With the 2017-18 NHL season about 25 percent done, let’s take a look at the top five Norris Trophy candidates.
American Thanksgiving tends to be a good measuring stick for the NHL Awards. By that time, just about every team has played at least 20 games. This means the season is roughly 25 percent over, give or take. It’s now appropriate to start considering who the award winners should be. And the Norris Trophy figures to be a pretty tough competition.
Erik Karlsson’s injury to start the season has let several defensemen enter the competition. However, the Ottawa Senators captain has been extremely impressive despite having to give everyone else a head start. Let’s take a look at the top five Norris contenders.
Victor Hedman
The argument for: Yes, Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning is off to a slow start. But anyone who thinks he’s out of the race should return to the loony bin from which they escaped from. Hedman is an elite talent, and a bad 20 game stretch doesn’t change that. As recently as last season, people saw him as one of the NHL’s top three defensemen. Even with “just” 15 points in 20 games, that’s still pretty darn impressive. At any given moment, Hedman could get hot and remind everyone why he was a Norris Trophy Finalist last season.
The argument against: So maybe there’s a little bit more to this slow start of his than just his points. Hedman has always been incredibly solid as far as possession numbers. The Lightning have been a much better team with him on the ice over the past three seasons. But this year? Hedman’s expected goals for percentage and CorsiFor percentage are very low.
Frankly, it’s not too hard to see why. His two most common partners? Jake Dotchin (a young defenseman) and Dan Girardi (a proven possession anchor). Is it Hedman’s fault he’s struggling? Perhaps, but yeesh, there are some things involved in the slow start that Victor can’t control.
Outlook: Hedman deserves a long leash because he’s proven to be such an impressive talent. But he has to get out of this rut soon if he wants to win his first Norris Trophy.