Cale Makar: 2nd Season Prophecies

[Ararana]

Dat defense discrepancy

 

[klozge]

Dat defense discrepancy

Comparing Makar and Hughes is so 2020. I think even most Vancouver fans have moved on. Makar is a very good #1 dman, Hughes is an insanely rich man's Tyson Barrie. (Barrie was relatively okay defensively in his first couple of seasons, though. Hughes isn't always.)

 

[PepsiCenterMagic]

I'm not sure what it is, but Makar is #1 in NHL in Defensive Point Shares with 1.3.

Next few at 1.0.

 

[the_fan]

When I was saying Makar should be on PK, some people said no he shouldn't. I'm glad Bednar is putting him on PK because if you want to be a true #1 D you gotta play in any situation.

 

[Richard88]

When I was saying Makar should be on PK, some people said no he shouldn't. I'm glad Bednar is putting him on PK because if you want to be a true #1 D you gotta play in any situation.

I don't think anyone here doubts Makar's ability to excel on the PK. It's moreso that nobody wants to see him blocking shots with his ankles and missing time like what happened to Devon Toews.

 

[Islay1989]

Dude gonna win the Norris isn't he? If he continues to destroy every metric like he is currently it will be a landslide, glad he clicked after a few shaky games to start. We need him taking over games if Nate is out.

 

[the_fan]

I don't think anyone here doubts Makar's ability to excel on the PK. It's moreso that nobody wants to see him blocking shots with his ankles and missing time like what happened to Devon Toews.

I get that but still, all the best, or true #1 d-men in the NHL play on PK

 

[Ararana]

When I was saying Makar should be on PK, some people said no he shouldn't. I'm glad Bednar is putting him on PK because if you want to be a true #1 D you gotta play in any situation.

While I would normally agree with this, the Avs are in a unique situation. Let Byram and Girard be those extra guys. They shouldn't be risking losing Makar's offensive impact because he's getting peppered on a PK unit and because they simply don't have to.

 

[the_fan]

While I would normally agree with this, the Avs are in a unique situation. Let Byram and Girard be those extra guys. They shouldn't be risking losing Makar's offensive impact because he's getting peppered on a PK unit and because they simply don't have to.

Like I said in my other post, even if they don't really have to put Makar on PK, if they want him to be a legit #1 D and win a Norris, he needs to do it. I can't think of any #1 D in the NHL who doesn't PK

 

[Ararana]

Like I said in my other post, even if they don't really have to put Makar on PK, if they want him to be a legit #1 D and win a Norris, he needs to do it. I can't think of any #1 D in the NHL who doesn't PK

I personally wouldn't risk him for individual awards over staying healthy and competing. I understand players probably think differently though.

 

[the_fan]

I personally wouldn't risk him for individual awards over staying healthy and competing. I understand players probably think differently though.

Fair enough

 

[avsfan9]

Comparing Makar and Hughes is so 2020. I think even most Vancouver fans have moved on. Makar is a very good #1 dman, Hughes is an insanely rich man's Tyson Barrie. (Barrie was relatively okay defensively in his first couple of seasons, though. Hughes isn't always.)

The only thing Hughes will have on Makar is that he will always be a year younger

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I don’t think him not PK’ing takes him out of the running for individual awards. He needs to play a decent amount of minutes though, which he is now.

If he PK’s a little bit like he is currently, it will probably help his case, but I don’t think individual PK results are examined to closely in award voting.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Like I said in my other post, even if they don't really have to put Makar on PK, if they want him to be a legit #1 D and win a Norris, he needs to do it. I can't think of any #1 D in the NHL who doesn't PK

I see your point and I don't disagree with you but IMO there is a big difference in risking a 45-55 pt #1 dman and a 80-pt dman on the PK. Why take the chance of losing all that offense if you don't have to? If you really have to play him on the PK of course you do but that should be a last resort not you go-to.

