The Norris Goes To….

With the regular season coming to a close, the talk of who will take home hardware is ramping up, and will culminate in Las Vegas this summer.  The race for the Norris Trophy is as wide open as it’s been in years.  The usual suspects of Nick Lidstrom and Chris Pronger have paved the way for a brood of younger dynamos.  Mike Green, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, and Shea Weber all have legitimate shots at winning this year’s Norris. 

The aforementioned superstars are my favorites to win the Norris this season.

The player that really sticks out like a sore thumb on my list of favorites is Mike Green. Green is a player who has made a name for himself by being the highest scoring defenseman in the NHL – in what will be back to back years. Mike Green is off last year’s pace of 31 goals, but will pass last year’s point production. Green is distributing the puck more this year than last having collected 54 assists. That is good for 7th in the NHL. And it isn’t as if Green isn’t putting the puck in the net. His 17 goals ranks him first in the NHL among defenseman. So his offensive upside isn’t debateable. His offensive prowess is unmatched by any other NHL blueliner. It is Green’s play in his own zone that is the constant question mark. And I ask for reason?

Mike Green nows sits third in the NHL in +/- at +33. Only his teammate, and I should remind you defensive partner, is ahead of him. Jeff Schultz is posting a robust +37. And yet I can see it now. Hockey writers somehow labeling that +33 as a mere bi-product of playing for a team that happens to be the leagues most potent offensive juggernaut. I’ll give that arguement some credence, but to go all in on that notion just doesn’t cut the mustard. The plus/minus stat can be a bit deceiving, but I constantly see writers and fans use the stat when lobbying a players defensive game, yet calling it bunk when the player is great offensively, thus padding the +/- stat. Mike Green is the perfect example. A +33 looks really nice, but it’s not only because he plays for such an offensively gifted team. It certainly was never an issue for Paul Coffey. In contrast, Duncan Keith – who I believe is Green’s only real competition for the award is a +16. Keith also plays for the best defensive team in the NHL. A +33 looks pretty good when the team Green plays for is notoriously bombarded with “you can’t win in the playoffs cause of your goaltending.”

It is no secret that Mike Green struggled during the playoffs last year. He was playing injured and his playoff performance, in my view, is ultimately what prevented him from winning the Norris a year ago. Although it is supposed to be a regular season award, the plays that are most fresh in voters’ minds understandably impact their vote. Will the Olympic play of Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty affect the vote this year? It should not. But it definitely will. Keith and Doughty were arguably Canada’s best pair during their gold medal run. With Green being snubbed by the Canadian brass, he was not given the opportunity to showcase his talents at the international level.

Over the last calendar year we’ve seen Green snubbed by all-star voters, the Team Canada brass, and finish second in Norris voting as season ago after scoring 31 goals and setting the record for consecutive games with a goal by a defenseman. Granted the talent pool Steve Yzerman had to pick from was the deepest in history, not picking the league’s leading scorer among defenseman – who happened to play for the best team in the NHL, points-wise, was borderline lunacy.

A player who, at the finish of this regular season, will have racked up back to back years as the highest scoring defenseman, plays for the more than likely the President’s Trophy winning team, quarterbacks the league’s number one ranked power play, and logs over 25.00 minutes a night of ice-time against the opponent’s top line is deserving of the Norris Trophy. I won’t suggest Mike Green is the best defensive defenseman in the NHL. A criteria some associate with as the sole criteria for the award. But he is without question the most dynamic defenseman in the NHL and brings a style of play we haven’t seen since Paul Coffey. He has proven that last year was no fluke. He has earned this year’s Norris Trophy

Ultimately it will come down to Duncan Keith and Mike Green. My pick is obvious. Who is your pick?