Hey all and let's have a discussion regarding the Norris Trophy with less than a month to go in the regular season.
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We seriously need more trophies for D men, it makes no sense. Why should top tier defensive D men like Forsling, Slavin, etc be left out just because they don’t have as many points?
Agreed. I mean, there are some really good defensemen who don't put up the points that a Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar or Josi and Bouchard put up who should get some appreciation for the work they do for their teams.
Forsling totally deserves more recognition than he gets for sure. I feel like he should be in the convo for the norris
@@captainhobbes4841 He is my favourite defensive D man, probably my favourite D man in general after Makar. Such a smart player.
Even goalies have the Jennings and the Vezina. D-men yeah you guys get one named the Norris trophy and it's basically a points race. Lidström and Orr are right there to name trophies after but nah.
Defensemen are eligible for every skater award... There is only one award that's exclusive to each position. Selke. Norris. Vezina. (No one counts the Jennings.) Defensemen are eligible for every single other award.
The fact that Hedman is still a top 5 defenseman in a league where defenseman keep getting younger and faster and better YEAR AFTER YEAR speaks volumes to the absolute legend he is
First ballot HOFer if you ask me
Hedman is the definition of defenseman… if you look for - word defenseman in vocabulary there should be a picture of him…
eh
33 and playing great isn't rare in nhl especially for d-men
In terms of longevity, I could see him being the next Lidstrom. Norris caliber in his late 30s
Hedman skating 21.3 mph at 6'7" 240 pounds is insane to me
Bro, with the mileage and age of that guy? If he's 32, he's played the games of a guy who's played 4 extra seasons.
@@randombutrelevant1606 33.
Miro Heiskanen is getting criminally not talked about this year. The advanced stats are HUGE on Miro.
Right!? Sucks that it basically comes down to a points race at this point.
He's been fantastic this season!
Luckily we will have plenty of years left to talk about Miro. Miro is a potential HOF'er in the making on a team built to contend for awhile. If Dallas ever gets the roster ability to play Miro on his strong side I have no doubt he'll win the Norris that year.
Heiskanen is 1 step ahead on making the Defensive play, where Makar Hughes etc are 1 step ahead on making the Offensive play. Heiskanen is probably the best 2way dman defensively
Good call
I think it would be worthwhile to mention PK time for these defensemen. Maybe I'm old school, but I think how much and how well you actually defend, should at least contribute to whether you win the best defenseman award
100% on that one, some sort of PP / PK ration could (and probably should) be at play.
100%. Makar and Hedman are top penalty killers. The rest... not so much.
Those Dahlin stats are wild lol in this house we RESPECT the RASSSSSS
Crazy that Dahlin blows everyone away on hits. Agree with Shannon, if Sabres were taken seriously, Dahls would have a shot at Norris.
Not a whole lot of sports where guys on horrific teams clean up awards... sure, EK last year, but his numbers were off the charts crazy in comparison to whoever else. Just like everyone else, he'll get his turn at some point. If Buff can figure it out, the spotlight will be on him and instead of being at, say 17 G right now, likely would be at 23
Don't worry. It's easily the least meaningful award in the set
Dahlin is so damn good if only the Team around him could play Better bro has to do it all
Dude the canucks vs buffalo game recently. The only time buffalo looked dangerous was with Dahlin on the ice. Guy is nuts.
@@alexmacdougall5700 exactly bro you’ll never hear anyone in the Sabres fan base complain about Dahlin cuz he’s always out there giving 100% even if the game isn’t going his way. Want him to be the next Captain for sure could do a lot of good in that locker room
It is wild how often I see people say Makar doesn’t play any defense and that he is all offense.
These are the drones that say the same thing about Drai, Matthews and the rest, just because of emotional bias. AM has some of the best numbers in the league for being defensive FWD but because he scores so much, they think he doesn't (or they just hate the leafs) Which, I kind of do also, but you have to respect what they guy ACTUALLY does vs the bias... unfortunately, you can show them 1000 plays and any number you want, but if they didn't get back on a back check that resulted in a goal, after a 1:55 shift cuz team was down 3-1 late in 3rd and team needed a goal they say 'see, that is all that guy does'
Bednar tried splitting Toews and Makar on his defensive pairings earlier in the season, but it wasn't working out. Makar needs a guy who can cover for him defensively. Just a couple days ago I watched Makar hold the puck too long and Crosby walked right into the corner and took it away from him like it was nothing and the Pens scored. I guess it depends on your definition of defense.
