Makar has makings of Bruins legend Orr: Daneyko

NEW YORK -- Cale Makar has made a lot of fans during his six NHL seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.

Count three-time Stanley Cup champion and current New Jersey Devils and NHL Network analyst Ken Daneyko among them.

"He's the closest to Bobby Orr I've seen, and I never put anybody there," Daneyko said during a visit to the NHL offices in Manhattan on Thursday. "I used to watch a lot of Bobby Orr because I loved him as an 8-year-old, 7-year-old. He changed the game, revolutionized the game, Bobby Orr did. Nobody greater. And Cale Makar is the closest thing to that."

Makar has two assists and is averaging 27:52 of ice time in the Avalanche's three games against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round.

The Avalanche trail 2-1 in the series after a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 3 on Wednesday. Game 4 will be at Ball Arena on Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET; Victory+, MAX, truTV, TBS, ALT, SN, TVAS).

Comparing Orr and Makar isn't a far-fetched thought. Among defensemen to play at least 60 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Makar's average of 1.09 points per game (82 points in 75 games) is second all-time, behind Orr (1.24).

Makar's regular-season numbers are just as good. His 428 points (116 goals, 312 assists) lead all NHL defensemen since he played his first regular-season game during the 2019-20 season. And all-time among defensemen to play at least 150 games, Makar's average of 1.08 points per game is third, behind Orr (1.39) and Paul Coffey (1.09).

Makar led NHL defensemen this season with 92 points (30 goals, 62 assists). He also became the ninth defenseman to score 30 goals in a season, the first since Mike Green in 2008-09.

He is the favorite to win the Norris Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL for the second time, after winning it in 2022. That season he became the third defenseman to win the Norris, the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in the same season, along with Orr (1970, 1972) and Nicklas Lidstrom (2002).

But Makar hasn't been the only defenseman to stand out to Daneyko, who helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003 during his 20-season NHL career.

He won those championships alongside Scott Niedermayer, a Hockey Hall of Famer who is considered one of the greatest skaters ever.

Daneyko sees Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen as the closest comparison in today's game.

"I compare Heiskanen a little bit to Niedermayer," Daneyko said. "They don't put up gaudy numbers, but they put up great numbers. And that's what I think sometimes fans and the media don't understand. They make sacrifices; 'Nieder' made sacrifices. He could have been a 1,000-point guy. ... He wasn't maybe getting as many points as a few other great defensemen, but you still put him up as one of the greatest of all time."

Heiskanen hasn't played since Jan. 28 because of a knee injury but has been skating and is considered day to day. His potential return certainly would be a boost to the Stars.

Prior to his injury, Heiskanen led Stars defensemen with 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 50 games, and his average ice time of 25:10 was sixth among NHL defensemen.

"How smooth he is, how he just controls the game, or if the team is rattled when he's on the ice, and he's playing half the game like Niedermayer was, they take the puck, they settle things down. ... I'd never seen a better skater; Niedermayer could have played a 60-minute game and been effective because he just never tired, because while we were digging in, he was floating above. It was that fluid, that great. Heiskanen, I see that kind of stride."

Daneyko mentioned Thomas Harley of the Stars, Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens and Luke Hughes of the Devils as other young defensemen he's enjoyed watching.

But for a player who ranks fifth all-time among defensemen in penalty minutes (2,516), a physical player like Stars rookie Lian Bichsel (6-foot-7, 231 pounds) is becoming one of his favorites.

The 20-year-old, who played 38 games this season after making his NHL debut on Dec. 12, doesn't have a point in the playoffs, but is tied for the NHL lead among defensemen with 12 hits in three games despite averaging just 12:38 of ice time per game.

"It's amazing to see what these young defensemen can do," Daneyko said. "But don't get me wrong, you don't win without the Bichsel's either. Those guys don't get the fanfare, but I think he's got a really, really bright future. ... I love to see the old-school kind of defensemen in my mold every once in a while to give us stay at home, tough guys, a little love.

"And those great players will tell you, 'We're at the forefront,' and rightfully so, they're leading the charge. 'But if we don't have those foot soldiers, we don't win Stanley Cups.' So you need that balance."