Cale Makar, a rising NHL defenseman, is making waves with his speed and skill. From junior hockey success to NHL accolades like the Calder and Norris Trophies, Makar's future looks bright. At 25, he's already a Stanley Cup champion. But can he become the greatest defenseman ever?
00:00 - Intro
01:21 - Pre NHL
03:19 - Rookie Makar
04:31 - Sophomore Season
05:12 - Breakout Season
07:04 - How Does Makar Compare All-Time?
07:41 - Statistical Breakdown
I guess a lot of you want a video on Quinn Hughes next?
Magine
He's already changing how defensemen skate, train, shoot, and get involved offensively. Kids are growing up now wanting to be the next Cale Makar. At the end of his career, if he's not a GOAT, he's at the very least a pioneer.
Second Bobby Orr
makar has made me play way different from the "defensive defensemen" like lockdown d man to how makar plays like ive been playing way better imo (makar is also one of my favorite player)
Based on what? Lidstrom put up better numbers in the dead puck era and was better defensively. Neidermayer was better. Pronger was better. The kid is good, but their was better before
@@rona6063 Neidermayer and Pronger are not better than Cale Makar, not even close. Those two don't deserve to be anywhere NEAR to the same category as Lidstrom. You got Orr, Harvey, Lidstrom and Borque. Then you got 9 other defensemen in another category before you even get to players like Neidermayer or Pronger.
@@rona6063 just said hes my fav player?? never said he was better than thoses guys
My favorite quote about Cale comes from Landy after the avs won the cup in 2022. His quote to some question about what it takes to get to the top was a legendary "Get a Cale Makar"
He’s probably already in the HoF, especially if he continues to play at somewhere close to this level for a couple more years. He’s the finest defensemen I have seen play in my lifetime, and I think he could very well go down as ‘one of the best’ with the likes of guys such as Bobby Orr and Doug Harvey. I never got to see those guys live but like Makar, you can watch any of their film and see that he is a cut above everybody else on the ice at any time.
His career has been insane.
As a Tampa fan his game is impossible not to recognize, insanely talented player
The thing for me is that this entire video is about his offensive capabilities. It's amazing that he can score so much, but he is a *defenseman*, so having amazing scoring records makes him one of the best offensive players. What makes Makar a great defenseman is playing great defense. I wish more people would talk about that.
Yes his Phenomenal skating prowess allows him to forecheck w the best of them. But the vid DEf showed him checking players too
As a Canucks fan watching Quinn and Cale both guys are studs but the frame and talent put around Cale is working so well and the Kids just a friggin beast.
Great to see Quinn have a great year. Still haven’t seen the consistency from him like Makar yet so he’s not quite in the same conversation
@@Chadly589 Quinn is leading all D-men in points but definitely have to see how consistently he can do it. Would be awesome to have some one like Nate dogg in Vancouver to help him out though. 😂
@@Dontthankyu yeah just needs a year or two more of this to get there. Everyone wants a Mackinnon, but everyone also wants a Makar so we have an embarrassment of riches.
@@Chadly589 and you guys don’t even have Landeskog back which me and my brother laugh/cry about every other night 😂😭
When Orr played there was no doubt or debate about who was the best. The only reason he didn't win 10 Norris trophies was injuries. To say he played against inferior players is foolish, Howe,Hull,Robinson, Savard, etc. Only people that never watched him play make ridiculous comments like what's being said now.
Youre also forgetting that orr was the go to guy on the team which pads the stats. For the Avs its McKinnon. Its like Bedard, ive nevet seen a team make a rookie their go to player which pads Bedards numbers.
Cale Makar will retire as the greatest of his generation, no question. As for comparing him to #4: Call me when he scores the cup winning goal in OT, wins the Art Ross, Hart, Norris (8 times in a row), and Conn Smythe all at one time. Call me when he has 6 seasons in a row with over 100 points. Call me when he has a career +/- over 500. Call me when he scores over 40 goals. Cale is AMAZING. At the risk of sounding like Don Cherry, he's no Bobby Orr.
If Cale was in the same era as Bobby Orr then I think that would be possibly but the league has change so much we would never know
Idiots like you don’t understand if makar was in that time period he’d be just as good as bobby orr, hockey has changed grandma you’re getting old
Makar is soft, and never would have made it in Orrs years.
