“The Norris Is Already His!” — Cale Makar Set to Dominate the NHL With Another Historic Season
Colorado Avalanche Defenseman Poised For Another Norris Trophy
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar hit the ground running in his NHL career, playing 10 playoff games in the 2018 playoffs, after a dominant sophomore season, where he captained UMass and recorded 49 points in 41 games.
Through those 10 games, Makar posted a goal and five assists, and the Avalanche were beaten out in the second round at the hands of the San Jose Sharks.
Since then, Makar has been the runner-up or winner of the Norris Trophy (twice) each season, with his latest best defenseman honor coming after the 2024-25 season. Makar led all defensemen in goals (30), assists (62) and points with 92.
If there were ever a season that it felt like a lock for an individual award, it would be the upcoming season, and another Norris Trophy for Makar.
The lead-up to Makar becoming this superstar-level defenseman was one that was a bit unexpected, though the Avalanche certainly felt they had drafted a special player.
While Makar was touted as a fantastic defenseman pre-draft, which earned him the distinction of being the second drafted defenseman in his draft class at fourth overall, just one selection after Dallas Stars superstar defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
Makar was okay in the junior rankings, while playing for the Brooks Bandits in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, but the speed at which he has established himself as one of, if not the top defenseman in the league is rather impressive. Over parts of three seasons, Makar participated in 111 games, posting 35 goals and 100 assists over that span.
In his draft year, the 2016-17 season, Makar had his most successful junior season, scoring 75 points in 54 games. This earned him the attention of the Avalanche. He followed that up with a solid freshman season, in which he recorded 21 points in 34 games.
Colorado was patient with Makar, and both sides agreed it was best for him to play out two full seasons in the NCAA, which allowed him to develop into a dominant collegiate defender. The move paid off, and when Makar arrived, he didn't look a touch out of his element.
Now, with his best statistical season coming last year, it's hard to doubt a guy who seems to be at the top of the sport and continues getting better. Now, in his prime, at 26 years old, Makar is a lock for the Canadian Olympic team for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games.
Makar has a Stanley Cup ring, and though the Avalanche haven't been able to get back to the Stanley Cup finals since their 2022 win, which appears to have the Calgary, Alberta native focused on getting back to the finals, which could go hand-in-hand with another brilliant regular season.
Aaron Judge makes more homer history to lead Yankees in lopsided win over Tigers
Aaron Judge made another heady move upward on the Yankees’ all-time home run list, just in time for a massive series this weekend in Boston.
With President Donald Trump in attendance on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, No. 99 went deep twice to tie Joe DiMaggio for fourth in team history with 361 as the Yankees head into a wild-card showdown against the Red Sox at Fenway Park with a powerful 9-3 win over the Tigers in The Bronx on Thursday night.
Before the game, Trump met with the team in the home clubhouse and shook hands with Judge and others, telling them he believed the Yankees would “go all the way.”
Aaron Judge homered twice in the Yankees’ win on Sept. 11, 2025.
Cam Schlittler, who was coming off his shortest outing among the first 10 starts of his rookie campaign, worked six innings of one-run ball as the Yanks (81-65) nudged a half-game ahead of the Red Sox for the first wild-card position in the American League with 16 games remaining.
Giancarlo Stanton also homered for the Yankees to tie Hall of Fame sluggers Jeff Bagwell and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. for 41st on MLB’s all-time list with 449.
The 24-year-old Schlittler gave up four earned runs on five hits with two walks over 1 ²/₃ innings last Friday in a 7-1 loss to the first-place Blue Jays, but Boone wasn’t fretting about the rookie bouncing back.
Ben Rice drives in a run for the Yankees in their Thursday win over the Tigers.
“[He is] the same guy. I love his makeup,” Boone said before the game. “He’s handled everything well. I mean, talk about a bump in the road, obviously his last outing. … Sometimes you’re in the arena and you get had. I don’t care how good you are, right? That’s the sport we play.
“But when I say unfazed, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t process it and try and grow from it. But I’m really excited about, first of all, how well he’s done, how he’s handled success up here, how he’s handled getting popped in the mouth up here. He’s done a really good job with that. And I think he walks out there expecting to perform really well, whether he’s coming off a really good, dominant start, or one where he got knocked around a little bit. I think he expects to go do well tonight.”
After Judge staked him to a 1-0 lead with his first solo blast off Detroit opener Tyler Holton in the first inning, Schlittler gave it back on a 12-pitch at-bat thats resulted in an RBI single by Dillon Dingler in the second.
But the Yankees reclaimed the lead the next inning on RBI hits by Ben Rice and José Caballero, who made his second straight start at shortstop after it was revealed that slumping starter Anthony Volpe has been dealing with a left shoulder issue that required a cortisone shot Wednesday.
Aaron Judge celebrates with New York Yankees right fielder Giancarlo Stanton after he scores on his solo home run during the third inning.
After passing Yogi Berra two nights earlier for fifth place on the franchise homer list with No. 359, Judge matched DiMaggio’s total with another solo blast against reliever Sawyer Gipson-Long in the third, his 46th of the season.
The captain now trails only pinstriped icons Babe Ruth (659), Mickey Mantle (536) and Lou Gehrig (493) in team annals.
Stanton had been mired in a 3-for-36 slide since Aug. 29, but he also went yard two batters later for his 20th of the season after missing the first 10 weeks with elbow issues.
He sits three homers shy of tying Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski for 40th on the all-time list.
President Donald Trump reacts during the seventh inning stretch.
The Yanks sent nine batters to the plate and tacked on four more runs in the fourth on RBI knocks by Austin Slate and Cody Bellinger and a two-run single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. for a 9-1 lead.
