Ever since entering the NHL, Cale Makar has been a special presence for the Colorado Avalanche. The Calgary-born, UMass alumnus and Team Canada Olympic Silver winner Makar has been showing the league that he's one of the best, if not the best blueliners on-ice ever since winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season.
Since then, Makar has been nominated for the Norris Trophy, the NHL's award for the top defenseman in the league as voted on by the PHWA in six consecutive seasons, winning the award twice, first in the 2021-22 season, and then again last year in the 2024-25 campaign. The Avs' top d-man was named as a finalist once more this year alongside the Columbus Blue Jackets' Zach Werenski and Buffalo Sabres' Rasmus Dahlin.
Meet this year's Makar
Makar put in a 79 point, 20 goal, 59 assist in 75 regular season games along the way to his sixth consecutive Norris quality nomination, as Colorado won the President's Trophy with the league's best record. With Makar on the top pairing alongside longtime running mate Devon Toews, the Avalanche went 55-16-11 and didn't lose a home game in regulation until January.
The 27 year old finished the season with a +32 rating while putting together his fourth career 20 goal season, and finished just outside the Avs top five in finding the net this year. With Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas both eclipsing the 100 point mark this season, Makar still managed to finish in the top three overall on points for the team, however, acting as the set-up man 59 times this season for the Avs.
Amongst all blueliners Makar finished the season only behind Evan Bouchard and Werenski for points this year. Werenski totaled out to 81 points with two more goals and the same number of assists as Makar as he led an up-and-down Columbus squad who missed out on the playoffs. That leaves Makar and Buffalo's Dahlin as the only skaters still playing on the top three ballot.
Climbing the ranks
Only nine players in NHL history have won the James Norris Memorial more than twice since the award's introduction in 1954. The only active defenseman with more wins than Makar at the moment is Erik Karlsson, who won his third Norris with the San Jose Sharks in 2023. Makar has the opportunity to make that two active defenseman with three wins, and would sit tied for fourth most Norris wins all-time.
No other Avs-drafted defenseman has more than the young Makar, and the only other player to sport the crimson and blue with more wins than him was Ray Bourque, who spent the final year and a half of his career with Colorado, winning his first and only Stanley Cup with the team in 2001, 25 years ago.
So far this postseason, Makar has stepped up his production with five points across seven games in the Avs' first two series. He's already had a fifth as many goals in that span as he had in the regular season, with two of his goals and his sole assist coming in Colorado's wild 9-6 win against Minnesota to open the Western Conference Second Round Series. Makar had two goals in the third period to help tip the scales and make it hard for the Wild to overcome the Avs' as they shut things down defensively with the lead in hand.