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Cale Makar

#8 · Defence · Colorado Avalanche

Born Oct 30, 1998 in Calgary, Alberta, CAN (age 27) · 6'0", 187 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 4th overall in 2017 by COL (round 1)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2021-22

×2 James Norris Memorial Trophy Top Defenseman 2024-25, 2021-22

Conn Smythe Trophy MVP of Stanley Cup Playoffs 2021-22

Calder Memorial Trophy Rookie of the Year 2019-20

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

John Carlson WSH · 44 P in 52 GP Victor Hedman TBL · 45 P in 54 GP Kris Letang PIT · 45 P in 55 GP Shea Theodore VGK · 42 P in 53 GP Dougie Hamilton CAR · 42 P in 55 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

2020-21 season totals

Contract

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Colorado Avalanche on Apr 14, 2019, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $8.563M, beginning in 2018-19. It runs through 2020-21, so this is its last season, after which he is a restricted free agent.

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2020-21 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2020-21 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 213 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 579 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 218 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log