Norris Trophy Candidates Thus Far
Let’s discuss a personal favorite award of mine, the Norris Trophy. Now personally I don’t adore these awards too much, due to how individually, statistically based they are. Honestly, some of the winners of these awards in years past, did not deserve them.
Take a look back at last year’s Norris trophy winner, Drew Doughty. Last year when Doughty won the Norris, I’m almost positive many NHL fans did not agree. Doughty was ranked 90th among all NHL players in points and 10th among all defensemen. With respect to defensemen he was also ranked 11th in goals(14), 13th in assists(37) and 8th in powerplay points(24). Okay, yeah that’s not terrible, but Norris trophy like numbers? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Especially when Erik Karlsson was a nominee and somehow did not win! Karlsson was ranked 5th among ALL NHL players in points. Now among defensemen, Karlsson ranked 9th in goals(16), 1st in assists(66) by a long shot, only other player who came close was Kris Letang with 51. As well as 1st in points among defensemen(82), and 4th in powerplay points(24).
This year’s Norris trophy candidates, the top three at least have to be Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman.
Erik Karlsson has proven his dominance in this league, whether you think he is too offensive and does not play the defensive side of the puck enough, Karlsson is still a defensemen. A hell of a good one, too. I already stated Karlsson’s number last season, his clear domination and his Norris trophy numbers. Well, take a gander at this, Karlsson lead all defensemen in points last season and, up to this point in 2016–17, is ranked third. If that’s not enough to convince you of Karlsson’s Norris trophy worthiness, take a look at these numbers. 2014–2015 Karlsson again lead all defensemen in points at the age of 24 with 66 points in 82 games. And again in 2013–2014 Karlsson lead all defensemen in points with 74. Four years consistently leading defensemen in points, is a solid case for the Norris trophy this season.
Brent Burns transitioning back to defense in 2013 was not an easy move , but Burns has solidified his spot as a defensemen very well. His first year as a defenseman, Burns had 48 points in 69 games which ranked 11th among defensemen that year. He ranked 2nd in goals that season as well. Fast forward a little bit and Burns has ranked 2nd among defensemen in points for the past two seasons and is making a serious case for the Norris trophy this season. Burns has 47 points, 19 goals and 28 assists through 46 games this season. If Burns continues this production come time for the Norris trophy in June, he has to be a serious candidate.
Victor Hedman has slowly made his presence in the NHL among elite defensemen. In the playoffs during 2014–2015, Hedman caught the eye of many NHL fans. During the Tampa Bay’s Stanley cup run that year, Hedman averaged 22 minutes of ice time. This season, with Captain Steven Stamkos out for an extended period of time, the slack has to be picked up by others. Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Drouin have helped a ton but Victor Hedman is the backbone of this team and defense this season for the Lightning. Hedman ranks 2nd in points among defensemen (38,) 1st in powerplay points (18) and 1st in assists (31.) Hedman chalks up major minutes, playing the powerplay and penalty kill on a nightly basis is never easy, but the 26-year-old defensemen continues to make major strides towards his first Norris trophy.
