The Norris Trophy is awarded each season to the best defenseman in the NHL. Well, there are about 10 guys who have a chance to win it every season.
Now and again, new players emerge in these conversations but usually stay in them for a long time. A lot of this year's nomination slate has experience in this situation.
The nominees are Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, and Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators.
Hughes' highest finish in the Norris voting has been 9th which came in 2022-23. He is currently the favorite to capture his first this year.
Quinn Hughes leads an incredible trio of players nominated for the Norris
Roman Josi won the Norris in 2019-20 and had multiple other top-five finishes including a second-place finish in 2021-22.
Cale Makar was the Norris winner in 2021-22 and has been a top-ten finisher in every year of his career including a second-place finish in 2020-21.
Everybody knows that Makar is the best defenseman in the NHL and it isn't close. In his short hockey life so far, he has won the Hobey Baker, Norris, Calder, Stanley Cup, and Conn Smythe Trophy.
That said, it might be Hughes's year to capture the award. He only had two more points than Makar, so it will be interesting to see where the vote landed.
The funny thing is that Cale Makar narrowly edged out Quinn Hughes for the Calder Trophy when they came into the league together during the 2019-20 season.
As for Josi, he will probably come in third but that doesn't take away from his greatness this season. He is worthy of this nomination and any recognition that comes with it.
The playoffs don't matter at all when it comes to voting for this thing but it is fun to track where they are at the time of the nomination.
Cale Makar is already onto round two as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games. As for the other two, they are facing off against each other. Hughes's Canucks are up 3-2 in their series over Josi's Predators. It will be a great finish.
Throughout the regular season, these three were a treat to watch. Now, we will find out which of them is adding a prestigious trophy at the NHL Awards.