How The Avalanche Fared on NHL Awards Night

Last year, Cale Makar walked home with the Norris Trophy. A few days later, he took home the Conn Smythe Trophy when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.

This year, things were a little different.

Makar was the only Avalanche player up for an award on Monday night, but his reign as the Norris Trophy winner is officially over. Erik Karlsson, to the surprise of no one, took home the Norris Trophy after a 100 point season on the lowly San Jose Sharks. 100 points from a defenseman is incredibly rare, and had not been done since Brian Leetch crossed the century mark back in 1991-92.

Here’s a full rundown of how the Avalanche fared on awards night…

• Hart Trophy (League’s Most Valuable Player) – Nathan MacKinnon (5th place) and Mikko Rantanen (6th place)
• Norris Trophy (League’s Best Defenseman) – Cale Makar (3rd place) and Devon Toews (14th place)
• Selke Trophy (League’s Best Defensive Forward) – J.T. Compher (13th place)
• Jack Adams (Coach of the year) – Jared Bednar (5th place)
• Lady Byng (League’s Most Gentlemanly player) – Cale Makar (17th place), Valeri Nichushkin (25th place), Nathan MacKinnon (39th place), Devon Toews (48th place)
• Vezina Trophy (League’s Best Goaltender) – Alexandar Georgiev (7th place)
• All-Star Team – Cale Makar (2nd team)

Okay, just a few things. First, I don’t know who keeps giving MacKinnon votes for the Lady Byng. He managed to avoid fights this year, but he’s a fiery guy. Not sure the Lady Byng is the trophy for him. And secondly, J.T. Compher‘s price might have gone up even more after showing up on some Selke ballots.

With the awards officially done and over with, it’s time to turn the page on the 2022-23 season. And after speaking with Ryan Johansen today, it sounds like the players on the team are hungry to win again.