Colorado Avalanche should consider resting Cale Makar

The Colorado Avalanche have some superstars who have been with the team for quite some time, and some up-and-coming players who have shown improvement throughout the 2023-24 season. One of the players in the former category is superstar defenseman Cale Makar.

Makar is tied for second place with Nathan MacKinnon in assists and has 37 points in 27 games.

Makar left Wednesday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres for a brief amount of time but returned for the third period. In the NHL, teams don’t typically specify what type of injuries their players have. They’re usually always LBI or UBI (lower-body injury or upper-body injury).

Whatever the injuries that Cale Makar has sustained this season are, it might be a good idea for the Colorado Avalanche to sit him down for a little while to get him healthy. The last thing anybody wants is for Makar to get so worn out and beat up that he’s out even longer than he would be if he just took a few games off. Makar landing on injured reserve would be the worst-case scenario for the Colorado Avalanche.

Colorado is already without Sam Girard for an unknown amount of time as he deals with some internal issues and was placed in the NHL’s player assistance program. The team has made several call-ups this year including Sam Malinski, who has done a good job so far with his opportunities. While Malinski would not be Makar’s replacement in a potential absence, having him in the lineup would bump someone else up the depth chart with Makar out.

I’m guessing that Josh Manson would get the start alongside Devon Toews on the first defensive pairing. It’s not the ideal situation (having Cale Makar healthy the entire season would be the ideal situation), but the Colorado Avalanche have to do what is best for the team. I just worry that Makar might suffer an even greater injury, keeping him out for a while.

The team needs to manage Makar’s health properly or they may face some consequences.