Ready or not, Cale Makar will be thrown into the deep end of the pool

If someone off the street who didn’t know Cale Makar went up to him and made some small talk like, “So what did you do this weekend?”, the newest member of the Avalanche would have said:

“Oh, nothing much. I was in Buffalo, where I played two NCAA Frozen Four games. On Friday, I won the NCAA college player of the year award. On Sunday, I signed a pro contract with an NHL team in the playoffs. Sunday, I flew to Denver, and tonight I’m playing my first NHL game.”

In the playoffs. In front of a sold-out crowd. On national television throughout the U.S. and Canada. Against my hometown team, the one I grew up cheering for.

“Whirlwind” doesn’t do Makar’s last few days justice. Try a hurricane.

Tonight at the Pepsi Center, Makar will be tasked with jumping right into the middle of a playoff series, to replace a regular defenseman in the lineup, to quarterback the second unit of the power play.

No pressure or anything.

But seriously, if all that is supposed to have turned Makar into a quivering bowl of jello, he sure didn’t look it at his very crowded locker this morning, after getting a quick morning skate in with his new teammates.

“I’m just going to go out there and try and do my thing,” said Makar, who will play alongside Patrik Nemeth in Game 3 against the Calgary Flames tonight. “I don’t think the (transition to the NHL) will hopefully be too different. I’m just going to go out there and do what they need me to do. I don’t think it’s too much pressure. It is what it is. You prepare your whole life to get to this moment, so I’m excited.”

The Avs need Makar, make no mistake about it. That’s because top-2 defenseman Sam Girard is injured (day-to-day, upper body) and won’t play tonight. Jared Bednar wouldn’t commit to whether Makar would have played anyway, had Girard been healthy, but he didn’t have to contemplate that once word came down Girard couldn’t go.

Is this all a little too crazy to work? Can a 20-year-old kid who has never played an NHL game at any level really come in and play well? History says it can. In 2017, Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy jumped right into the playoffs for the Bruins, out of Boston University, and played well in six games, posting three assists. This season, Quinn Hughes came right out of the University of Michigan to play five games with Vancouver and posted three assists.

Makar’s contract is a three-year, entry-level deal, meaning his cap hit will be $925,000 in that time. A source tells BSN Denver that Makar received an immediate signing bonus of $92,500 – standard for rookies in that salary level – and Makar can earn much more in bonus money if he hits certain benchmarks – neither of which have been determined just yet. But if comparable to Quinn’s contract can be made, it probably is in the neighborhood of $850,000.

What remains unclear: would Makar have played had Girard not gotten hurt? Sources tell BSN Denver that the Avs may NOT have played him in these playoffs, because of his now being having to be protected in the 2021 Seattle expansion draft. But Girard’s injury “accelerated” the process, sources said, and made the decision to play Makar right away necessity.

Makar had anything but a lazy Sunday; He was supposed to fly out of Buffalo to Denver, with a connection in Newark, N.J., but the flight was delayed to the point where he and his parents decided to drive to Toronto and try to catch the 5 p.m. direct to Denver. Makar’s agent, Scott Bartlett, and his fellow agent brother, Steve, had been laying the groundwork for a few days to get Makar’s immigration paperwork together in anticipation of signing with the Avs on Sunday.

So, Makar has a P1 Visa, commonly the type given to athletes from other countries who play in the U.S. Despite having his papers all in order (a process that can take several days, and could have made it out of the question Makar could have played tonight had his agents not acted so far in advance), Makar had to wait 90 minutes in line at customs in Toronto before finally getting on a plane to Denver.

He got as much sleep as he could, and was on the ice at 10:30, the last player on. He’ll wear No. 8.

“He’s going to be paired with Nemeth right away, but we’ll move him around a little bit to try to put him into some positions to succeed,” Bednar said.

Don’t let Makar’s laid-back nature fool you. His agent, Scott Bartlett, says he has an “absolute burning drive inside to succeed.”

“Even little stuff, like ping-pong games, he’s totally fired up. He’s very, very competitive,” Bartlett said.

Making the whole story even more bizarre: Makar is a native of Calgary. The Flames were his team growing up.

“It’ll be a little weird in that respect,” Makar said.

Most Avs players looked on with bemusement at the media horde around Makar. No doubt Makar will take some ribbing over that. But, as veteran Erik Johnson noted, it’s not like Makar has gone out of his way to seek the limelight.

“We’re looking forward to seeing what Cale can bring,” said Johnson, who will now be paired with Ian Cole, now that Girard is out. “I’m sure he’s excited. Unfortuately, we lose G, but he just kind of plops right into that spot.”

Ready, or not.

Cale Makar steps onto the ice for the first time as an Av @BSNDenver pic.twitter.com/ImaHMH1Y95

— Adrian Dater (@adater) April 15, 2019