might be a real match, however (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Good story on Bruce Bennett, who has been photographing NHL hockey for…wait for it…45 years. This is his 40th straight Stanley Cup Final (NYIHockeyNow)
• Eric Staal was in “shock” after being traded by the Wild to the Sabres. (NHL.com)
• Nobody knows when the next NHL season will start (Hockey News)