Avs’ defenseman Makar searching for his Norris Trophy ability early on
CTAMPA FLA.» ale Makar did not play a preseason game, partly because of an offseason medical procedure and also because the Avalanche wanted
2020 first-round draft pick Justin Barron to play his role in the exhibition finale.
Should his absence be tied with his ugly start to the regular season? The player says no. The stats say otherwise.
Makar, a 2021 Norris Trophy finalist as the NHL’S best overall defenseman, was tied for the league’s worst plus-minus rating entering Saturday’s game at Tampa Bay. He was minus-9, along with Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun and Nick Schmaltz.
Makar was minus-5 in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss at Washington, and minus-3 in Thursday’s 4-1 loss at Florida.
The Avs entered Saturday night’s finale of their three-game road trip with a 1-3 record, and much of that was tied to their best defenseman and ice-time leader being ineffective at both ends. Makar had just one point, an assist, through the first four games, and he looks nothing like the perennial Norris Trophy candidate he’s expected to be.
Make no mistake, Makar, 22, is going through some significant growing pains early in his third full pro season.
“I don’t think it really hurt me. It just takes a few games to get into the groove,” Makar said of
not playing in a preseason game. “I thought it was still the right thing to do.”
Not everybody can be like Mikko Rantanen, the Avs’ superstar right winger who missed all of the 2019 training camp and preseason before scoring two goals in the season opener and producing 12 points in his first nine games. For Makar, missing all of the team’s preseason games appears to impacted his ability to perform at an elite level. He said the last time he was minus-5 was in juniors (20-under) with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
“I was like minus-6,” Makar said. “It happens. You wash it off, learn from it, but then move on.”
He added: “From our standpoint, we just have to get rolling. Guys are still building chemistry.
I think our goal is to never lose two in a row. It’s not a position we want to be in right now. But we trust each other. It will come.”
The Avs can only hope it comes soon. The schedule doesn’t get any easier. They host the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild on Tuesday and Saturday, respectively, while playing at the St. Louis Blues in the middle of that stretch on Thursday.
Finishing 2-6 or 3-5 in October is very much a possibility.
Colorado needs more out of Makar, and more from center Nathan Mackinnon, who missed the first two games while in an eight-day COVID quarantine. Mackinnon said he was asymptomatic after testing positive and that he trained hard at his home gym, but he, too, has struggled out of the gate.
Mackinnon entered Saturday’s game at minus-7, tied for the fifth-worst rating in the league. Mackinnon was also minus-5 at the Capitals and didn’t produce a shot against the Panthers, although he clanged at least one off the iron behind Sergei Bobrovsky.
Makar and Mackinnon are uniquely built to steer the Avalanche to Stanley Cup contention. But for different reasons, their engines aren’t yet in the preferred gear.