Cale Makar helped lead the Colorado Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup Finals birth since 2001 with five points in Game 4 to complete a sweep of the Edmonton Oilers. In the process, the former UMass defenseman earned some high praise from one of the best to ever play the game.
During TNT’s postgame show Monday night, Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky said he was highly impressed by Makar’s performance and compared him to a Boston Bruins legend and one of the greatest defensemen of all time.
“I would say probably, the closest player we’ve ever seen that offensively and defensively can make an impact on the game that much, probably Bobby Orr,” Gretzky said about Makar’s game.
Orr has been a longtime idol of Makar. In 2017, during his time with the Minutemen, he spoke about Orr’s impact on his game.
“Growing up I took a lot from his personal aspects of the game,” Makar said. “My dad would always talk about how he treated people off the ice. That’s what I wanted to emulate.
His efforts included the first goal of the game and an assist on the overtime winner scored by Artturi Lehkonen. In the process, Makar became the first player in 34 years to record five points in a game that sent the Avalanche to the championship series.
“Very humbled anytime the great one mentions my name,” Makar said on the TNT postgame show about Gretzky. “I’m very honored and humbled, but at the end of the day, we have one more step to go and the boys are excited.”
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there are only 4 occasions where a defenseman has recorded nine points in a four-game sweep. Makar holds two of those from this year alone.
Now in his third NHL season, Makar finished the 2021-22 regular season with 48 goals and 132 assists. Being in the discussion with names like Gretzky and Orr is high praise so early in his career. But at a young age, the former UMass star is starting to put himself in rare company.
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