Fox generally plays better with ryan lindgren. Lindgren isnt a hall of famer but hes definitely a good pairing. Chemistry matters and i would assume the same thing for makar
@@jefflarson1652 anecdotal. Same game I watch him do the same to Crosby and a few days later do it to Mcdavid so…. Got better evidence that he doesn’t play defense?
@@boons8102 Anecdotal? If he did the same thing, which he didn't, it wouldn't be anecdotal. It's cute that you learned a new word though (even though you don't understand the meaning) and feel it's necessary to lie for your hero.
Tough that Miro didn’t have as much of a point producing year this year bc iirc his defensive numbers are still as good as ever.
The thing with him is because of Harley and the other D, he doesn't have to be 'the guy' or, more specifically... the only guy
Damn Makar has more points per game, hits, blocks, and takeaways and less giveaways than Hughs. It’s crazy cause I thought he was having a down year lol
He is having a down year, but with that said he still all around the best defensemen And it's not even close. As a defensemen you have to have the ability to blockshots take away pucks and play on the penalty kill. Hughes does none of that... Hughes is great and he's having a great season, just like the canucks but He's not a two way player. It's just that simple lol
I think when people say that they're talking advanced stats.
@@Nate-vq8wy js hughes plays on the pk aswell, just seems the other teams score less on the canucks when he is on the ice which is the ultimate goal
@@ohsnapitysnapz Hughes plays 40 seconds of PK time a game. Makar plays 2:40 a game
@@Nate-vq8wy Brother have you paid attention to advanced stats? The avs have been better with him off the ice than with him on the ice lol.
They should have it so like one trophy is for defensive defenders, and one for offensive defenders. Maybe call the offensive one the Bobby Orr trophy or something and leave the Norris for defensive defensemen, or do a new one.
What are the metrics then 'most blocked shots and hits defencemen award'? You guys all say there should be 2-19 defencemen awards, but based on what exactly? Does it make you worthy of an award if you are Kris Russell that is terrible at everything but figuring out how to be in the way of another teams shooter? Is that really a 'skill'? I mean, in a way it is, but is that what we are doing now? Name the metrics? And, guess what, then take the inverse. Do the 'Scott Hannan 1 G and 4 A in 82 games Defenceman Award'? What are we even talking about?
Fox won't get too many votes this year but boy do I love watching him play every night. Such a unique style of play. Smart, slows the game down, shoulder fakes, great in tight spaces, beautiful passing, and quite a good shot when he uses it
If he didn't get injured he would definitely be in the top 3, unfortunately he missed 10 games and took a little time to get back to being himself. Sucks because people don't see how worthy he really is of the trophy
After listening to this, it makes no sense why Makar isn’t the favorite. Seems like for nearly everything he is #1 or very close. Just that Hughes has more points (but a worse ppg).
Makar also plays on a stacked team. Van is playing above their weight class this year which help Hughes.
Next to Hedmans skating speed there should be a parenthesis with the numbers 6'7" 246lb. Its incredible how fast he was moving that body around.
Makar might get some Lady Byng votes as well with his high number of points and only 14 penalty minutes
The crazy thing about Makar is that this year is just an "ok" year by Makar standards
I expect Dahlin to win this award one year but he'll need a better team. I think Makar SHOULD win it. I think Hughes WILL win it because Makar has won it before and Hughes is more than deserving.
Well Hughes has also been by far the best player on his team which has been a top 5 team this year where as Makar is playing with mack but still has less points and almost the same ppg.
Call me a crazy Buffalo homer, but looking at these stats, you can make an argument that Dahlin overall might be one of the better all-around defensemen. Leading this list in hits and ice time, but is not a leader in the most categories, but still very strong stats in those categories. And I'm glad THG mentioned this.
I'm gonna go with Hughes this year and I'm going to the Canucks vs Ducks game on the 31st.