Than you can add 50% to what Orr did due to the tech in skates, sticks, sports medicine if he was playing nowadays....
Scoring 40 goals nowadays much harder
Future Hall of Famer mark my words GO AVS GO
These highlights are ridiculous!! 😮 This man is the real deal!! And nasty Nate ripping on the Alberta junior hockey league is hilarious. I don’t know anything about that stuff up there in Canada but I’m assuming Nova Scotia must be the Mecca of hockey by the way Nathan was goofing on Alberta 😂
If Makar isn't one of your favorite players reevaluate your life. He is so much fun to watch. I'm an Isles fan but any time I can flip on a Av's game I will just to watch him play. Noah Dobson is quietly putting up (near) Makar numbers playing for.........the Islanders. Ugh. Now I am not saying Dobson is even close to Makar but I want to give my guy some love )
Not a chance. By the age of 22, Bobby Orr had already won the Hart, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, Stanley Cup and his 3rd of 8 consecutive Norris Trophies.
I mean different eras and competition and less teams, no salary cap lot of variables here. I’m a huge Orr fan but you gotta put those into perspective. Era changed the way defence was played in his era and now makar is doing the same for his generation. This is why I don’t specify GOATS as one player but in generations. It’s too hard to determine even though can era adjust and nit pick.
Less teams = more talent per capita
When he wins an Art Ross, Hart, 8 Norris, and has a 30 goal 100 assist and +100 season, he’ll be in the conversation.
Haha nice !!
True, but Orr seems to always get a pass when it comes to the goaltenders he played against; their teammates - such as Esposito; and benefiting from expansion. Hell, it seems as though Gretzky is the only player who doesn't get these passes.
@@gdeyell9471 If you put Makar in a time machine and sent him to 1971, he would probably score every time he touched the puck, but you can only measure greatness by era. Orr was far better than any defender or player of his era. The separation between Makar and other defence men today is marginal by comparison.
makar is not a good defense man, Orr was never 58th in plus Minas
Orr still holds the plus minus record as well.
Could he? Absolutely. But will 99.9% of the hockey world accept him over Orr? Not a chance. Hockey has changed so much. He'll be the greatest of our generation for sure
Hard to tell to be honest, he’s shattering orrs records they won’t be able to deny him if he’s better then Orr on paper too
Depends with new generations like always, current generation of hockey players consists of a lot of people who watched Orr play. Those will stay biased to him no doubt, not until Cale has retired and theres been some time to distance it then its way more accurate to compare these players because they will both have legendary status at that point.
@@CreateJDM "he’s shattering orrs records". No he isn't. how about that 8 norris in a row? how about leading THE LEAGUE in scoring...TWICE. Makar couldn't hold Orr's jock.
He has changed the game for defensemen. It's truly amazing to have a defenseman who is as potent on the defensive end as he is on offense. As they say, defense wins championships. However, playing alongside MacKinnon serves as a significant motivational factor. Anyone donning that Avs jersey understands they're representing the logo on the front, and MacKinnon ensures accountability to that standard. It's inspiring to see how exceptional players draw motivation from one another, creating a cycle of greatness. I hope this team wins a few more cups. They're driven to win and recognize that it's a collective effort, no matter the circumstances.
He's 58th in + - do some reading, that's right 58th. Not good at defending.
@@rodhenson7657 watch him play hockey don’t read to deep into those numbers. If you watched the Avs playoff run 2 years ago you know this man is capable of
@@TillTheThrill19he's using bad numbers and not understanding them well. the real numbers say different
You think he’d be less motivated if he didn’t play with MacKinnon? Ridiculous statement
@@claydouglas2526 The statement emphasizes that great players hold each other accountable, feeding off one another's energy and competitiveness while elevating each other's game. It highlights that every successful team comprises strong individual players who contribute to the collective excellence of the team.
bandits legend (i play in brooks)
He seems to play very similar to nate. Both are fun to watch
The 6 year span where Pronger won the Hart, and then went to finals with Oilers, Anaheim and Philly makes him the greatest of all time.
Ive had the opinion for a very long time that Pronger is the most dominant defenceman in modern hockey. Hard to argue Bobby Orr but half the players then couldn't skate. Agree with you.
Absolutely NOT. At all.
Pronger dragged the Oilers to those Finals, he was sooo good
Best draft lottery “loss” in history
I remember thinking Carlson could be that guy, Cale great and he definitely has it in him but it’s long career to catch ORR and Lidstrom.
