Colorado Avalanche: Options for the Top Defensive Pairing

The Colorado Avalanche is stacked on defense. However, the top defensive pairing may not change much from last season.

The Colorado Avalanche on paper have a scary good defensive corps. To be honest, at times during the playoffs, they had a scary good defense on the ice, too.

The blueline was once an area of weakness for Colorado. However, recent drafts, trades, and free agency signings have seen the team shore up that weak point. And now it looks to be a crown jewel in the Avs’ roster.

Now, when things aren’t going right, Jared Bednar tends to take his salad spinner approach to linemaking. Well, conventional wisdom has that you shouldn’t mess with the defensive pairings that much, and I’ll give Bednar credit for following that wisdom.

I’m sure the coaching staff will try some different defensive pairs during training camp to see what sticks. However, let’s take a look at who could be the top pairing — they have a good chance of playing together for the majority of the season, barring injuries.

Last Season’s Top Pairing

Erik Johnson has been the cornerstone of the Avalanche’s defense pretty much since the team acquired him in trade in 2011. That fact did not change last season. He got the most ice time of any defenseman and was second only to Nathan MacKinnon for skaters.

Most nights he was joined on the top pairing by Samuel Girard. He was third for all defenders in ice time because he didn’t get as much special teams action.

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This pairing worked surprisingly well. I say surprising because they’re two different styles of players. Johnson plays a two-way game with a lot of physicality in his game and some offensive acumen. He’s an extraordinarily fast skater, one with a predatory skating style. Oh, and he’s big — 6-foot-4, 225 pounds.

Girard, on the other hand, is slight. He’s listed at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but he grew last summer. I believe it was reported he came into training camp around 180 pounds. Anyway, that’s still six inches and 45 pounds less of hockey player. (It’s super cute to watch Girard and Johnson celebrate together because Sam has to reach up like for his dad.)

Girard isn’t know for being speedy so much as being a creative and talented skater. His agility and edgework are out of this world. He’s also more of a puck-moving defenseman, not quite an offensive defenseman, but someone who’s responsible at both ends of the ice.

As I noted, though, the two complemented each other well. The 31-year-old Johnson was the veteran to 21-year-old Girard’s growing talent. We also saw the classic right-hand shot (EJ) being paired with the left-hand shot.

I would not be surprised to see this pairing again next season, depending on how Johnson heals after his offseason shoulder surgery.

Cale Makar

The wild card in this equation (excuse the mixed metaphor) is rookie defenseman Cale Makar. He came into the playoffs last season in Game 3, and he stunned us all. He was paired with a few different players last season, but his main partner was Sam Girard.

Uh-oh. Looks like we have a love triangle.

Well, I can tall you, watching Girard and Makar skate together was a ton of fun in the sun — and in Calgary, too. Makar has many of the same skating attributes as Girard with more offensive upside. And they can both move the puck.

The 20-year-old Makar is a little bigger than Girard — he’s listed at 5-foot-11, 187 pounds. He has the frame to put on some muscle weight, too.

But he’s not there yet, and there’s no reason to rush him. Johnson is still Colorado’s best all-around defenseman, and Girard complemented him so well.

What’s more, I see Makar taking on the dearly departed (to Toronto) Tyson Barrie’s role, just with a little more defense in his game.

What do you think, Avs Nation? Who do you think is a responsible top defensive pairing for the Colorado Avalanche?