For the foreseeable future, one of the best things about an Ottawa Senators-Colorado Avalanche game will be the chance to see two of the game’s most entertaining defencemen going head-to-head.
Avs defenceman Cale Makar is known to all hockey fans across the NHL, and he’s playing out of his mind right now, leading the NHL in scoring. No, not just among defencemen, Makar is tied for the overall lead with 15 points in 8 games.
Whatever skill you value in a defenceman, Makar has it. With the way he skates and handles the puck, he dominates at both ends like few ever have. He’s sometimes like the basketball player in the chocolate milk commercial, dominating his pickup game because he’s at regular speed while everyone else is playing in slow motion.
Makar has been in the top three in Norris Trophy voting in four of his five years in the league. In the other year, as a rookie, he was only ninth. Oh, the shame.
Just as Connor McDavid sometimes evokes memories of Wayne Gretzky, Gretzky says Makar reminds him of another NHL legend.
“I would say probably the closest player we’ve ever seen that, offensively and defensively, can make an impact on the game (as much as Makar), probably Bobby Orr. We gotta go all the way back to Bobby Orr.” Gretzky said on a TNT broadcast in the 2022 playoffs.
However, just like McDavid, Makar can do things his older counterpart never did. In our book, Makar is the best in the game, and frankly, it’s a little sketchy that he only has one Norris Trophy so far.
Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Jake Sanderson has yet to become nearly as well-known across the league, but that day is coming soon. When he appears in the playoffs (it’s gotta happen soon, right?), the Four Nations Faceoff, and the Olympics, the rest of the world will know what Sens fans know; Sanderson is an elite defenceman.
Sanderson is off to an excellent start in his third NHL season. He’s the unquestioned number-one defenceman in Ottawa and their best player, playing in all situations. Again, whatever skill you value in a defenceman, Sanderson’s got it too.
His skating is electric, whether it’s breakaway speed or the first two steps. His hockey IQ is crazy good in both ends. He protects the puck beautifully, even when he has no space to work with. He’s disciplined in his own end. He’s emerging as a legit point producer for the first time, currently seventh in the league among defensemen. He quarterbacks the first unit on the power play, and he’s out there on the penalty kill.
Sanderson isn’t in Makar’s class and might never be, but seeing how close he might get in the coming seasons should be fun. He’s only 22, far from his prime, and almost four years younger than Makar, who turns 26 on Tuesday.
What will Sanderson look like through the next four years? What if he someday gets to play on a good team? What if he someday has the luxury of playing with someone like Devon Toews every night?
Toews has been Makar’s steady-as-hell D partner, who’s good for north of 50 points a year. The Senators have no one like that for Sanderson, who’s currently paired with Travis Hamonic, who’s not a top-four defenceman at this point, much less a top-pairing one. Even Artem Zub, when healthy, isn’t in Toews’ class.
And yet, Sanderson is tracking to get some Norris Trophy attention this season.
Sunday’s Ottawa at Colorado matchup should be entertaining and an excellent chance to see how Sanderson currently stacks up against the best of the best.
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