MacKinnon, Makar receive love in ESPN’s early NHL awards watch

Colorado Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are both off to blazing starts during the 2024-25 NHL season.

And the national media, like they should be, is taking notice.

ESPN came out with its first awards watch list of the season on Tuesday, and to no one’s surprise both MacKinnon and Makar are in the mix for two of the most prestigious trophies in hockey.

According to the article written by Greg Wyshynski, ESPN “polled a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously to get a sense of where the wind is blowing for the current leaders.”

It’s good news for the Avalanche’s best two players, but maybe not necessarily the best. MacKinnon is currently third in Hart Trophy voting, which is given to the NHL’s MVP. It’s an award he took home for the first time last season.

However, Makar is atop the Norris Trophy list, which is given to the league’s best defenseman. He won the honor during the 2021-22 season as has been a finalist in four of his five professional campaigns.

MacKinnon didn’t receive a first-place vote from any of the writers polled, which is shocking considering he leads the NHL in points with 29, but Wyshynski still felt like he needed to be included.

“The sheer number of voters who had MacKinnon in their top three, or mentioned him as a player to watch in the race, tells us there’s momentum to his candidacy,” Wyshynski wrote.

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov is currently first on the Hart Trophy watch, with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov coming in second.

As for Makar, it’s abundantly clear he’s been the best defenseman in the NHL through the first month of the season, and the voters recognized that. The 26-year-old received nothing but praise.

“Makar’s dominant start was reflected in the voting, as the Avalanche defenseman captured 68% of the first-place ballots,” Wyshynski wrote.

And how could he not? Makar was named the NHL’s First Star in October and has a ridiculous 24 points in 16 games. That’s tied for the third most in the entire league, and easily the highest number among defenseman.

Awards aren’t won in the fall, but getting off to a fast start always helps. And right now that’s exactly what Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are doing, as they have the Avs at 8-8-0 despite a slew of injuries early on.

To see the full list of ESPN’s award projections thus far, click here.