It’s not very common that a 27-year-old with less than 500 games of NHL experience sparks a Hall of Fame debate. But in Cale Makar’s case, it’s not even a debate at all. The Colorado Avalanche superstar already looks like a slam dunk.
A recent piece in The Athletic looked at the Hall of Fame case for various stars around the league. While there are some players already looking like a shoo-in, it’s Makar that has ignited an interesting debate.
In the piece, Peter Baugh and Max Bultman discussed Makar’s case. Despite not having a body of work as extensive as other players, Makar looks like a lock for the Hall.
“With Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, it’s fair to wonder whether someone who has played only 470 regular-season games belongs in this tier. We felt that in Makar’s case, the answer is yes. Only 27 years old, he already has one of the best peaks ever by a defenseman. Since entering the league, he leads all defensemen in goals (136) and points (507) and has won the Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, the Norris Trophy twice and the 2020 Calder Trophy.”
The resume speaks for itself. Makar has a Cup, the hardware, and the point totals to make a solid Hall of Fame case.
But there’s another intriguing point. That particular issue underscores just how good Makar has been.
“Makar also finished as a Norris finalist in six of his first seven NHL seasons. The only other player to do that? Bobby Orr.”
So, if we’re including Makar in the same conversation as Bobby Orr, he’s certainly got a great chance of heading straight to the Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Is Cale Makar really in the same conversation as Bobby Orr?
It’s tough to compare Makar with Orr on a tit-for-tat basis. Orr played in a completely different era. That era wasn’t very high on defense and didn’t have the all-world goalies we see today.
That’s why Orr lit up the league with six straight 100-point seasons, including leading the league twice. That’s unheard of, especially for a defenseman.
Had Orr not had his career derailed by injuries, he could have racked up even more mind-shocking numbers. When he retired, the great number 4 ended with 270 goals and 645 assists for 915 points in 657 games. Orr also ended his career with a bonkers +582 rating.
Now, let’s look at Makar’s numbers as they stand. The 27-year-old has 136 goals and 371 assists for 507 points in 470 games. If we extrapolate those numbers for 657 games, we get 190 goals and 518 assists for 708 points. That’s not quite at the same clip as Orr. But it’s a fantastic total nonetheless.
In fact, you could argue that Makar’s numbers are better when adjusting for the era in which he plays. The NHL features much more skilled players across the board, with scoring noticeably lower than in the 60s and 70s.
Perhaps the biggest factor will be the number of Norris Trophies Makar ends up winning. He’s already got two. Orr ended his career with eight. The closest challenger we’ve seen in this era is Nicklas Lidstrom, who won the Norris seven times.
If Makar can get to within that range, say, six or seven Norris Trophies, we could proclaim Makar as the greatest NHL defenseman of all time.
Of course, there’s still a long way to go before settling that debate. Let’s just hope that Makar ends it whilst wearing an Avalanche jersey.
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