What Cale Makar's Game 5 suspension means for the Avalanche's ...

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has a sterling track record and a reputation for playing the game the right way. He also made a hit after a puck was out of play, one that resulted in a player knocked out on the ice.

Those two truths can coexist together. Clean players make mistakes, and Makar’s came at a bad time on Monday night. His hit on Jared McCann led not only to a Seattle Kraken power-play goal in Game 4, but also to a one-game suspension for Game 5 on Wednesday, which could cost the Avalanche dearly. The defending champions return to Denver with the series tied 2-2, and they’re down captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee), key winger Valeri Nichushkin (personal reasons), depth forward Darren Helm (undisclosed injury), defenseman Jack Johnson (lower-body) and now Makar. Pair that with the bevy of free-agent departures last summer, and the Avalanche look like a shell of their championship team.

Lacking last year’s depth, Colorado is going to go only as far as their stars can carry them, and now one of their biggest ones is out. Last year, Makar won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, then the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs. He’s a transcendent star who has averaged at least a point per game each of the past three seasons and led the league in ice time per game in 2022-23. That’s not easy to replace, especially with the team’s current form.

In Game 4, coach Jared Bednar relied heavily on only nine forwards and four defensemen. Forwards Alex Newhook (6:46), Ben Meyers (5:27) and Denis Malgin (5:02) all saw their ice time dip to under seven minutes, and defensemen Josh Manson (12:31) and Erik Johnson (11:51) played under 13 minutes each. That puts a heavy burden on Colorado’s top players. Nathan MacKinnon (22:11 per game) and J.T. Compher (22:02) are averaging as much ice time this series as typical NHL defensemen, despite being forwards. MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Makar and Devon Toews have either scored or assisted every goal against Seattle. Only one bottom-six forward, Alex Newhook, has a point in the series.

“There’s a level of concern (about depth scoring),” Bednar said, “but I can’t say I haven’t had it all year to some extent.”

That could prove unsustainable, especially against a deep team like the Kraken.

If Jack Johnson isn’t healthy enough to return to the lineup on Wednesday, Brad Hunt is the most likely player to slot into the Avalanche lineup. The career journeyman has taken warmups before each of the past two games to be ready in case one of Colorado’s players is unable to go. The 34-year-old is an offensively-capable defenseman with a blistering shot. He had four goals and 10 points in 47 NHL games this season, averaging 11:13 of ice time per game.

Cale Makar suspended 1 game for hit on McCann

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— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 25, 2023

“He’s a pretty good offensive defenseman,” said Bruce Boudreau, who coached Hunt in Vancouver. “He’s got a great shot and is a tremendous teammate. It’s hard to see him not being liked by his teammates. They want him in the lineup. That’s just kind of the personality he has.”

Hunt has limitations, though, particularly in the defensive end. But he might still be an option even if Johnson is ready to go. Bednar could choose to play seven defensemen with 11 forwards, especially considering how much he shortened the bench in Game 4. That could give Colorado extra options in different scenarios. Hunt, for example, could take some of Makar’s offensive-zone shifts, with Jack Johnson and other defensemen picking up more of the load in defensive situations.

Of the players already in the lineup, Bowen Byram is in position to have the most increased responsibility. Though only 21 years old, he’s proven himself to be unbothered by big moments, leading the 2022 Stanley Cup Final in even-strength ice time.

“You get a guy in the back end who has the ability and skill level that he’s got, and it just helps whichever group of forwards are out with those guys,” Bednar said earlier this season.

Byram or Toews will run the top power play with Makar out, and both could see their ice time go up. Samuel Girard, too, could find himself playing more. If the Avalanche are going to get by without Makar, they’ll need to replace him by committee.

That means Manson and Erik Johnson will also need to step up. Manson, who came back from an injury for the playoffs but doesn’t look 100 percent, has had a tough first-round series. Bednar described him as rusty early, and he has committed four penalties on the series, including a trip on Jaden Schwartz ahead of Seattle’s overtime-winning power-play goal in Game 4. Bednar is playing Manson five minutes less per game than he did during the regular season (17:41 to 12:38), and the defenseman hasn’t found the level he was at last postseason since re-entering the lineup for Game 1. Erik Johnson also is well below his season average in ice time, and Jack Johnson was set to replace him in the lineup before he suffered a minor injury in warmup ahead of Game 1.

The Avalanche showed they can win games with Makar out of the lineup. They did it all year as he battled through concussions and lower-body injuries. But the playoffs are different, and Seattle is a 100-point team that has made life difficult on the Avalanche, clogging shooting lanes and blocking shots. Makar is elite at finding angles to shoot through, so the Avalanche will miss him in that regard.

NHL suspensions are as unpredictable as Colorado weather, but Makar’s discipline follows Department of Player Safety’s typical line of thinking. The hit came after the puck was out of play and, even if the contact was shoulder-to-shoulder, it resulted in McCann’s head going into the glass. Plus, the league has shown a tendency to take the other player’s injury into account. Bednar said he was disappointed in the suspension when talking to reporters Tuesday.

In its explanation, the Department of Player Safety said McCann was “in no way eligible to be checked” and that “Makar finishes this hit well outside the allowable window for finishing a check.” McCann is out for Game 5 and almost certainly longer, Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said postgame.

Seattle, though, is built to withstand an injury to a key player. The star-dependent Avalanche, at least this year, don’t boast the same depth.

Now, if defensemen struggle to replace Makar, Seattle could have the edge in Game 5. Should the Avalanche lose, they’ll find themselves in a situation unfamiliar to them in the 2022 run: playing at a hostile road rink on the brink of elimination.

(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)