No way he'd win,but should Gustav forsling be on the board? +46 ?
Absolutely should be recognized
You are aware of the team he plays for correct? I mean he is great, super underrated, but put Dahlin on that team... same numbers would happen all day (or all year if you will)
@@randombutrelevant1606 The next highest on his team is +26
So you havent seen him play. @@randombutrelevant1606
@@randombutrelevant1606you are aware of the team hughes and makar is playing on right?
an interesting add would be percentage of offensive zone starts. IIRC Karlsson had a really disproportionate number when he was with the Sharks.
I hope you do a similar video on selke and hart candidates as well. Would also love to see a video about the best penaltykillers in the nhl (also an advanced stats video). Love seeing the nerdy stats and basic stats mixed together.
There is one constant in the Norris conversation every year. Makar vs Fox Makar vs Josi Makar vs Karlsson Makar vs Hughes I'm a Makar fanboy but cmon. Better defensively and only 2 less points in 5 less games than Hughes. Most goals by a Dman and the amount of sheltered minutes Hughes plays compared to Makar who is always there, agains 1st lines, on PK, PP. Hughes doesnt play PK. Should be Makar's Norris but voter fatigue is a real thing. Not only with Makar constantly in the conversation but also because of the season MacK is having.
Media voted awards suck anyway. Karlsson should have won it like 5+ times. Unfortunately he did the unthinkable he played for the Leafs rival so the media wasn't giving him shit.
Lidstrom should have had at least 10 total, but they hated DET just cuz they won all the time. @@CC-of5xl
Makar is great offensively but according to HockeyStatCards he has a defense rating of -0.9. Most people just see a defenseman have the most points and think that they deserve the Norris. That isn't entirely true because it should be the best all around player. Quinn Hughes does resemble that though as he has been amazing offensively and defensively. I'm a Rangers fan so I don't have any bias here, if anything I would advocate for Adam Fox. But yeah I think it's fair to say that Quinn Hughes is the most worthy right now
@TheSnapback maybe this year Makar hasn't been as good in his own zone but he's overall a much better dman than Hughes. I've honestly never heard anyone claim Hughes wasn't a pure OD until you to be honest. I hate the Avs with a burning passion but Makar is a top 3 player in the world. The only reason he's not talked up more is because then Avs fans would have to admit the narrative around Mackinnon being the 2nd best player in the world is bs. Same thing with Marner. Their own fanbases don't hype them up as much because they're not the 1st overall number 1C that they can compare to Mcdavid and Crosby.
@@TheSnapback Shannon literally just listed you an entire list stats that not only is Makar topping, but Hughes is slacking. Whatever metric this HockeyStatCards is measuring needs a bit of retooling if Makar is getting a negative defensive rating lol. That all being said, I do hope Hughes wins because it might be his only chance to do so
Dear Shannon, what is this Nashville Jersey called and where can I buy it? it looks awesome. Kind regards from Portugal!
Maker should win, Hughes will win
That's ok nuks fans will take their one chance at getting a norris lmao. Avs can have the next 43
Bouchard should be highly considered but he won't because for some reason playing with Mcdavid writes every player off while playing on teams loaded with top 25 point producers doesn't lol
@@CC-of5xl Or he won't because he's not as good as the peopel who should be
@dredrini7820 thanks for proving my point lol. He's up there in points and advanced stats back him as a top Dman and part of the best D pair this season. Especially after the Oilers turn around. So what makes you still say he isn't that good exactly other than bias?
@@CC-of5xl Having a good year doesn't make him an elite defenseman. The reason these D men get mentioned every year is because they are consistant in their elite level. If Bouchard does this for the next couple of years, i'll give him credit and include him in the conversation of elite defenseman. As of right now, he's just having a good year. Oh and Makar plays with MacK every year, and he's considered the best defenseman in the league. So an elite defenseman doesn't get written off because they play with other elite players.
Forsling should be in the Norris race this year, without question
where do you find give/take stats?
Lidstrom avg ice time in his prime was 26-28 min and in the playoffs was over 30 mins most years.
