Cale Makar sat silent, still in full uniform.
The young face of the Colorado Avalanche revealed no expression on his face, only a blank stare toward the middle of the losing locker room where teammates’ jerseys had already been discarded into the laundry heap. His jersey remained attached to him for 15 extra minutes. He didn’t want to part with it yet. He didn’t understand how to part with it this soon.
“It’s tough to grasp right now,” Makar eventually said long after Colorado’s 2-1 Game 7 loss to Seattle late Sunday.
The 24-year-old, who had just played his 62nd career playoff game, never experienced a first-round exit in his first four postseasons.