Orr, Coffey…Makar? Avalanche blueliner’s career trajectory is legendary

Credit: Oct 20, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) warms up on the ice before the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

If you’re a hockey stat nerd and enjoy seeing records challenged and/or broken, it’s a fun era. Over the past three seasons, goals have reached a 30-year high in the NHL. We’re thus seeing the current generation’s superstars achieving milestones we previously didn’t think could be reached again. The Edmonton Oilers‘ Connor McDavid became the first 150-point scorer in 27 years in 2022-23; the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Auston Matthews’ 69 goals in 2023-24 were the most since 1992-93; Last season, McDavid and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov became the fourth and fifth players ever to record 100 assists in one campaign; and then-San Jose Shark Erik Karlsson become the first 100-point defenseman in 31 years a couple seasons ago.

We’re seeing so many amazing feats that they’re almost becoming commonplace. As a result, it’s possible we’ll end up taking for granted some of the greatness happening in the current era.

Which brings us to Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar. By no means is he underrated; he’s considered the greatest all-around talent on defense since Nicklas Lidstrom. But sometimes, because so many forwards are accomplishing amazing things league wide, it feels like Makar’s efforts only get passing acknowledgements.

Think about Bobby Orr, considered a top-two talent in NHL history by most, a supernova on defense who bagged eight Norris Trophies, three Hart Trophies and even a pair of scoring titles. Relative to his position, he rivalled Wayne Gretzky’s cartoonish dominance over his peers. The fact that some of Makar’s accomplishments in his first five NHL seasons could land in Orr’s stratosphere at all is staggering. Makar, not Orr, is the fastest defenseman ever to reach 200 and 250 career points, and only Orr was faster to 300. By 23, Makar already had a Norris, Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy and Calder Trophy; Orr is the only other defenseman to have collected all those accolades by the same age.

Makar exploded for 15 points in his first eight games this season, he tallied the third most points ever by a blueliner in the first seven games of a season with 14, and he joined Orr and Paul Coffey as the only D-men ever to record 12 or more assists in his first seven games of an NHL season.

Makar will never be Orr, to be clear, and it’s also worth noting Makar’s own-zone play regressed last season. But he’s assembling a resume could make him a pantheon defenseman someday – particularly if, unlike Orr, Makar can stay healthy and enjoy a two-decade career.

What other milestones is Makar pacing for at the moment?

1,000 points in fewer than 1,000 games

Only eight blueliners have amassed 1,000 points. Among them, only three needed fewer than 1,000 games to get there. Coffey did it in just 770 games, Ray Bourque in 933 and Denis Potvin in 987. Makar’s on pace to get there in 920, making him the second-fastest. We could argue his scoring will slow down once he exits his prime, but that’s offset by the fact he may not have delivered his peak scoring season(s) yet. Also, defensemen mature differently. Look at the numbers we’re still seeing from the likes of Karlsson and Roman Josi as they hit their mid-30s. Makar could be an elite scorer for another decade.

The 300-goal club

Only Bourque, Coffey, Al MacInnis, Phil Housley and Potvin have delivered 300 or more goals among defensemen. Makar has a real chance to be the sixth to get there. He’s already at 89. If he scores at his career average of 22.59 goals per game for the next 10 seasons and averages 75 games per year, he’d sit at 296 by his mid-30s. It feels more likely than not that Makar gets there, especially if he can deliver a few more peak seasons with 25 or more goals.

Bourque is the lone defenseman to tally 400 goals in his career. If Makar maintained his per-game average and played 75 games for 15 more seasons, he’d have a shot – but that’s without factoring in injuries and age-related decline. Even if he peaks with some goal totals well north of 22 in his next few seasons, a lot has to go right for him to become the second 400-goal blueliner.

1,000 assists

Bourque and Coffey are the lone defensemen with 1,000 assists. It’s thus pretty astounding to fathom how legitimately possible it is for Makar to join them. He already sits at 262, averaging 66.51 per 82 games thus far in his career. If he maintains that pace for the next decade and plays 75 games a year, he’d land in the high 800s by his mid-30s, meaning 1,000 wouldn’t be a total pipe dream.

All-Star nods

Amazingly, Makar has just a single first-team selection on a season-end NHL All-Star team so far in his career. But he’s been a second-teamer three times, meaning he’s earned four All-Star nods in his first five NHL seasons. Gordie Howe holds the all-time record with 21, and Ray Bourque leads all defensemen with 19 – a truly astounding feat considering only four defensemen make the cut every year. No one’s catching Bourque among blueliners, but second place is Lidstrom with 12, and Makar is already a third of the way to catching him by 25 years old. Do you believe Makar will be a top-four defenseman on the planet for eight more years in his career? I do.

These are all mere projections, of course, and they assume Makar stays relatively healthy and continues producing elite numbers for years to come. But it’s amazing that these goals feel even remotely realistic. McDavid, Matthews or even Makar’s teammate Nathan MacKinnon will always steal more of the headlines, but make sure you stop to take in what Makar’s doing, too.

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