This is interesting, because if you look at his 'hits and blocks' (whatever everyone else thinks there should be 10 different awards for) he never had to do much of this because he was always in the right spot. Sid was asked who his favourite player was? Lidstrom. Whenever I saw him live I had 1 eye on the rest of the guys and the other on him. NEVER in the wrong spot, as a DRW fan, I can only recall 5 goals he was the guy who made a mistake. He played virtually every game, never really had to hit or block shots... that dominant. And produced.
@@randombutrelevant1606Lidstrom might not have been the most talented or physically gifted defenceman in NHL history, but I think he might have been the smartest. As you said, he was just always in the right place at the right time. His ability to read plays as they developed and predict where players were going to go was truly incredible.
Bouchard at 3rd and trailing. I didn't see that coming.
Ekholm deserves consideration for the Norris. He's been the Oilers top defenceman and leads the league in +/- since joining the Oilers. Ekholm is currently on a stretch that has him scoring over 20 points in the same amount of games played. All even strength.
Noah Dobson has absolutely killed it in Long Island. Lesser than team and supporting cast. He won’t win but man he’s really done well.
Feel like Josi being disrespected
He should have 2 Norris trophy’s
I like Drew Doughty , 14 goals 30 assists 89 hits 189 shots , and he looks “Slap Shot” mean
I love it when Doughty is mic'ed up. The dude is hilarious!
Probably hughes but think makar will have some monster year in time
Man wish Theodore didn’t get injured early in the season. He would’ve been part of the Norris conversation. Been just about a point per game player this season with 37 points in 39 games played. Has had some more defnesive slip ups than usual but seeing as the Norris is realistically just given to the defensemen that scores the most that wouldnt have been a knock on him. But eh oh well. I feel like Theodore is seriously underrated though in this league .
"which is more hits than Hughes or Makar, in fact it's more than them put together" *giggles in Dahlin*
tampa mentioned go bolts!!
Josi.
I feel like Adam Fox is seriously underrated this season.
No, he’s just been outperformed
He is underrated this year. He missed a few games but it wasn't a ton. Weird that he's not being talked about more.
As a ranger fan i think fox defensively hasnt been as good this year. That plus missed time means its not a slight this year.
@@neutralsportsfan17 He missed 10 games, and took a little bit to get back to being himself
@@chickenfkeryay I completely disagree. Fox has been phenomenal defensively. Before he got injured he was the main reason the Rangers were first in SA/GP. Recently he has been as good defensively as he has ever been. According to HockeyStatCards he has a +6.2 defense rating while Makar has -0.9.
Dahlins hits and blocks stats are surprisingly good. I mean, I know he's great and I never get to watch his games, but I'm still surprised when presented relatively to the other top D`s.
Why do you, "never get to watch his games"? If you have a computer or smartphone, EVERY game is available online, for free, at any time.
I don't like to watch games after the fact and I don't stay up during nights to watch the NHL (don't live in America). I of course see the highlights but you don't catch those parts of his complete game that easily by mere highligts.
That's a great Predz jersey ... it should be the Predz's dark jersey and the yellow be the light.
Until you did this i didnt realize how Great the D men are in league . My opinion this year . Hughes Makar and totally Underrated Jossi .
How can he be underrated he has won the trophy already. He is rated fairly
This is a really good crop all around the league.
Shannon we need YOUR edging stats
Bouchard has taken the most 90+ mph slap shots by a large margin
Ride-or-die for the Preds here but for me Josi's in third place behind Makar and Hughes. Not sure which of em is on top right now but the Captain's pretty solidly a bronze medal at the moment. Still hockey to play so that may change but that's where I'm at.
How’s Forsling not even on the board?
i think id go with Josi or Makar
Forsling not mentioned?
Well sadly there's no way anyone not in the top 10 of points has chance at the Norris, si he's right to not mention him. It's absolutely stupid, but it's the reality unfortunately.
Josi should already have two IMO. He was arguably robbed the year he was second to Makar because someone left him off their bracket entirely. Nashville has been on an insane run with a huge part of that being Josi. It's reminiscent of what Taylor Hall did when he won MVP with the Devil's.
+7500 on Josi!? That is worth $10 just to take a flyer
That’s a good idea 🤔
Where is gustav forsling? He is having an amazing year with the panthers. Amazing advanced stats and better +- than Hughes.
