Team Canada’s Olympic lineup is beginning to take shape. And two Colorado Avalanche defense partners will be crucial in it.
The first practice took place for Canada on Sunday, with fans and the media getting an initial glimpse at what that lineup could look like. The opening iteration of the Canadian defense corps revealed a wise choice.
The top pairing featured Colorado Avalanche defensemen Devon Toews and Cale Makar skating together. That’s hardly a surprise, but a savvy move. Keeping Toews and Makar together is a good example of not fixing something that isn’t broken.
While Team Canada coach Jon Cooper split up Toews and Makar at times during the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, it doesn’t look like it will be the case at the Olympics. Keeping the duo together makes a world of sense.
Makar is a right-shot blueliner, and Toews is a left-shot. But when looking at Team Canada’s roster, the other left-shot defensemen aren’t exactly elite defensive defensemen or shutdown blueliners.
The other shutdown blueliner is St. Louis Blues D-man Colton Parayko. Parayko, however, is a right shot. Perhaps pairing Makar with the Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Sanheim could work in a pinch. But the fact is that Toews and Makar are a natural fit.
While either one would have made Team Canada on their own, keeping them together is the most logical fit.
Makar will be expected to play a crucial role in Milano-Cortina. Team Canada named the 26-year-old as an alternate captain on Sunday. That honor is something that will hopefully set the tone for the rest of Canada’s defense corps.
Most importantly, recognizing Makar as one of Team Canada’s leaders will make Avalanche fans even prouder to have the NHL’s best defenseman on the squad. With the clock ticking down on the first batch of games in this Olympic tourney, there will be speculation about what the final lines and pairings will look like.
But it seems a virtual lock that Toews and Makar will remain together.