Cale Makar is one of the most irreplaceable players in the NHL, and especially on the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately, there’s a chance that he will miss some time after suffering an upper-body injury against the Flames on Monday.
Colorado has one of the better defensive groups in the league. While Makar might miss time, they’ve still got some options. We’ve seen Devon Toews move down a pairing in recent games. That is head coach Jared Bednar’s way of trying to create a spark and more production.
In the end, nobody is going to replicate Makar’s offensive production. He has recorded his fourth 20-goal season of his career, which includes three-straight. While he is on a six-game draught, it doesn’t take away from how remarkable he is. He has only gone six games this season without recording a shot on goal.
Who needs to step up for the Avalanche in Cale Makar’s absence?
As previously mentioned, Devon Toews has had experience on the second pairing this season. The big thing here is that, while he wouldn’t be moving down in Makar’s absence, they’ve still player Toews played alongside during those times would be moving up.
That would be Brent Burns, who has some experience being a top defender in addition to an actual forward (though that hasn’t been the case in many years, it’s still true). Toews averages 18:51 of ice time this season, good for seventh on the team. In comparison, Makar and Toews average 24:53 and 22:00 respectively.
Toews and Burns have played just 73.7 minutes together, according to MoneyPuck. They have an xGoalsFor (expected goals for) of 3.9, but with more time together, I would expect that they build some extra chemistry, just like the team has done on the power play with the addition of Nazem Kadri.
In addition to some pairing shifts, the team will probably integrate someone like Nick Blankenburg, who has played just three games for the team since being acquired. That could very well change down the stretch if Makar misses some time.
The Avalanche face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night, so we’ll find out later today whether or not Makar is good to go or if he will be shut down.