Shocking revelation about Avalanche star sparks heated debate across the league
Photo credit: Adrian Wyld / CP
Another year and another first placed ranking for star Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche amongst all NHL defensemen. While nobody is surprised, what might be surprising is how he ranks amongst other all-time defensemen.
The defensemen is still in the early stages of his career, but his resume is starting to rival legends of the past.
How does Cale Makar fare against the all-time greats?
Nestor Quixtan of Mile High Sticking recently discussed Cale Makar's greatness in today's NHL but also the league all-time.
NHL Network's EJ Hradek even had this to same about him.
"I never thought I would say, as someone who grew up as a young boy, hearing about Bobby Orr, and we know how wonderful and great Bobby Orr was, and watching Nicklas Lidström over many years, and watching Scott Niedermayer, there's been a lot of great defensemen, but at the end of the day, he may end up being the best defenseman ever» -Hradek
While everyone knows Makar is head and shoulders above the rest of the league's defensemen in today's NHL, hearing him being compared to Orr and Lidstrom and even being considered better than them is quite the praise for someone who is only in his mid-20's.
With the salary cap rising significantly over the next few years and Makar being available for an extension this summer, the Avalanche need to extend him as soon as possible. They can sign him to a deal worth 14-15 million which in a few years will not feel like much and they'll have the best defensemen of our generation locked for the majority of his career.
"For now, it doesn't seem like there's any risk of Cale Makar jumping ship. The Avalanche will be ready to pay him whatever is necessary. The likeliest scenario is that he becomes the highest-paid D-man in the NHL. At the moment, the highest-paid blue liner is Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He's got an $11.5 million cap hit. But there is no way Makar signs for that much. Perhaps he might agree to it as part of a short-term, team-friendly deal." -Quixtan
While we can't yet put Makar clearly as the best defensemen of all-time, he is well on his way there, and Avalanche fans need to appreciate the greatness they are witnessing while they still have it.
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