Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar wins Norris Trophy

After finishing second place in the voting last year, Cale Makar has been awarded the Norris Trophy for the NHL’s top defenseman.

The race was tight, as Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators finished behind Makar in total points despite having more first-place votes. Makar finished with 1631 points while Josi has right behind him with 1606 points. What ultimately pushed Makar over the top was having quite a few more second-place votes than Josi did.

#preds Roman Josi (98) finished with more first place votes than Cale Makar (92) but Makar won by the closest of margins (1631-1606 points). Here’s the breakdown: pic.twitter.com/tIcxocZ0pK

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 21, 2022

Makar won the Calder Trophy in 2019-20 after scoring 50 points in 57 games in his rookie season and he finished second in Norris Trophy voting in 2021 after scoring 44 points in 44 games in his sophomore season. This year, he set a career high in goals with 28 and points with 86 through 77 games.

He’s the first player in Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques franchise history to win the Norris Trophy.

Josi, who won the award in 2020, led all defensemen with 96 points. Also receiving first-place votes were Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Adam Fox, who won last season, finished fifth in voting.