 

[Barklez]

I see your point and I don't disagree with you but IMO there is a big difference in risking a 45-55 pt #1 dman and a 80-pt dman on the PK. Why take the chance of losing all that offense if you don't have to? If you really have to play him on the PK of course you do but that should be a last resort not you go-to.

But I want to call him a 1D and I just CAN’T if he doesn’t PK!
What about that is so hard for you?

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Anyone else notice that Makar has added the Girard spin to his game this year?

He did a lot of stopping and starting last year, but I don’t ever recall seeing this.

 

[Pokecheque]

I like that Bednar is quietly slipping Makar and Girard into the PK mix while not using them exclusively. It's definitely improved their kill by leaps and bounds, even though I still think it's an insanely bad system for the personnel the Avs have.

 

[Richard88]

I like that Bednar is quietly slipping Makar and Girard into the PK mix while not using them exclusively. It's definitely improved their kill by leaps and bounds, even though I still think it's an insanely bad system for the personnel the Avs have.

Avs PK is ranked 1st in the league this season, despite having virtually an entire first PK unit injured (Calvert-Bellemare, Toews-Johnson), which suggests that they're doing something right. Either that or Grubauer has just been otherworldly on the PK.

 

[Pokecheque]

Avs PK is ranked 1st in the league this season, despite having virtually an entire first PK unit injured (Calvert-Bellemare, Toews-Johnson), which suggests that they're doing something right. Either that or Grubauer has just been otherworldly on the PK.

We'll see if that lasts. It's still very passive, very reliant on shot-blocking, and too often leads to them giving up huge scoring chances. It's way too reliant on the goalie to bail them out. They do very little to get sticks in passing lanes and are overall far too passive, especially in the neutral zone. This team has the kind of personnel that they could utilize a "power kill" as some in the analytics crowd have coined it. But they just don't. Drives me nuts too, because their 5-on-5 defensive system is quite aggressive in the neutral zone and takes advantage of their speed.

There's just some very strange disconnect between the team's overall scheme and special teams, it's annoying.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I said last year Girard could be our best PKer if they would just use him.



It's so old school to think your PKers have to be big shot blocker types. They really don't. Guys who have very active sticks and read plays well are the ones that tend to excel on the PK and Girard is excellent at both. Getting sticks into lanes forces the PP into poor shots or bad passes and then reading those plays ahead of time allows you to break them up.


Not surprised at all to see the PK doing better with G and Cale getting some usage in that role.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I like that Bednar is quietly slipping Makar and Girard into the PK mix while not using them exclusively. It's definitely improved their kill by leaps and bounds, even though I still think it's an insanely bad system for the personnel the Avs have.

They’re being rolled out there heavily on the PK now with all the injuries. Makar played 4 minutes of PK last night.

When the roster normalizes I don’t want them playing a crazy amount on the PK, but it should help throughout the grind of a season that they can do it.

 

[Balthazar]

They’re being rolled out there heavily on the PK now with all the injuries. Makar played 4 minutes of PK last night.

When the roster normalizes I don’t want them playing a crazy amount on the PK, but it should help throughout the grind of a season that they can do it.

Yeah but Bednar didn't trust any dman yesterday other than Cale and Sammy.

 

[Mr Zappalanche]

Anyone else notice that Makar has added the Girard spin to his game this year?

He did a lot of stopping and starting last year, but I don’t ever recall seeing this.

That wasnt Girard spin, that was Mackinnon raging bull spin.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Avs PK is ranked 1st in the league this season, despite having virtually an entire first PK unit injured (Calvert-Bellemare, Toews-Johnson), which suggests that they're doing something right. Either that or Grubauer has just been otherworldly on the PK.

I think it’s a bit of both. Grub has been very very good this year, but I think outside of EJ some of the injured guys may not be as effective as the coaching staff thinks.

 

[Richard88]

That wasnt Girard spin, that was Mackinnon raging bull spin.

Yeah, I don't see why everyone's been talking about that being the Girard spin-o-rama move when it's clearly an identical move to the power move Mackinnon does several times a game, especially on the PP.