Cale Makar of Colorado Avalanche Fires Back at Minnesota Wild’s Dean Evason Over Diving Accusations

Responding to diving accusations from Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason, Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar addressed the claims on Monday.

Makar drew two penalties in his team’s 3-2 win over the Wild on Saturday – a tripping call on Marco Rossi in the first period and interference on Matt Boldy late in the third period.

Refuting the accusations, Makar was quoted as saying, “If he wants to worry about that, he can. The first one, my legs just get taken out and I just fall over. I’m trying to cross over. Then the second one, I did that four times last year and got a penalty for it. I’m not ever trying to dive.”

The Avalanche drew five penalties in the game, one less than the six that the Wild were called on. However, neither penalty drawn by Makar resulted in a goal for the Avalanche, who converted on only one of their six power-play opportunities.

Evason, expressing his frustration, stated, “Do we teach diving? You don’t want to do that. Doesn’t seem right for the game. So it’s frustrating in that matter.” Minnesota, currently winless in their past seven games, has a season record of 5-10-4 after a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

Pledging to make changes following the 4-1 defeat, Evason emphasized the need for a turnaround, saying, “I think frustration is turning to anger at this point. Hopefully, they are as angry as we are (as a staff), because we’ve got to change something. This just can’t continue.”

Minnesota’s next game will be against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.