Cale Makar and Devon Toews Continued Their Dynamic Duo in 2025-26

The defensive pairing of Cale Makar and Devon Toews played a key role in the Avalanche’s success in 2025-26 on both ends of the ice.

Throughout the season, Makar displayed his dynamic offensive ability through his skill to maneuver along the blueline in addition to his signature hip-fakes, exampled by his goal in Game Four of Round One against the Los Angeles Kings. He’s also an elite defender who uses his elite skating and stick positioning to shut down opposing chances, in addition to blocking shots like he did to preserve Colorado’s lead in a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 4th.

For Toews, his elite stick positioning allows him to disrupt the opponents’ offensive chances and break up seam passes on the penalty kill. His puck-handling ability allows him to operate in tight spaces, which helps clear the puck when the Avs are shorthanded or add time for teammates to become open for a breakout pass. Offensively, he’s fantastic at sifting pucks through traffic that either go straight in, like in Game One of Round Two against the Minnesota Wild, or are redirected by teammates past goaltenders. ​

At five-on-five, the Avs outscored its opponents 45-27 when the duo was on the ice, with the pair posting an on-ice goals for percentage of 62.5%, according to naturalstattrick.com. That means that of the goals scored while the duo was on the ice, 62.5% were by the Avalanche. Among defensive pairings with at least 750 minutes of five-on-five time on ice 2025-26, that 62.5% mark ranked second in the NHL. 

Toews and Makar also ranked second and fourth, respectively, among Avs defensemen in shorthanded time on ice, helping Colorado post the League’s best penalty kill. Overall, Makar and Toews finished first and second, respectively, the Avalanche in both time on ice per game and takeaways in the regular season. Shouldering the responsibility of playing the most on the team while performing at a high level is why the duo is one of the elite pairings in the NHL.  

Individually, Makar posted 79 points (20g/59a) and a team-leading 118 blocked shots in 75 games while playing 24:51 a game, leading to him finishing second in James Norris Memorial Trophy voting, which marked the marking the sixth-consecutive season that he was voted a finalist for the award given “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”

In his sixth season with the Avalanche, Toews recorded 24 points (3g/21a) and 83 blocked shots in 68 contests while lugging 22:22 of time on ice per game. He also posted +37 plus-minus rating, which ranked tied for 10th in the NHL and marked the fourth time in his six seasons in Colorado that his plus-minus was at least +30.

As for milestones, Makar played in his 400th game on October 16th and became the fourth-fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach 500 points (467 games) on March 28th, while Toews skated in his 500th contest on December 4th and recorded his 300th point on April 4th.  

Makar recorded 18 multi-point games, including three multi-goal contests, in 2025-26, along with 13 multi-game point streaks, highlighted by a pair of seven-contest streaks. Toews posted three multi-point games in the regular season, in addition to five two-game point streaks.  

In the playoffs, Makar posted five points (4g/1a) in 11 games while playing 25:25 a game and Toews recorded 11 points (2g/9a) in 13 contests that saw him register 25:39 of average time on ice. The duo combined to score three goals in the team’s 9-6 win in Game One of Round Two against the Minnesota Wild, with Toews’ tally tying the game at five in the second period.  

Entering the 2026-27 season, Makar is 30 games from 500, 29 assists from 400 and 93 points from 600, while Toews is 59 contests from 600.