Cale Makar News

Makar was a late scratch in Ottawa on Saturday but will play Monday in Philadelphia. Makar has been on a torrid pace recently, scoring 10 goals with 10 assists (20 points) in his last 14 games.

Makar has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury but will play Thursday vs. the Canucks. Makar skated with Devon Toews and on PP1 in Wednesday's practice.

Makar will miss at least seven days with the upper-body injury and this will likely force Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram to take on bigger roles for at least the next few games. The Avalanche will be in tough on Wednesday, missing Makar, Mikko Rantanen, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin and maybe Andre Burakovsky as well.

Makar appeared in 10 playoff games in 2019, burning the first year of his entry-level contract, so he needed to be re-signed after just two regular seasons in the NHL. Over that time, the 2017 No.4 overall pick is tied for fourth among defensemen in points (94) but second in points-per-game (0.93) while appearing in 101 of the 126 games. As of now, Makar is tied for the fourth highest-paid defenseman ($9.0M AAV) heading into 2021-22.

Makar has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury but was on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate. It was the first time since late-February that Makar skated in a regular jersey but he's still not ready to play tonight vs. the Ducks. Head coach Jared Bednar said he's getting "close," so monitor his status prior to Thursday's game vs. the Wild.

With Makar out for a second straight game, Devon Toews and Samuel Girard are expected to play massive minutes on Monday, as they did over the weekend. The next time we could see Makar is Friday vs. the Ducks.

Makar has missed the first two games since the Avalanche returned from a COVID-19 related break but will be a game-time decision on Saturday. Makar took part in practice on Friday, so it seems likely that he'll play in Lake Tahoe.

Makar was scratched from Sunday's game in Vegas but was on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate and will be a game-time decision in the rematch. It seems unlikely that he'll play but the Avalanche left the possibility open in case he's feeling good this afternoon.

Makar missed some time during training camp but participated in the final practice before entering the bubble. While speaking with the media on Monday, Makar said "I feel perfect now," which is a great sign for the Avalanche, who begins Western Conference round-robin play on Sunday. Makar had 50 points (12G / 38A) in 57 games during his rookie campaign and had six points (1G / 5A) in 10 playoff games last year.

Makar missed the last five games with an upper-body injury but will play tonight vs. the Rangers. Makar will likely replace Kevin Connauton and comes in with five assists in his last 10 games.

The Avalanche start a three-game road trip Friday in Vancouver but Makar did not join the team for the start of the trip. This rules him out of tonight's game but head coach Jared Bednar said that the rookie defenseman could join them on the road at some point.