Good video, do a QHughes one!
Little early for that. See me in 5 years. Then you can debate it. Until then. Bobby Orr was on a different level. He changed the game more than any defensemen who ever lived.
@@user-ye4ek7gq5c I get that you are clueless. Did you watch them? How do you know? No they didnt suck. Your lack of hockey knowledge sucks. I guess Gretzky and Lemieux sucked too. Bossy sucked. Lafluer sucked, Potvin, Messier, Howe, Hull etc. The average player is better now. Elite will always be elite.
@@user-ye4ek7gq5c No matter what era it is, generational players will adapt. If Orr played today given the equipment, training, etc that guys now have, I’m sure he’d still be one of the greats.
@@mcj44 it really doesnt change the fact that in Orr’s era most so called hockey players were smoking cigarettes together with the head coach during intermissions between periods of play, and were generally all alcoholics. It was way easier for Bobby Orr to make it in his time than for anyone today
Orr changed the game as a defenceman. That is a fact. Gretzky only played against players who sucked also according to some reasoning. Maybe the Hockey Hall of Fame will become worth of it’s title going forward.
@@davidmacdonald8882 No they didnt. Youre hockey knowledge sucks. According to you Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr, Howe, Hall all suck. How do you know, did you watch them?
Sure seems like it.. he’s got a unique talent to his game
The best hockey player in the world.
No. Bobby Orr accomplished things that shouldn’t have been possible. There will never be another defenseman that can change things like Orr did, never.
Orr played against vacuum cleaner salesmen.
@@maximilianmaier3950 yep, anyone that played before 2000 terrible....The fact is Orr dominated the league in a way that was not seen before, or since from a defenseman. Paul Coffey had many of the skating and offensive traits, but not the hitting and defense, and Lidstrom/Bourque had the defense but not the skating or the offense. Let's talk when Makar leads the league in scoring (twice) wins 8 consecutive Norris, and 3 consecutive Harts. Orr was a glitch that will never be duplicated.
This is a stupid opinion. The idea that someone showed up in the sport's first 100 years of existence and that no one is ever going to be better than him is ridiculous. Makar is already better than Orr was. So is Fox, Hedman, Josi or any of the other top defenseman in the league. Orr was a superstar talent that played against a bunch of amateurs by modern standards. Put any of the modern superstars in Orr's era and Orr doesn't look so impressive anymore.
@@usernaames keep telling yourself that...remember, everything today is better than yesterday...except it's not. Any of today's superstars would have quit after a single game after being pummeled into next week. It's pretty funny how fans of today think that hockey has actually improved, hate to break it to you, it's gone backwards. If you think head down toe drags and 1 mph shootout attempts are an improvement, i can tell that you have never watched anything older than a few years ago.
@@druxpack8531 hate to break it to you but you have room temperature IQ in Celsius.
the fact that nobody fucked up okposo for what he did to cale is honestly disgusting... dude has been hampered from that play basically ever since. not only did no one stick up for him, he fucking went out and blamed himself..
Pronger was in your face dominant. Lidstrom was sneaky dominant. These are the modern gold standards. He is not there yet.
He’ll be one of the best ever
That means you gotta put Quinn Hughes top 10 all time. Makar is top 10 when it's all over but nobody will ever touch Orr
Imagine being the guy who got benched in the playoffs for a rookie who’s never played an nhl or even an ahl game
Barrie said he knew he was gonna get traded their first practice together
Bobby Orr was doing this stuff 50 yrs ago in a way tougher league with lousy equipment, wood sticks. Makar is good but so is Hughes Bobby Orr will always be the G.O.A.T
Best defensemen since D Kieth.
Why is that every day i open a sports newspage there is atleast one mention of the word GOAT. What is this modern day trend that we have to name players GOATs. For what benefit? We never had this in the late 90s. We just enjoyed the sport we followed. Everyone has their favorite player in any field of sport. Im no different. I have my favorites but i dont rave about them on the internet all day.
Every generation needs to realize the difference between generational players and century players....
Thank god we have Lane hutson
Hughes :)
Was interested in the topic but stopped the video after about 30 seconds due to the annoying background music. Sorry.
He is a forward on the blue line. When they lose, he often has the highest minus rating on the team. Just like letang, Karlsson, subban, etc. Forwards thinking they are defensemen.