Hughes is 180 lbs. blocking shots and hitting will lower his shelf life dramatically. Lidstrom didn’t hit a lot, but he sure did block shots. You don’t need to be big to be effective but you gotta block shots.
Personally I like Oahlin, if I could pick it would be him, for a defenseman trophy I like focusing on defensive play. That being said I think Makar will actually win it
Dahlin: Does any other defenseman lead his team in points? Is any other player not named McDavid asked to do more for his team? He is also Buffalo's toughest and dirtiest player. He is both the best offensive and defensive player on his team. Can any other player in the NHL say that?
It's not an MVP award though and he doesn't exactly have stiff competition on his roster to be the best at both ends and he's not so far ahead of his teammates like Karlsson was back in his prime
The Roman Empire
Brock Faber not being on here is wild
I think the Norris debate is similar to the Hart debate this year. I think it’s the year of the star D man who hasn’t won it before. I think Hughes and Makar are both outstanding but I see the Hughes/Canucks narrative driving more votes in his favour this year, especially with his team having such a major turnaround his first year as captain… looks really good for him. Similarly I see Mackinnon winning over Kucherov just because he’s never had a season like this before and hasn’t won before either. I’m not sure there’s much Kuch could do to overcome to Nate Dog narrative. Might be the same story for Makar this year as it is for Kuch.
For me this seems like a down year for makar on the actual defensive front, and the super flashy moments have been down as well. I would guess if it were today that it goes hughes, jossi, makar. Now if the preds keep pushing and jossi goes nuts he could take it, but makar is going to need to leave the others in the dust if he wants it
I’d like to see Quinn Hughes win it, living in Vancouver. But I think Cale Makar wins because a lot a few years of recency bias. Hughes will keep pushing.
Shea Theodore has been killing it since he's been back PPG. No not Norris but PPG he is better than a lot
Hughes is probably having the best all around year minus the lack of hitting, but he probably won’t win because he plays in Vancouver. I don’t know who votes for the Norris, but they’re probably all down east.
Personally I think Makar is better, but I believe Hughes might win it this year Though I do like it when the 'race' is close :) We have the pleasure of watching some excellent talent! Still of the opinion they should have two D-men trophies though, guys like Ekholm and McDonagh never get much love cause they are more defense focused
It's the old 'ask 32 GM's who'd they want on their team' I'd venture to guess it would be at least 80/20 makar.
Hughes was the best D until January, Josi the best since then. Makar, Bouchard, Dobson, Fox & Hedman the most consistent all yr. I'm probably ignoring a couple others, Heskain, Fabr. Morrissy, Dahl, have declined from last yr
Whenever me and my buddy watch our teams play (avs/lightning) says it best. "Makar is a cheat code." 😂
Really hope Miro wins it at some point over the next few years.
I know its hard to compare defensemen to forwards, but where would you put Makar, Hughes, and others on the list for top hockey players? Can Makar crack the top 5, or do McDavid, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Draisaitl, and Matthews have that locked up?
I think he's the best player on his team so yeah he's in the top 5. I really don't think Matthews belongs in that conversation though. He's a great finisher but doesn't control play at all. Marner and Nylander do far more of that
@@CC-of5xl You think Makar is better than MacKinnon? Would that make him #2 behind McDavid? Or #3 behind McDavid and Kucherov? I wouldn't argue with Makar at #2.
Drais is not top 5 lmao!! Hes never carried his team to nothing. He's a product of playing with connor mcdavid. Thats facts. Plus he pouts when hes not scoring and gives up egregious turnovers. Mcdavid makes that team go.
@@Nate-vq8wy I guess Mackinnon is a product of Rantanen and Makar or the other 10k all star level players the Avs have by your logic. Also maybe watch games or look at stats. Draisaitl has been one of the best playoff performers in the modern NHL lol
@@gabrielrockman I'd put him 3rd behind Draisaitl who is very much getting the Malkin treatment this generation lol. Which is insane to anyone who's watch Oilers playoff hockey.
hedman is the headman
Dobson and Morrissey doing their thing👍
Makar is the most complete D-man, hands down, and the Avs will steamroll the Canucks in the playoffs.
