April 10, 2025 marks the 11th time that Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar will play against each other. The two defenders’ NHL careers have been relatively parallel in terms of their playing time. Hughes made his NHL debut first, on March 28, 2019 against the L.A. Kings, while Makar’s first game was on April 15, 2019, in game 3 of the Avalanche’s first-round series against the Calgary Flames. Before the two defensemen even started their first full NHL seasons, the hype around them was real. As the two wrap up their sixth full seasons with their respective clubs, let’s take a look at five notable head-to-head matchups Hughes and Makar have taken part in.
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November 16, 2019 — The First Game
Fans first got to see Hughes vs. Makar on November 16, 2019, in a game that ultimately ended 5–4 in Colorado’s favour. The Avalanche defenseman quadroupled Hughes’ point totals on the night, putting up four assists. Both defenders were third on their respective teams in ice time during this game, as Makar played 22:54 and Hughes played 23:51. Hughes led all players on both teams in corsi-for with 39 and 86.67%, while Makar was second on the Avalanche with 24 and fifth in percentage with 50%. In terms of xGF, Hughes bested Makar slightly with 1.57 compared to the Colorado defenseman’s 1.17. However, the Avalanche produced more high-danger chances with Makar on the ice than the Canucks did with Hughes, as Colorado put up seven with their star defender compared to Vancouver’s six with Hughes.
The head-to-head matchup between Hughes and Makar tells a different story of this game. The two played 6:18 minutes against one another, with Hughes completely dominating Makar in terms of CF, as he had eight compared to the Colorado defender’s one. Both took a bit of a hit in xGF against each other, as Hughes put up 0.18 while Makar had 0.03. Most notably, Hughes’ xGF% rate didn’t change much around Makar, only dipping a little more than three percent. On the other hand, Makar’s xGF% went from 13.08% to 72.88% when not against Hughes.
November 11, 2021 — The First Matchup After COVID-19
The next Hughes and Makar matchup came in 2021, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the league to move things around for the 2020–21 season. Vancouver’s first game against Colorado in the 2021–22 season ended in a 7–1 loss, during which only Makar potted points (2). Hughes led in minutes played once again with 23:14 compared to Makar’s 22:42. CF and CF% also went to Hughes, who put up 25 and 65.79% against Makar’s 16 and 45.71%. Makar was just short of the 1.00 xGF bar with 0.89, while Hughes had a team-leading 1.18 that would have put him at fifth on Colorado if he had been competing for them. The two were close in high-danger chances for, as the Canucks had four with Hughes on the ice in contrast to the Avalanche having three with Makar.
In their second head-to-head matchup, Hughes and Makar played 7:46 against one-another. Despite the lopsided score for the Avalanche, Hughes bested Makar in multiple underlying numbers once again. Against the Vancouver defender, Makar put up a CF of 1, a CF% of 7.69%, and an xGF of 0.04. Just like their previous match, Makar’s xGF% shot up dramatically when not facing Hughes, as it flew up from 5.74% to 78.07%. Defensively speaking, he also had the highest xGA with Hughes on the ice at 0.8. Hughes, on the other hand, had some of his best numbers of the game when playing against Makar. His CF% of 92.31% was the highest he registered against any Avalanche player. As well, he put up a CF of 12, and xGF of 0.6, and an xGF% of 94.26% when Makar was on the ice.
November 23, 2022 — The First Matchup After Makar’s Stanley Cup And Norris Trophy Win
November 23, 2022 was the second win Vancouver got against Colorado since Hughes and Makar joined their respective teams. In the 4–3 victory for the Canucks, Hughes did not register a single point in 25:18 while Makar scored a goal in 27:32. This game is where the two defenders’ stats start to even out. Makar bested Hughes in almost every stat, putting up a game-leading CF of 38, a CF% of 63.33, an xGF of 2.11, and eight high-danger chances for when on the ice. During his time on ice, Hughes yielded a CF of 24, a CF% of 53.33%, an xGF of 1.11, and five high-danger chances for. The two were only a hair away from each other defensively, as Hughes had an xGA of 0.96 compared to Makar’s xGA of 0.97.