Already is imo
Saying makar is better than Orr is like Saying marner is better than Gretzky. You are completely wrong.
Nah makar is not better than Orr but he is closer than Marner to Gretzky. He’s like Matthews to Gretzky.
Never said he was better. But definitely building up a resume.
Heavily disagree. The era they play in matters imo.
lol, Orr will forever have that title. Guys like Coffey and Lidstrom are right there. Makar will maybe be top ten all-time when he’s done.
No one is going to challenge Orr obviously. I absolutely deify Orr. Also, i dont give a single shit about Orr. I dont give a fuck. I dont live in the Orr era. You understand, you little dumbshit?
I bet you a hundred bucks that he is already better than Lidstrom
@@user-ye4ek7gq5cand Coffey
@@user-ye4ek7gq5c You must be under the age of 25. Come back to me when Makar wins three Cups and seven Norris trophies.
Makar in Ukrainian means chosen one, akin to king. So if the skate fits…
Been a winner except for losing an RBC Cup in OT… losing builds winners
imho he already is. He is such an amazing player and I don't know where the avs are without him.
The guys a stud for sure and extremely talented. However he is not in rhe same league as Orr, who changed the game.to make way for the Makar type of Dman. Orr could dominate the entire game at both ends of the ice no one was in his league then or since then. The guy scored 40 goals and won a scoring championship and finished second or third in scoring a couple of other times. Only knee injuries could slow him down and finally forced him to retire he had about 6 separate knee surgeries. Cale as good as he is will never win a scoring championship.
No, need 6 100 seasons like Orr then we'll see...
GOAT, no. Great player, yes.
He's changed the way how offense and speed can be incorporated into d-men, but he is not going to be the greatest of all time because he is not a defensive defenseman. He can be good defensively but nowhere near the level of say a Heiskanen
This is false. Makar is at the top of the league is every defensive metric. Have you seen his analytics charts?
Short of a horrible injury, I think decades from now people will be arguing forever about whether he or Bobby Orr were a better player.
that title is a bit clickbait-y but ok
No
No, he’s a DEFENSEMAN. He’s an amazing player, but scoring points is not his main job. How many of the top 10 wingers of all time are Selke winners?
I mean a lot of people consider Datsyuk one of the greatest players of all time. Dude revolutionized how people played hockey. Most NHL players like Kane consider him their favorite player.
@@TheLarknessMonster Oh he's one of my personal favorites, but as for being anywhere near the top 10, with Gretzkys, Lemieuxs, Jagrs, Ovis, future Mcdavids & Matthews, etc... Don't get me wrong, I could totally see Makar being mentioned in the future with Orr, Coffee, Borque, etc. Nothing against him. Just the whole concept of labeling guys that might be better forwards than defensemen as best "defensemen" is kind of like saying Ron Hextall is one of the greatest goalies of all time 😆
Adam fox is the better d-man by almost every standard of measure and I find that pretty cool
no
Leider zu oft. verletzt und Bobby Orr war noch viel dominanter.
McKinnon is awesome but I hate how he calls elite jr A players awful Everything is relative and jr A is a collection of some of the best graduated midget AAA players I think jr A is good, it’s not the best but far!! From awful
no bobby orr will always be the greatest ,orr played in a very tough nhl era unlike makar who plays in soft nhl era
can he become quinn hughes ? only in his dreams lol
Hughes is having his best year and Makar still has a higher PPG
Hughes led the league in +- most of the season, makar is 58th, not a good defenseman,and he plays with the best player in the world. Please stop insulting Orr with this nonsense. Makar is more like Harold snepts than Orr.
@@rodhenson7657+/- isn’t the end all be all.
Nah Orr will always be the best
Bro fox is better people litterly just like his freaking name better and he has been on a better team every year except this year and fox defensively is much better then Fox and would easily have 85 point year if it werent for the 11 game injury
quinn hughes enters the chat
Makar will undoubtedly BE the greatest of all time bc he's the best player during the best era of the NHL ever. I'm in my 30s so I'm no fetishist for old-time hockey & Orr/Coffey etc played when 1/3rd of guys on a team couldn't use their outside edges.
