Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar scored a power-play goal in the second period of their 7-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night, putting him into a rather exclusive club in NHL history. That club — the 30-goal club for defensemen.
He is only the ninth different defender in league history to score 30 goals in a single season — and the first to do so since Mike Green scored 31 goals (in only 68 games) for the 2008-09 Washington Capitals.
Only three defensemen since 1990 have scored 30 goals in a season with Makar joining Green and Kevin Hatcher.
The other players to do it include Bobby Orr (five times), Denis Potvin (three times), Paul Coffey (four times), and Green, Hatcher, Doug Wilson, Phil Housley and Ray Bourque (one time each).
Along with his goal, he also had two assists in the win to help him reach the 90-point mark for the second year in a row.
Makar is going to be one of the front-runners for the Norris Trophy (NHL’s best defenseman) and has a real chance to win it for the second time in his career. Even though he is only 26 years old, he is already one of the most productive and dominant defenders to ever play in the NHL when it comes to offense.
He has averaged at least a point-per-game in five of his first six seasons in the league, only falling shot in his rookie season (when he had 50 points in 57 games).
Among defensemen who have logged at least 300 games in the NHL, his 1.08-point-per-game average is third behind only Orr and Coffey.
