Chambers: Avalanche should be well-represented in NHL awards voting – The Denver Post

Heading into Game 4 on Sunday and the third possible playoff series sweep in its 25-year history, the Avalanche has the St. Louis Blues on the ropes.

While mostly depth players got the job done for the Avs in Friday’s 5-1 win in Game 3 at Enterprise Center, they wouldn’t be in a position to become the NHL’s first team to advance past the first round this year without the body of work from three key players.

Forward Mikko Rantanen, defenseman Cale Makar and goalie Philipp Grubauer should be finalists for the Hart Trophy, Norris Trophy and Vezina Trophy, respectively, as league MVP, best defenseman and best goalie. The trio supports Colorado’s high-end talent, and when teammates like Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog, Devon Toews and Sam Girard are “supporting” pieces, general manager Joe Sakic should also receive recognition for building such a star-studded group.

The Professional Hockey Writers Association votes for the Hart and Norris, as well as the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year), Lady Byng Trophy (skill and sportsmanship), Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) and Masterton Trophy (perseverance). My ballot was due Thursday and, among my five selections for each award, I had Rantanen No. 3 for the Hart and Makar No. 1 for the Norris.

Edmonton center Connor McDavid, who had a league-high 105 points in 56 games, will win the Hart in a landslide. But I felt the Avs, as the Presidents’ Trophy winners with the league’s best record, had to have a Hart nominee and Rantanen was my choice with a team-high 30 goals and 66 points in 52 games.

If MacKinnon (65 points in 48 games) didn’t miss four of the last five games, he probably would have held on to the team scoring lead and gained my vote. But Rantanen simply had a better year, producing 10 more goals. Many other voters probably won’t see it that way, because MacKinnon is still more respected around the league. But I went with the facts, not the reputation, and chose not to include two Avalanche players in my top five.

My fourth and fifth selections for the Hart were Boston’s Brad Marchand and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.

Makar, meanwhile, is the most dynamic defenseman in the game, and the only one to average a point-per-game (1.00). He had 44 points (eight goals) in 44 games and averaged 24:19 in ice time by adding penalty killing to his skill set. I had Makar for the Norris ahead of Vegas’ Shea Theodore and Arizona’s Jacob Chychrun, the latter of whom led all defensemen with 18 goals. Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, the 2018 Norris winner, was fourth on my list followed by Pittsburg’s Kris Letang.

Grubauer, among goalies to appear in 25 games, led the league with a 1.95 goals-against average and was tied for first in shutouts with seven. He was second in wins (30) and sixth in save percentage (.922). The Vezina is voted on by the 31 general managers, and Grubauer, a pending unrestricted free agent, could become the Avalanche’s first winner.

The PHWA also votes on an NHL All-Star team, and Grubauer was one of my three choices in net along with Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury and former Av Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders. I listed MacKinnon, McDavid and Matthews at center, Rantanen, Vegas’ Mark Stone and Chicago’s Patrick Kane as right wing, and Marchand, Chicago ‘s Alex DeBrincat and Vegas’ Max Pacioretty at left wing.

Makar, Theodore, Chychrun and Hedman were my defensemen, along with Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton and the New York Rangers’ Adam Fox. The Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin of Erie just missed my top-six, but he did get my No. 1 vote for the Lady Byng.

Slavin, ranked the best Colorado-born hockey player of all time by The Post, committed just one minor penalty in 52 games in a top-pair role.

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