No lol
new bobby orr
hughes will be better
Quinn Hughes also joins elite company faster than makar? If Quinn had the same avs team he’d have more points more success than makar im sorry but quinny is better
SO TRUE
They are both great players and have change the defensemen scene that said Quinn Hughes has played a total of 351 games with 39 goals and 281 helpers for a total of 320 career point with a +/- of 28. Makar has played a total of 302 games with 82 goals and 239 helpers for a career total of 321 with a +/- of 106. I would say that they are the same talent level and both will have HoF careers.
Calder, Conn Smythe, Cup, Norris (along with top three in voting every year since his rookie season) all before he's 26. Quinn has proved nothing as of yet. At the time of this comment, he's only 4 points up on Makar. People are acting like he's running away with the Norris this season.
lol oh man I always love the “oh it’s cuz he is on the Avs or he wouldn’t be like this if he wasn’t on the Avs” it’s the weakest argument but it’s also hilarious so it makes me laugh 😂😂😂😂😂
@@rorymullins9151 he’s matched points with all time greats season after season like I said if Quinn had someone like rantanen and McKinnon he would have way more than he has rn Quinn’s doing it on a Canucks squad who’s finally found there identity
no lol
Why are ppl.comparing him to Orr? Lidstrom is the goat.
No.
Great player,but not inthe top two in the world.
He is already up there. Stanley Cup champion already.
I still think Hughes is overall a little better but they're both amazing... Orr is the defensive goat though
Fake news.
wow. that's some next level dumb video title. clickbait, because i know you cant be serious.
“BoBbY oRr Is ThE bEsT EvEr CaLe WoNt CoMe ClOsE “ let’s not forget if Bobby Orr played in today league he’d be a healthy scratch every game and no one would even know who he is if Cale was in the easy goal scoring era that Orr was in he’d have more points then Wayne Gretzky….
just stop...hahahahaha retard
Lol if that's the case why wasn't everyone good back in the day? Why did Gretz, Lemieux, Orr excel way beyong their peers in hockey? Because they are truly generational talents who dominated in their time. Give those players the modern day technology, training methods and equipment that we use today and they would STILL dominate. I'm not sure why people don't understand this lmao. Lemieux would literally dominate todays game.
@@B-a-s-i its called "everyone is the past was terrible, and the players i watch now are soooo much better". It goes both ways, if you dropped Makar into 1970s hockey, he would get destroyed by how rough it was...the guy can't play a full season in today's "No Hit League" NHL.
@@druxpack8531 yup. if anything, the players back then would be better than the players now imo maybe except for mcdavid
He hasn't even been the best defenseman in the league the last two years, let alone the greatest of all time.
Who’s been better
@@HecticHockey Statistically, both counting and advanced wise, Quinn Hughes has been better both years. And that's offensively and defensively. Hughes has been superior in corsi, fenwick, xgoals for, xgoals against, etc. And I know, I know, points per game is always the argument for Makar here, but quite frankly that's a major problem for Makar, he's injured a lot. I'd rather have the guy who put up 76 in 78 games with better defense than the guy who put up 66 in 60, because I had the first gut for an extra 16 games. Hughes has played close to an extra seasons worth of games despite both guys coming into the league in the same year. It's an issue.
@@robertcampbell8070 If Cale had been healthy how would it change the scene? I wonder how many more point could he have had if he played 50 more games over his career and would he be farther ahead of Quinn. As of the moment Quinn has played 353 games and has a career total of 320 point Makar has 302 games played an a career total of 321.
@@TropicalGroovySmoothie If Cale maintained the same pace over the additional games,he'd have roughly 375 points. But that sort of underscores the issue. There's roughly 54 points that the Avalanche didn't get from him because he was injured.
if he stays healthy and plays consistently at this rate, he'll be the defensemen GOAT.
Not even close 😂 he's not even the best d-man in Colorado
What lmao
Only a child would make such a video. Today's rules are garbage and the game is trash. None of today's current players will ever be the greatest of all time.
That’s a ridiculous take
No. He’s mid.
Hughes is better.
Nukhead would agree on that.
Hes better than Lidstrom. Bobby Orr and Raymond Bourque are the players he reminds me of the most.
This is fake news, makar can't play defense. The most overrated player in the league.
Nope because there's Quinn Hughes
He can ma car's all he wants id take Quinn hughs any day
No
He's changed the way how offense and speed can be incorporated into d-men, but he is not going to be the greatest of all time because he is not a defensive defenseman. He can be good defensively but nowhere near the level of say a Heiskanen
No
No
No
No