As a nucks fan, its gotta go to Makar!
slavin is not on the top of scoring but dam he deserves votes for this award..hes near the top of + players without the big points ..that should account for something
He has no chance of winning but I want to give Weegar some love since hes been one of the few bright spots for Calgary this season.
Josi should win, but Makar will win it. Love to hear what a great all around dman Dahlin is
Heiskanen baby !
They have an award for defensive forward but not for an offensive defenseman 🤷♂️
Hughes should win it and i want him to win it also
If Dahlin played on a top ten team he would be among top 3 d-men. But the kid is still young and have the best in front of him.
hughes has better advanced stats in pretty much every situation ( at least in terms of corsi and fenwick, not sure why shannon says he has advanced stats on the board but has skating speed and not that stuff). Is makar a more complete defenceman ? yes ( something ive said for years is that is makar is a 10 hughes is about a 9.7 if you account makar being year older, better team, better run organization, less distractions through career , etc). Is it very close? yes. Hits and blocks are great , but if you get the puck out then who cares , no puck in your net and generate chance other way.
I haven’t watched enough of Dahlin. Plus minus means nothing to me but god damn those are impressive stats from Buffalo.
I don’t think Bouch has a chance of winning the Norris, but it’d be cool to see him get a vote or two
Quinn Hughes
I still think that Makar is the best D-Man in the league, but that being said, I think Hughes will win the Norris this season (unless something crazy happens between now and the end of the season.)
Speaking as an oilers fan PLEASE do not let Bouchard get it.
its ridiculous that there isnt a trophy for the best defensive defenceman. makar is great but hes elevated to where he is because of mackinnon, just look at his stats without mac, its pathetic. id put josi, and hedman ahead of makar AND bouchard. if bouchard actually played defence he would be 3rd. dahlin is so underrated, shame the rest of the sabres keep shitting the bed every year
Slavin.
Last year made it clear that Norris trophy voting came down to points and not defensive work, which is pretty ridiculous. Hughes would probably win at this point simply because he has more points. I thought this was supposed to be for defensemen? Shouldn’t we factor everything into it?
I think Cale Maker should win it (I bet he finishes with more points in fewer games than Hughes) but I bet Hughes will actually win it (early season bias).
Gustav forsling robbed
I don't think Dahlin should win the trophy, and yet, I feel like he's still underrated at the same time.
Hughes should and will win it. Heiskanen definitely belongs on this list though; maybe even Slavin and Forsling
Quinn Hughes should win but he plays for the Canucks so Cale Makar will most likely get it again
Idk but hoping the Penguins dont acquire them, mike sullivan will make them look ordinary.
Miro Heiskanen could have the best year out of any defenseman and still not be nominated because he doesn’t play for Colorado or New York
Always annoys me people decide how great defensemen are based on scoring stats mostly . Like… they’re defensemen not forwards. But eh oh well I get why they do that .
theyll give it to hughes to market the hughes brothers, and because the norris award pickers seem to hate defensive play. On that list, Id pick Josi, and 2nd to Morrissey. Dobson may have had the best season but I cant pick a Norris winner as someone on a non-playoff team. Rielly winning the Norris would be very disrespectful, even by the NHL's standards.
Dahlin #1
Wow +39 is absolutely ridiculous
+/- is the most overrated stat
Helps when you don’t kill penalties
@@seanhartel5362+/- is an even-strength stat. Killing penalties has no bearing on +/-.... (and neither does the PP) Yes, the stat gets overused and sometimes overvalued but +39 is still pretty incredible (though it's 2nd in the league to Forsling at +46).
@@SpencerDunnison playing on the penalty kill detracts from your energy/physical form 5v5
@@seanhartel5362 - Does sometimes, just not all the time. His minutes are already very high.
Mitch Marner was supposed to play defense this year.
Earlier this season? Cale Makar. Now? Hughes. I'm an Avs fan, but Makar has been, eh?
Sebastian Aho eliminated Fox from the conversation by sticking his knee out in November. There is no doubt Fox would be top 3 had it not for an intentional hit to injure Fox.