For Cale Makar and Devon Toews it's all about consistency in Colorado

DENVER, Colorado – Awards ballots went out to select members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association on Friday. 

Those ballots are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, which means at some point in the next three days the NHL awards will be finalized. 

And while the Hart Trophy decision will be fascinating between Nikita Kucherov, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon, the Norris Trophy votes have become more interesting in the past three months. 

Quinn Hughes was the front-runner and probably still is, but Cale Makar and Roman Josi have narrowed the gap. 

Hughes leads all defenders in scoring with 91 points, remember voters heavily weight point totals, but Makar has 89 points in 76 games. In the most recent edition of ESPN.com’s award watch, which polls PHWA members, Hughes and Makar were neck-and-n