In 15:31 minutes against each other in this game, Hughes and Makar put up pretty similar numbers. Makar had a CF of 14 against Hughes, while Hughes had 13 against Makar. Colorado’s defenseman had a CF% of 51.85% with Hughes on the ice, while the Canucks defender had 48.15%. Both had an xGF of 0.58 against one-another. Makar’s xGF% of 49.90% against Hughes was only slightly less than Hughes’ 50.10%. However, once again, Makar’s xGF% spiked when on the ice without Hughes, jumping up to 79.91%. On the other hand, Hughes’ shot up around 7%.
February 20, 2024 — A Matchup With Both Teams In Playoff Contention
By the time February 20, 2024 rolled around, both Vancouver and Colorado were priming themselves for a playoff run. The Avalanche took the 3–1 win, while Hughes tallied an assist in 24:35. Although Makar didn’t register any points, his underlying numbers took Hughes’ over by quite a reasonable amount. Colorado’s star defenseman had a game-leading CF of 37 and team-leading CF% of 71.15%. Hughes’ numbers were a fair amount less, as he had a CF of 20 and a CF% of 51.28%. In terms of xGF, Makar led the two defenders with 2.29, while Hughes had 0.77. Makar also put up nine high-danger chances for compared to Hughes’ five. Impressively, Makar put up an xGA of 0.28, letting in less expected chances than Hughes’ 1.61.
Hughes and Makar played 10:10 against each other in this game. While some of Makar’s numbers took a hit when on the ice with Hughes, overall, he proved himself as the more dominant player. He put up a CF of 12 and a CF% of 70.59% against Hughes, while his CF% away from the Canucks defender was only 0.84 higher than what it was against him. Hughes’ CF% without Makar on the ice was 68.18%, nearly 40% more than the 29.41% that he produced with Makar. He also put up a CF of 5 and an xGF of 0.17. His xGF% with Makar (16.26%) was almost 30% less than what he produced without the Avs defender (45.52%). Despite the higher xGF with 0.9 while Hughes was on the ice, Makar’s xGF% also took a hit with the Canuck playing against him. His xGF% with Hughes, 83.74%, was nearly 10% less than the 93.20% he put up without him.
December 16, 2024 — The Most Recent Matchup, The First Matchup After Hughes’ Norris Trophy Win
The last matchup between Hughes and Makar was on December 16, 2024, in a game that Vancouver won 3–1. Each defender put up one assist in the match, with Hughes playing 25:14 and Makar playing 28:51. This game saw the two Norris Trophy winners put up similar numbers, though Makar had a noticeably higher CF (25) than Hughes did (19). Their CF% was separated by only 1.02%, as Hughes had 50% and Makar had 51.02%. Hughes had an xGF of 1.12 while Makar’s was at 1.4. In terms of high-danger chances for, Vancouver had three with Hughes and Colorado had five with Makar.
The 12:34 minutes that Hughes and Makar played against each other showed that the Canucks defender had a bit of an advantage over Colorado’s. Hughes posted a CF of 12 compared to Makar’s seven against one-another. The Canucks captain actually performed better against Makar than he did when Makar wasn’t on the ice, sporting a 63.16 CF% with Makar versus his 36.84% without. Makar performed better without Hughes, putting up a CF% of 60% without the Canuck and 36.84% with him. Hughes also had an xGF of 0.76 and xGF% of 72.55% with Makar on the ice, and an xGF% of 27.27% without him. Makar’s xGF with Hughes was 0.29 and his xGF% was 27.45%. Without Hughes, he posted an xGF% of 51.60%.
All in all, it appears as though Hughes has put up better numbers than Makar in these five head-to-head matchups, though not by much. However, as both defensemen are still under the age of 27 and are likely to experience much more development, these matchups are sure to change.
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