The Colorado Avalanche have two superstars in Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon.

Both are in the top-10 in points in the NHL through the first month of the season, with MacKinnon posting 20 (10 goals, 10 assists) and Makar 18 (four goals, 14 assists).

The Avalanche are off to a hot start, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night to improve to 8-1-5 on the year. Colorado’s 21 points are not only the most in the Western Conference, but the entire league.

And it’s never too early to start thinking about end of season honors, as ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski came out with his first “NHL Awards Watch” of the 2025-26 campaign.

Wyshynski polled “a wide selection of Professional Hockey Writers Association voters anonymously” to see where things stand in the major races, including for the Hart Trophy, which is given to the NHL’s MVP.

And interestingly enough it’s Cale Makar pacing ahead of MacKinnon in the first results, although MacKinnon still got plenty of love.

“Makar received the second-most first-place votes (19%), which is surprising on a couple of levels,” Wyshynski wrote. “The last defenseman to win league MVP was Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues back in 2000. That’s also the last time a defenseman was even a finalist for the Hart.”

It goes to show that what Cale Makar is doing is beyond special. Cracking the Hart Trophy conversation for a defenseman is darn near impossible, yet he’s already got the attention of the voters.

Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights is currently first with 42% of the first-place votes, while MacKinnon received a healthy 10%, slightly trailing Makar.

As far as the Norris Trophy (best defenseman), it looks like Makar has a great shot to go back-to-back with the award and earn the third of his career.

“In the Norris Trophy race, Cale Makar is like Usain Bolt … with a rocket strapped to his back,” Wyshynski wrote.

He earned every single first-place vote but one for that honor thus far. Provided he stays on the ice, it might be a formality Makar takes it.

And while all that would be great, every Avalanche fan knows both MacKinnon and Makar value another Stanley Cup much more than an individual trophy.

Still, they could each take one (or more) of those home as well. To see the full early on poll results, click here.