Hughes, Makar or Josi: Who will win the Norris Trophy?

The NHL has announced the top three finalists for the Norris Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top defensemen in the regular season. The nominees include two past winners, Roman Josi of Nashville and Cale Makar of Colorado, who are joined by Quinn Hughes of Vancouver.

Hughes the most productive defenseman

Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks is having his best season of his career so far. In 82 games played, he has amassed a superb 92 points and won the league scoring among all quarterbacks. It was alongside him that Czech defenceman Filip Hronek, who also had the season of his life, shone.

Hughes scored 17 goals during the season and was also the top scorer among all defensemen with 75 assists. He improved his point total from last season by a full 16 points and rightfully received his first nomination for this prestigious award. The record holder is the legendary Bobby Orr, who won this award in 8 consecutive seasons. In modern history, Ray Bourque has won the award 5 times and Nicklas Lidstrom 7 seasons.

Makar already knows what it’s like to receive the Norris Trophy

The very productive Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar played 5 fewer games than Hughes and still finished second in scoring with 89 points. In addition, he was also second in those stats with 21 goals and 68 assists.

He is also very successful in the playoffs, where he and his team easily made it to the next stage over the tragic Winnipeg and once again he is one of the most productive players of the Avalanche. The fact that he is already a seasoned player is a testament to his fourth consecutive nomination for this award.

Makar was voted the best defenseman in the 2021-22 season. After that, he has one second and one third place. He has shown a constant performance in the NHL. He dominated all defensemen with 39 points scored on the numerical advantage and has 148 blocked shots as well.

Another nominee is Josi, who has also received this award in the past

Third to the party is also the very productive Nashville Predators quarterback Roman Josi. He dominated the backcourt with 23 goals. And he finished third in scoring with 85 points. He had the most shots on goal of all quarterbacks (268). He received his third career nomination for his performance.

In the 2019-20 season, he received this award, and last season only the phenom Erik Karlssson was better, because he broke the 100-point mark. The best chances are probably given to Quinn Hughes, who had the year of his life. However, Cale Makar has already gotten a lot of credit with the voters over the past few seasons and it could end up being very close. Plus, both fighters are also thriving in the playoffs.

Source: NHL