Cale Makar has been making history virtually from the moment he entered the league. What began as a promising career has since blossomed into one that has fans, experts, and pundits wondering just how high he can go. Makar earned his third First-Team All-NHL selection and second James Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman this year.
With mounting individual accolades, Makar has joined a select group of defensemen. At just 26 years old, he has done virtually everything an NHL defenseman can do. Where does that put him compared to Bobby Orr, and could he supplant the legend as the best defenseman of all time?
Bobby Orr’s Legendary Resume
Orr has a laundry list of achievements. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1967, making him the youngest to win the award and any award up to that time. Orr made the NHL All-Star Game (back when it mattered) seven times, earning NHL First All-Star Team honors eight seasons in a row (1968-1975).
Now let’s talk about the hardware. Orr is the only defenseman to win the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion, doing so twice. He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP three straight years from 1970-1972. He became the first two-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP, winning the award in 1970 and 1972. He also became the only defenseman to win the Lester B. Pearson Award as the best player in the NHL as voted on by his peers.
All of that fails to include his run of eight consecutive James Norris Trophy wins (1968-1975). Orr set a plethora of records for defensemen, some of which stand today. He revolutionized the game at a time when defensemen and scoring were not synonymous. His impact on the game dwarfs his incredible trophy case.
Makar Off to a Historic Start
Other than Orr, no NHL defenseman may have had a better first six seasons than Makar. Even though debates go on about whether he or Quinn Hughes is better, Makar’s resume is second to none. He also won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2020, finishing 9th in Norris Trophy voting. It would be the last time he wasn’t a finalist for the award.
Related: Avalanche’s Makar on Track to be One of the Best Ever
Makar’s second season saw him finish as the runner-up to the Norris Trophy, but the 2021-22 season is when his legacy exploded. Makar won the Norris Trophy for the first time, but more importantly, won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy in the same season.
Makar has been a finalist for the Norris the past two seasons before winning the award for the second time this past season. Five Norris Trophy finalist finishes, a pair of wins, a Calder and a Conn Smythe are virtually unmatched by 99% of defensemen. At 26 years old, Makar still has his best hockey ahead of him.
What Would It Take?
First and foremost, there is something to be said about the competition levels Orr faced and the level of competition Makar faces currently. Orr’s first couple of seasons were part of the NHL’s Original Six era. The league expanded to 12 teams and soon 16 teams by the 1972 season. By the time injuries stole his prime (1975-76), there were 18 teams, but the Original Six remained the kings.
Makar, meanwhile, came into a league with 32 teams. More importantly, players are bigger, faster, and more talented than they have ever been before. It wasn’t uncommon for players to have summer jobs in the days of Orr; that kind of thing would be unheard of today. Because of that, expecting Makar to go tit-for-tat with Orr is unrealistic.
If Makar could win a Hart Trophy as league MVP, it would close the gap quickly. Realistically, he needs to win six Norris Trophies or more to get him in the conversation. The Conn Smythe covers significant ground, but a second would also close the gap substantially given how hard it is to win a Stanley Cup in this day and age.
Offensively, Makar is producing at a pace that few others have at this stage. If Makar can score 350-plus goals and 1,000-plus points, win three or four more Norris Trophies, and add an MVP/another Conn Smythe, it would certainly make the discussion a valid one.
Carving Out a Legendary Career
It shouldn’t be lost just how special Makar’s career has been so far. Since Nicklas Lidstrom’s run of dominance that saw him win six Norris Trophies in seven seasons and seven in 10 years, only two players have won the Norris multiple times: Erik Karlsson (three times) and Makar.
Parity is greater than it has ever been before, yet Makar is separating himself from the rest of the pack. Hughes may become his greatest rival in a way that Ray Bourque and Chris Chelios traded Norris wins from 1987-1996 (with only two others winning the award in that time). In the end, Makar is on track to enter the discussion for the greatest of all time.
