Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev have been selected to participate in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, announced today following the All-Star Fan Vote presented by MassMutual. They were voted as two of the 12 remaining spots in the fan vote and will join teammate Nathan MacKinnon at 2024 NHL® All-Star Weekend on Feb. 1-3 in Toronto, Ontario. 2024 marks the third consecutive All-Star Weekend the Avalanche have had three players named as well as the fourth time in the last five events (there was no All-Star Game in 2020-21 due to the pandemic shortened season).
Under the current format, the NHL department of hockey operations selected one player per NHL team in each division (including one goalie), making up the initial eight-man rosters for each division. The 12 remaining players were selected as part of the 2024 All-Star Fan Vote presented by MassMutual. Fans could submit their votes from Jan. 4 at 6:30 p.m. MT to Jan. 11 at 9:59 p.m. MT.
Makar, 25, is just the second defenseman in franchise history to be named to the NHL All-Star Game in three consecutive seasons, joining Rob Blake, who was tabbed an All-Star three straight times from 2001-04.
The Calgary, Alberta native ranks tied for 12th among all NHL skaters and second among defensemen in scoring this season with 48 points (9g/39a) in 37 games played. Makar was awarded the NHL’s Second Star of the Month of November after leading the NHL with 21 assists and finishing second with 25 points, both figures finishing as the most by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman in a calendar month. His 21 assists rank tied for the sixth-most by a blueliner in NHL history, three shy of the record (Roman Josi, 24 in March 2022), while the 21 helpers shared the most in franchise history with Peter Stastny (October 1983) regardless of position. Makar is the first Avalanche defenseman to be named one of the three NHL’s Monthly Stars.
The blueliner has also reached numerous career milestones already in 2023-24, including his 250th career point on Oct. 17 at Seattle and his 200th assist on Nov. 18 at Dallas, becoming the fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach both benchmarks. Makar also skated in his 250th career game on Nov. 9 vs. Seattle, with his 261 points at the conclusion of that contest marking the most-ever by a defenseman through 250 showings.
Makar was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 2022-23 and the League’s First All-Star Team in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, becoming the only defensemen in franchise history to be selected to the three consecutive postseason NHL All-Star Teams. Makar, Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch are the only players in NHL history to have won the Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year), the James Norris Memorial Trophy (top defenseman) and Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP). Makar has 294 career points (74g/220a) in 275 NHL games, the most ever by a defenseman through 275 contests, and is and one of only three blueliners in history to average a point-per-game (min 200 GP). Orr (1.39) and Paul Coffey (1.09) are the others.
In 61 career playoff games, Makar has added 65 points (16g/49a), the second-best points per game average (1.07) by a defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoff history behind Orr (1.24). He was the third-fastest blueliner to reach the 60-point playoff mark (54 games), trailing only Orr (46) and Brian Leetch (49).
Makar won the 2021-22 Norris Trophy, becoming the first player in franchise history to be named the league’s top defenseman. He led all blueliners in goals (28) and finished second in points (86), setting single season franchise records for a defenseman in both categories. Makar became the first defenseman with 25-plus goals and 55-plus assists in a season since Al MacInnis in 1990-91 with the Flames. He tied for first among NHL blueliners with six game-winning goals and matched the single-season franchise record with three overtime goals. Including Makar, only three defensemen in NHL history have reached at least 25 goals, 55 assists, nine power-play goals, six game-winning goals and a +45 rating or better in a season, joining Denis Potvin in 1977-78 and Coffey in 1984-85.
Five days after winning the Norris Trophy, Makar was the recipient of the 2022 Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. At 23 years, 239 days, he became the youngest defenseman in 52 years to win the Conn Smythe and just the third overall to do so at age 23 or younger, joining Orr with the 1970 Bruins (22 years, 51 days) and Serge Savard with the 1969 Canadiens (23 years, 102 days).
In 2020-21, Makar was a finalist for the Norris Trophy and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team. Only four other defensemen in the last 50 years have made the NHL First All-Star Team before their 23rd birthday (as of the end of the regular season): Erik Karlsson (21 years old in 2011-12), Dion Phaneuf (22 in 2007-08), Ray Bourque (19 in 1979-80 and 21 in 1981-82) and Potvin (21 in 1974-75 and 22 in 1975-76).
Makar won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2019-20, becoming the first defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history to be named the league’s Rookie of the Year. He was just the 12th defenseman in NHL history to win the Calder Memorial Trophy and only the second in the last 10 seasons, joining Aaron Ekblad in 2014-15.
Georgiev, 27, was named to his first career All-Star Game, becoming just the second Avalanche netminder to earn an invitation to the showcase, following Patrick Roy who was selected five times with the Burgundy and Blue, most recently in 2003.
The 6-foot-1, 178-pound goaltender leads the NHL in wins (23), minutes (2039:15), games played (35) and starts (34). He was also in goal for both Colorado shutouts this season, which took place last time out on Jan. 10 vs. Vegas and back on Oct. 19 vs. Chicago. The Oct. 19 clean sheet marked the third time the Avalanche/Nordiques shutout their opponent in a home opener.
Georgiev was the first NHL netminder to reach both 10 wins and 20 wins. Prior to him, the last time an Avalanche was the first to crack double-digits was Craig Anderson in 2009-10. In franchise history, Dan Bouchard (1981-82) is the only goalie to be first to the 20-win mark in a campaign.
Getting the start in each of the Avalanche’s first eight games of 2023-24, Georgiev won the first six of them, becoming the first goaltender in franchise history to win each of his first six starts. The Ruse, Bulgaria native is one of eight goalies ever to win each of his team’s first six games of the season, trailing only George Hainsworth (first eight games, 1934-35), Ken Wregget (first seven games, 1994-95) and Felix Potvin (first seven games, 1993-94) for the most such games in NHL history.
Georgiev was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week for Oct. 16-22 where he posted a 3-0-0 record, a 1.67 GAA and a .940 SV%. He was the first Avalanche netminder to take home an NHL weekly award since Philipp Grubauer (First Star) for March 8-14, 2021. Four of Georgiev’s first six wins this season came on the road. That extended a road win streak to 12 games, good for a share of the longest individual road win streak in NHL history for spanning multiple seasons.
Acquired in a trade with the Rangers on July 7, 2022, Georgiev has compiled a 63-25-8 record, a .911 SV%, a 2.66 GAA and seven shutouts over 97 games with the Avalanche since the start of 2022-23. His first season in Colorado saw him tie the league-lead with a career-high 40 wins, joining Semyon Varlamov (41 in 2013-14) and Patrick Roy (40 in 2000-01) as the only franchise goaltenders to win 40-plus games.
Georgiev entered the League in 2017-18 with the Rangers and has posted a 121-73-19 record along with a .910 SV%, a 2.81 GAA and 15 shutouts. He appeared in his 200th career game on Nov. 4 at Vegas.
The 2024 NHL All-Star Skills™ presented by DraftKings Sportsbook will take place on Friday, Feb. 2, followed by the 2024 NHL® All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 3.
