The Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, the Predators’ Roman Josi and the Avalanche’s Cale Makar are this year’s Norris Trophy finalists for the league’s top defenseman, as announced today. Technically awarded “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position,” the Norris, like many others, is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association after the regular season concludes.
Hughes, 24, isn’t just a finalist for the first time – he’s the first Canucks defenseman in franchise history to be named one. He has earned consideration in three of the past four seasons, placing 15th in voting in 2020, 13th in 2022, and ninth in 2023.
The 2018 seventh-overall pick is coming off a franchise-defining season, logging a Vancouver-record 75 assists and 92 points in 82 games that also led defenders league-wide. A first-year captain, Hughes averaged 24:41 per game, tying him for tenth in the league with Penguins blue-liner Kris Letang, and led all NHL defensemen with 54 even-strength points. He also had the most dominant possession season of his career, with Vancouver controlling 57.5% of shot attempts and 54.3% of expected goals with Hughes on the ice at even strength, per Hockey Reference.
Josi, 33, finished third among defensemen in points with 85 in 82 games but led outright in goals with 23. This is his third time being a finalist for the award, winning back in 2020 and finishing second to Makar in 2022. He’s now cracked the point-per-game plateau twice in the past three years and took the most shots of any blue-liner this season with 268, ahead of the Sabres’ Rasmus Dahlin by more than 30. Like Hughes, he’s coming off the best possession season of his career, posting a 54.5 CF%, 5.1 relative CF%, and a 53.8 xGF% at even strength.
Makar, 25, led defenders in points per game this season but missed five games due to injury, placing him second in points behind Hughes with 90 in 77 games. It’s his fourth straight season as a finalist for the award, but compared to his peers mentioned here, may have the worst case for satisfying the “all-around ability” stipulation this season.
He had a quietly average season at even strength by his standards, getting a higher share of his point production on the power play compared to Hughes and Josi. His possession numbers weren’t all that different from Colorado’s averages, either. His 53.0 CF% at even strength was his lowest since his rookie season, and his 0.3 relative CF% was a career-low outright. That led Colorado to reassign some of his 5-on-5 minutes elsewhere – his overall average ice time dropped from 26:23 in 2022-23 to 24:46 this season without any significant changes in his usage on special teams.
The league hasn’t yet announced the date when award winners will be revealed.
When will Evan Bouchard get mentioned for the Norris? He Makar, and Hughes are pretty much in the top 5 in the league in my opinion.
He’s not exactly great at defense. The three finalists are superior all-around defensemen. I say this as a guy that benefited greatly from having Bouchard on my fantasy team.
I would not call Hughes or Makar superior at defense. Unquestionably elite in offence but their defensive play leaves much to be desired as with Bouchard. If the award were actually for the best all around defenseman at least Jodi is an elite all around guy. Elkholm really was one of the best if not the best defenseman in the league if we’re actually talking playing defence. And I’m not slamming Hughes or Makar they earned their recognition. The points they’re putting up is just downright absurd. Good on them. Not their fault they are nominated! I think Josi should win if defence has any factor in this but my guess is Hughes gets the win.
Ya just look at Karlsson last year, wins the Norris with 100 points but a minus 26….albeit, on a San Jose Sharks team
Quinn Hughes had a +/- of 38. Josi & Makar had a combined +/- of 27 total. I think Hughes outperformed both of them defensively ( at least this year ) to go along with being the top point getter….definitely think he should win the Norris this year.
High Plus/minus isn’t really a good indication of good defensive play. It CAN be but more often than not it’s the result of being on a good team with good linemates who score a lot. Not saying he’s been awful but he’s more like a forward who got stuck playing D somehow. Definitely not a Doughty, or Pietrangelo, or Elkholm etc. you win cups with the latter guys. Not saying Hughes isn’t a character guy I think he is, but he’s not a guy who you put out there to guard a 1 goal lead. His head is in the offensive zone!
Also his high skill level does make up for his defending I do agree with a poster below that his ability to control the play is phenomenal and that does help his defensive metrics. For the record I love Quinn Hughes just saying he’s more like an elite forward than a D man!
You don’t need to play defence when your team has the puck all the time because of you. Forwards can’t do that because of the nature of the spacing in the game.
Hughes touches the puck multiple times per shift. Doesn’t mean he isn’t a good defender…it means he is because the other team doesn’t get the puck!
Some good points for sure….but Makar plays on an offensive juggernaut and he has the puck all the time too…yet his plus minus isn’t that great this year considering. Josi on the other hand plays on a defensively responsible team and he had a ton of points…but his plus minus was average too. I think there could be 2 different categories for defenceman awards. Hughes is by no means a defensive stalwart, and if you look at his plus minus from other years, and they aren’t super great…that’s why this year it seems like he’s definitely taken both offensive and defence to a different level. For a guy his size…he definitely can hold his own on either end.
This award is not so much about “all-round” defensemen as it is about “high-scoring” defensemen. Sure, it’s deserving of recognition to score 80-90 points as a defenseman, but there are other players who are much better at playing defense than these nominees (like Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin). The award is heavily weighted to scoring rather than to defensive skills. The former is more easily quantified, of course.
Maybe there should be a separate award for defensive defensemen.
Noah Dobson had an incredible season for a not so great NYI squad.
True that
I just wish they’d split the Norris into the best offensive and best defensive defender.
Only echoing what everybody seems to agree on, but there needs to be a top defensive defenseman award. If they’ve had a top defensive forward for all these years there’s no reason there’s one single award for the defence
It’d just wind up like the Selke has for many years — as the province of great TWO-way forwards who put some serious points on the board. Quick, when was the last time in a full season where there was a Selke winner who didn’t get at LEAST twenty goals?
(It’s been a few decades.)
For those saying this should go to the best ‘defensive’ defenceman…how do you quantify that? Is it blocking shots? Is it clearing the front of the net? (subjective and no data)
Considering Hughes et all recent finalists hardly have to play defence because they always have the puck is indicative of how good they really are. Watch them skate in their own end or walk the line in the O-zone
For Hughes…when he doesn’t have the puck he skates so well he’s always affecting the play. Doesn’t allow odd rushes ever, and retrieves pucks better than anyone in the league right now.
Too many people think defence is pinning a guy in the corner and clearing the front of the net. You don’t need to do that if you almost always have the puck
Makar, Fox, Josi, Hughes, etc are all excellent because they control the play when they are on the ice.
Good points.
Mattias Ekholm should take it.
Makes you wonder WHY they don’t just announce the winners, doesn’t it ?
After all, this is a REGULAR season award and SUPPOSEDLY all the votes have ALREADY been cast by the members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association so they should ALREADY know who won it.
Unless of course they haven’t actually cast their votes and are waiting for the playoffs to progress before picking the winner of the REGULAR season award.
And even though Hughes has the better numbers you can bet MOST of those “professional hockey writers” will find some tiny little stat they can use to justify giving the Norris to Makar instead – because most of those writers are in the US and Makar plays for a US team.