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Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking the NHL’s Top 5 Defensemen

By James Tanner

Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche shoots against the Seattle Kraken during the third period in Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Climate Pledge Arena on April 28, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche shoots against the Seattle Kraken during the third period in Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Climate Pledge Arena on April 28, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche shoots against the Seattle Kraken   (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

The Best Defenseman Alive

I admit that this is slightly anti-climatic, but what can you do?

You can argue that Auston Matthews (the indisputably second-best player alive) is better than Connor McDavid using defense and 5v5 play. You might not convince anyone, but you could at least make a sensible argument.

You cannot do that with defenseman.

Cale Markar is the best there is, and he’s the best by a mile.

How anyone thought to select Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick ahead of him and Heiskanen in 2017 is beyond me, but it happened. 

Makar is 24, and last season he scored at a 90 point pace.  Unlike Karlsson, he did it on an elite team, facing teams trying their hardest to take down the defending champs.

Despite his young age, Makar already has a Calder, a Cup and a Norris Trophy to his name.  He also has a Conn Smythe trophy as the Playoff MVP from the year he won the Stanley Cup.

He is over a point-per-game for his entire career, and would likely go into the Hall of Fame even if he retired tomorrow.

He is likely the best defenseman in the NHL since Niklas Lidstrom, and will go down as one of the best ever.   He has four years left on a ridiculously team-friendly contract with a measly $9 million dollar cap-hit.

It is extremely frustrating to be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan and have to see all their players be paid top dollar, while seemingly every single other superstar gets signed to a team-friendly deal.

Next. Even for the Leafs, This Is Embarrassing. dark

Gripes aside, Makar is indisputably the best defenseman alive.

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