Cale Makar is the 7th best defenseman, according to a recent social media ranking. The ranking listed the New York Rangers’ Adam Fox as the NHL’s best blueliner based on the advanced metrics used to measure on-ice performance.
Now, I don’t usually address social media rankings such as this one. But there’s actually a kernel of truth in what the post states.
In particular, rankings of the league’s best blueliners tend to be skewed toward goal and point totals. That’s precisely what drives most of the Norris Trophy voting. For instance, let’s consider Erik Karlsson’s Norris win in 2023.
Karlsson topped the league’s blueliners with 25 goals and 101 points. Those impressive totals overshadowed the fact that Karlsson was a great defenseman on the league’s worst team. Karlsson logged over 25 minutes a night and ended up a minus-26.
In other words, the Norris goes to the guy who scores the most points regardless of actually playing defense as a defenseman.
That’s the argument that the social media post in question utilizes to rank Makar so low. Makar has high point totals but lacks the advanced metrics to back up his claim as the league’s top defenseman. For once, I tend to agree.
While Makar is a true, elite defenseman, he needs an equally elite defense partner like Devon Toews to keep the house in order. The same goes for Quinn Hughes in Vancouver. He needs Filip Hronek to balance things out. Without defense partners like Toews or Hronek, Makar, and Hughes wouldn’t be able to put up the numbers they do.
Number-one defensemen are only as good as their defense partners
There are plenty of elite-level blueliners in the NHL that don’t get the support they should. That stems from lacking a top-pairing partner.
Consider Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rielly is among the league’s best defensemen but goes largely unnoticed because of his lack of outstanding offensive numbers. He’s shouldered much of the defensive load for his team, particularly due to the lack of a top-pairing partner.
This season Rielly is playing with Chris Tanev. All of a sudden, a top-pairing defensive defenseman like Tanev has allowed Rielly to run amok, giving the Toronto Maple Leafs the top blueliner they’ve been looking for.
Ultimately, this social media ranking must be taken with a grain of salt. Adam Fox has the luxury of K’Andre Miller. Rasmus Andersson has Kevin Ball backing him up. Jake Sanderson has some support from Travis Hamonic. Plus, Victor Hedman has looked lost this season without Mikhail Sergachev.
If anything, my vote would go to Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He lacks a true top-pairing defense partner. Yet, he’s been the backbone of the Blue Jackets’ blue line for years. While we could say the same thing about Sanderson, it’s worth pointing out that Werenski is the only top-quality defenseman on the Blue Jackets’ team right now. At the least the Ottawa Senators have Thomas Chabot to play behind Sanderson.
In the end, Toews’ absence from the Avs’ lineup has not slowed Makar down. Hopefully, Toews will be back soon. But in the meantime, Makar is showing that he can be the NHL’s top blueliner regardless of who plays alongside him.