Chambers: Could Avalanche’s Cale Makar match Ray Bourque’s Hall of Fame career? The numbers say yes

Cale Makar is 23 years old, but if the highlight-reel Avalanche defenseman can play until he’s 40, his career might end as heralded as Ray Bourque’s.

Bourque, who helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2001, has an NHL-record 410 goals for a defenseman. He averaged 0.25 goals per game over his sensational 1,612-game career.

Makar entered Saturday averaging 0.54 goals this season and 0.27 goals in his young career.

Just sayin’.

That’s not to say Makar — who scored “the goal of the year” in overtime on Tuesday in Chicago — is destined to break Bourque’s record of 410 goals. But considering Makar’s age and talent, it’s worth pointing out.

“He’s so dynamic,” teammate Nathan MacKinnon said. “Not many teams in the NHL have a No. 1 defenseman. We have the best one.”

Comparing active superstars to legends is fun. It’s fun to look at Alex Ovechkin’s quest to catch Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals, regardless of position. Ovechkin, 36, needs 140 goals (entering Friday) to tie Gretzky and is under contract for the next four seasons, until age 41.

It’s also fun to think about what records Makar can break with his youth and extraordinary skill set.

I’ve said this for more than a year: Makar is to NHL defensemen what Connor McDavid is to NHL forwards. There’s the clear-cut best, and then superstars (MacKinnon, Ovechkin, etc.) below them. McDavid might not get everyone’s vote as the league’s best forward, but he’s certainly proven to be the best scorer with 479 points over the last five seasons.

Makar hasn’t been in the league that long, but his 0.96 career points-per-game is already the fifth-highest among defensemen in league history — just behind No. 4 Bourque (0.98) and Dennis Potvin (0.99), and significantly behind Paul Coffey (1.08) and Bobby Orr (1.39).

But here’s the thing: Makar is 23, a long way to 40, and he’s only going to get better.

Troy Terry. Highlands Ranch native Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks entered Friday with 21 goals — third-most in the NHL. The breakout season for the fourth-year pro from the University of Denver is bound to make him a participant at next month’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

Terry, 24, is already considered one of the best Colorado-born hockey players. In fact, he was ranked No. 4 on a Denver Post list compiled during the dark days of the 2020 COVID shutdown. The No. 1 guy was Erie native Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes, the defenseman and alternate captain who was a 2020 NHL All-Star, followed by Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo of Colorado Springs and former goalie Parris Duffus of Denver.

Slavin became the first Colorado-born-and-bred hockey player to play in an NHL All-Star Game. Terry will become the second.

Avalanche All-Stars. The NHL mid-winter classic didn’t happen in the 56-game shortened season of 2021, but returns in February with the same four-team, 3-on-3 format from 2019-20. Each division will have 11 players — six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies.

The Avs will have at least two players on the Central squad, and the obvious picks are forward Nazem Kadri (team-high 42 points entering Saturday) and Makar.

Wingers Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog and defenseman Devon Toews also deserve to play at T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 5. But because of the format — every team must be represented by at least one player — only Kadri and Makar will probably carry the burgundy-and-blue flag.

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