The Colorado Avalanche received an expected, but exciting, update at Monday morning’s practice. Star defenseman Cale Makar was back on the ice in a regular, practice jersey per Avalanche play-by-play announcer Connor McGahey. This marks the next step in Makar’s return from an upper-body injury sustained on March 30th. He has missed six games since.
Colorado has expected Makar to return before the start of the postseason, head coach Jared Bednar said the day after Makar was injured. He will have three more chances to meet that expectation before the end of Colorado’s regular season. The Avalanche have posted a 3-2-1 record and seen their goals-per-game average dip from a league-leading 3.70 to 3.00 since Makar was knocked out of the lineup.
There is no doubt about the impact that Makar brings. He is a perennial candidate for the Norris Trophy honoring the league’s best defenseman. Playing behind an Avalanche squad that led the league in goals-scored and goals-against should be enough to put Makar back in contention for the trophy this year. The 27 year old scored 20 goals and 75 points in 73 games this season. Those marks sit below the career-year Makar posted with 30 goals and 92 points in 80 games last season, which earned him the 2025 Norris Trophy, but are nonetheless impressive. Makar averaged nearly 25 minutes of ice time each game through this season, a mark only five other players outperformed. He will immediately step back into Colorado’s top defense role when he is back to full health, which could be soon after his return to full practice.
The Avalanche did not provide an update on fellow injured defenseman Josh Manson. The team recalled Jack Ahcan to serve as an extra defenseman with Manson out on Saturday. The return of either Makar or Manson should be enough to bump Ahcan back to the AHL and either Nick Blankenburg or Brett Kulak to the press box.