Colorado’s Cale Makar won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman.

If the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup, Makar is the favorite to get the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He is Colorado’s top scorer with 29 points in 19 postseason games.

Makar is the total package. His skating overwhelms. He influences games more than any NHL player save Edmonton’s Connor McDavid.

As Dan Rosen of NHL.com said on my radio program, few teams have a defenseman that the opposition must worry about whenever and wherever he’s on the ice.

Makar is one of those.

So is Kris Letang.

At 35, he is an aging, discounted version. But Letang fits the description.

After encouraging speculation previously, the word is the Penguins and Letang are far apart on money as NHL free agency looms July 13.

If the Penguins let Letang go, it’s understandable. It’s past due to turn the page on a core that has lost five straight playoff series. (The same goes for Evgeni Malkin.)

But acknowledge the consequences.

Without Letang, the Penguins miss the playoffs in 2022-23. Their 16-year streak would end. That’s non-negotiable. With Letang, they make it.

There’s no defenseman available in free agency that does what Letang does. (Dallas’ John Klingberg would be a Xerox of a Xerox and almost as expensive.)

Letang couldn’t be replaced by spending wisely for youth and depth.

Letang plays a ton of minutes and does a ton. The most basic upshot of his departure would be the Penguins spending a lot more time in their own zone. That’s a problem even if Louis Domingue isn’t in goal.

The happy medium between rebuilding and reloading would be to keep Letang, let Malkin walk, use your salary cap space to get younger and deeper, and shake off the roster’s festering staleness by making trades.

Overhaul the defensive corps. Trade Brian Dumoulin, John Marino or Marcus Pettersson, maybe two of those three. All have cap hits over $4 million.

Re-up restricted free agent P.O Joseph at a cheap rate and make room for him to play. Joseph is 22. He is a former first-round pick. He can move the puck. Find out about him.

Forget the happy medium: The big worry is Ron Hextall lets Letang, Malkin and Rickard Rakell go and uses the resulting cap space inefficiently.

Hextall has been GM for 17 months, and there’s still no sign of a long-term plan. Just treading water and paying Jeff Carter.

By the way, Makar is already among the NHL’s all-time elite on defense. I saw Ray Bourque and Denis Potvin play. Makar, at 23, is already better than each in his prime.

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