Cale Makar did not skate Tuesday morning at Avalanche practice at Ball Arena, one day before Colorado opens the Western Conference finals against Vegas on Wednesday night.
Sam Malinski did not try to dress up what that means for the Avalanche. Asked about Makar, he said, “I mean, I don’t know,” and added, “I don’t know what to tell them.” Then he made the larger point plain: “Obviously, it’d be great to have him out here. Can’t replace him, and we’re going to miss him out there. Yeah, hopefully we can still get it done without him.”
That was the practical question hanging over Tuesday’s workout. Jared Bednar was asked, “Any concerns with Cale?” after Makar again skipped a morning skate, something he has not done most mornings this month. He did play in every game of the Minnesota series, but the pattern has been enough to keep the focus on his availability as Game 1 approaches.
The Avalanche have had to manage that kind of absence before. Over the last four weeks, they have leaned on Brent Kulak in Game 5 of the Minnesota series, Brent Burns in Game 4 and Sam Malinski in the Kings series when blue-line players were out. That depth is part of the reason Colorado is still here, but it is not the same as having Makar on the ice.
Scott Wedgewood, who has seen what playoff hockey can ask of a battered roster, said most players at this point of the year are hurt. “I mean, you’re probably looking at a smaller list of (who’s) not hurting,” he said. Wedgewood pointed to Tampa Bay in the 2020 bubble and said, “I watched Tampa go through this in the (COVID-19) bubble, and same thing — everyone was wrapping it up and going and playing, and that was how you went about it.” His view was blunt: “Game starts, adrenaline takes over for most of the stuff.”
That is the tradeoff Colorado is living with now. The team does not have to decide whether Makar is useful; it already knows that. It has to decide how much of the risk of pushing through matters when a series can turn on one defenseman’s minutes, and when players across the lineup are already carrying something. Gabriel Landeskog played hurt throughout the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a reminder that this time of year rarely produces clean injury reports or clean choices.
There is also a business clock ticking behind the hockey one. Makar is eligible for a contract extension on July 1, a date that adds another layer to every conversation around his health and his future. For now, though, the immediate issue is simpler: Colorado is preparing for Game 1 with one of its most important players not skating, and the Avalanche will find out Wednesday night how much that matters against Vegas.
