{"id":679,"date":"2024-10-05T19:20:28","date_gmt":"2024-10-05T16:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/?p=679"},"modified":"2024-10-05T19:20:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T16:20:29","slug":"makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Makar Leads the Pack in Preseason Norris Trophy Race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The NHL season is upon us, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/news\/trophy-tracker-2024-25-norris-trophy-race-cale-makar\">NHL.com<\/a> kicks off its Trophy Tracker series with the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league&#8217;s top defenseman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Makar: A Force to Be Reckoned With<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cale Makar, the young Avalanche defenseman, is already etching his name alongside legends like Orr and Coffey. At just 25, he boasts a staggering 1.07 points per game average, ranking third all-time (minimum 150 games). His achievement of 300 points in only 280 games solidifies his exceptional talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Not Just Hardware, But a Drive for Excellence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Makar achieved the prestigious trifecta in 2022 &#8211; Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Stanley Cup. While hardware is a bonus, Makar prioritizes team success and personal growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Look at the Competition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Makar is the frontrunner (73 voting points), the race isn&#8217;t without competition. Roman Josi (Predators) and Quinn Hughes (Canucks), last year&#8217;s winner, follow closely with 47 and 43 points, respectively. Adam Fox (Rangers) also received a first-place vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pushing the Limits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite his accolades, Makar strives for constant improvement. He emphasizes consistency and staying reliable for his team throughout the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>An Elite Player Deserving of Recognition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Teammate Mikko Rantanen lauds Makar as &#8220;the best [defenseman] in the world.&#8221; Makar&#8217;s offensive prowess shines on both power play (leading defensemen in points) and penalty kill, with the unique distinction of averaging over 4 minutes on the power play and over 2 minutes shorthanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Verdict<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With his exceptional talent, relentless drive, and well-rounded skillset, Makar is the clear favorite for the Norris Trophy. Only time will tell if he can live up to the hype, but one thing&#8217;s for sure &#8211; the NHL is in for a treat watching him compete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NHL season is upon us, and NHL.com kicks off its Trophy Tracker series with the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league&#8217;s top defenseman. Makar: A Force to Be Reckoned With Cale Makar, the young Avalanche defenseman, is already etching his name alongside legends like Orr and Coffey. At just 25, he boasts a staggering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Makar Leads the Pack in Preseason Norris Trophy Race - VSA Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Makar Leads the Pack in Preseason Norris Trophy Race - VSA Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NHL season is upon us, and NHL.com kicks off its Trophy Tracker series with the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league&#8217;s top defenseman. 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At just 25, he boasts a staggering [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VSA Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-05T16:20:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-05T16:20:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_5902.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1284\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"722\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"alexander\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"alexander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"alexander\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/09c525c103f7fcbadaf1feca9b326b6a\"},\"headline\":\"Makar Leads the Pack in Preseason Norris Trophy Race\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-05T16:20:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-05T16:20:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":289,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/IMG_5902.jpeg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vsaworld.com\\\/blog\\\/makar-leads-the-pack-in-preseason-norris-trophy-race\\\/\",\"name\":\"Makar Leads the Pack in Preseason Norris Trophy Race - 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