Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar made their NHL debuts 18 days apart. A little more than seven years later, it’s time for their first Stanley Cup Playoffs showdown.
They were two of the most anticipated NHL prospects at their position to come through the college hockey ranks in a long time, and they haven’t disappointed. Now, they’re both at the top of the marquee as the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild prepare to do battle with a spot in the Western Conference Final on the line.
“I’d say they are the two best defensemen in the world,” Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski said. “It’s a fun matchup for everyone to watch. We’re all lucky to watch Cale every day. It’s going to be exciting.”
They have been the two most prolific offensive defensemen in the sport since 2019-20, their first full NHL season, and it hasn’t been particularly close. Makar has 26 more goals than anyone else at the position. Hughes has 45 more assists (Makar is second).
Makar’s 507 points are 76 more than anyone not named Hughes, who has 482. They have won three of the past four Norris Trophies. Makar has finished in the top three for five consecutive seasons. Hughes has done the same each of the past two years.
They have been compared to each other constantly, dating back to their days at Michigan and UMass. The comparisons on social media are often quite contentious.
It will almost certainly be a huge talking point in this series.
“It’s just funny,” Hughes said. “Pretty cool to have been able to come in with him. He’s a year older, but pretty much the same age, and there’s so many great defensemen in the league right now, honestly. You want to play the best and have that opportunity. This series with Colorado, I think it’s just a great opportunity to go up against those guys. They got a great team. We got a great team, and just looking forward to the matchup.”
Makar also played down the individual matchup, but both stars heaped plenty of praise on each other in the days leading up to Game 1 on Sunday night at Ball Arena.
“He’s ultra competitive,” Hughes said. “He’s always attacking. He’s a great goalscorer. Can really score and shoot the puck. He’s got great hockey sense, can skate. So he’s, obviously, going to be a problem, and I know he’s going to try to bring his best, and we’ll try to do that too.”
Added Makar: “There’s so much (he respects). I think when he has the puck, it’s incredible to watch. He’s very mobile and finds the right seams. We saw a lot of that in the Dallas series. … Him and (Brock) Faber in general have been incredible. At the Olympics, too. It’s fun watching those guys. They are incredible at breaking up the puck, and they’re in every rush. They make forwards’ lives challenging, and give them credit because they did a great job against Dallas.”
A pass-first facilitator and the NHL’s best finisher from the blue line
This is not just Makar versus Hughes, obviously. Their typical defense partners, Faber and Devon Toews, were also both Olympians. Both clubs are also missing a key second-pairing guy to start the series — Josh Manson for the Avs, Jonas Brodin for the Wild.
Minnesota was a very good team on Dec. 12, but the Wild became one of the top Stanley Cup contenders the following day when they sent a huge package of assets, headlined by former University of Denver star Zeev Buium, to Vancouver for Hughes. It was the biggest trade of the season.
“Made (me) a better coach, that’s for sure,” Minnesota’s John Hynes said. “We all see what he what he does on the ice. But I think for him, he’s just what I respect so much about him that I didn’t know, is I didn’t know him personally, but coached him here, and then had an opportunity to work with him at the Olympics and see him in that environment, just, I think, the type of guy he is. He’s a leader, he’s really intelligent, cares about the game, he’s coachable. He brings the on and the off-ice component of an elite player.”
They are obviously similarly world-class players, but there are some differences. Hughes is more of a pass-first facilitator, while Makar has been the game’s best finisher from the blue line since he entered the league.
They’re both on the smaller end of the defensive spectrum, but are also elite players without the puck.
“I feel like they’re similar, but then also when you see them kind of first-hand, so different too,” said Avs center Brock Nelson, who played with Hughes at the 2026 Winter Olympics. “I mean, maybe in just the way they kind of defend and body position, how they skate. Quinn is so, so dynamic and maybe in a little bit more fast-twitch way. Cale’s obviously dynamic in his own way, as well as in the ability to beat guys, unbelievable edges.
“Both guys can kind of just come in … one-man breakout. It’s hard to kind of really lock them up. You have to try and contain them and just kind of limit their space because they’re so shifty. Even when it feels really that you’re kind of draped all over them, they’re both slipping away from guys. … I feel like getting that matchup is going to be a fun one to watch.”
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