As the NHL reaches the quarter-mark of the season, it's time to look at the league's Norris Trophy race.
After last week’s Hart Trophy ranking, we move on to the current top five candidates to take home the Norris, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position."
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar won his second Norris Trophy last season, and it won’t be a surprise to see his name at the top again this time around.
Here are my top five NHL Norris Trophy candidates, as of Nov. 18.
5. Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders
Matthew Schaefer has been quite impressive in the first quarter of this campaign for the New York Islanders.
In 19 games, the rookie has 15 points, tied for eighth in scoring among D-men. More impressively, he leads all blueliners in goals with seven and eight assists to go along with it. Schaefer has the third-most goals on his team and is tied with Mat Barzal for second in points, only behind Bo Horvat’s 23.
In addition to his scoring, he’s been putting the Islanders in great spots to win hockey games. At the moment, they hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
A contributor to that has been Schaefer’s ability to draw penalties and be on the right side of the puck. He's tied with Connor McDavid for the second-most penalties drawn in the NHL, with 12.
More telling, Schaefer leads the NHL in net penalties (penalties drawn minus penalties taken), at nine.
BetMGMNorris Trophy odds: 51.00/+5000
Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer Takes On Miro Heiskanen After Battling Cale MakarAfter a strong showing against the league's best defender, Schaefer battles another elite blueliner. 4. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey is playing his way on Team Canada’s Olympic team after a great 4 Nations Face-Off campaign.
This season, he has three goals and 16 assists for 19 points in 18 games. With that, he’s on a five-game point streak and has points in 10 of his last 11 games. Morrissey is one of four D-men in the NHL full-time who average more than a point per game.
At 1.06 points per game, he’ll be challenging the 70-point mark for the second time in his career and the 80-point mark for the first time.
Morrissey is third in defensemen scoring and tied in second for the most primary assists from his position with nine.
Along with his scoring prowess from the back end, he leads the Jets in plus-minus with a plus-seven rating, sharing that top spot with defenseman Logan Stanley.
BetMGMNorris Trophy odds: 61.00/+6000
3. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
It feels that one of these seasons, Miro Heiskanen will win something. It could be a Norris Trophy or a Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars, which have been sniffing around the final for years.
Nonetheless, Heiskanen has been a key contributor to the team’s success and ability to get far into the post-season.
The closest the Stars defenseman has been to a Norris Trophy was in 2022-23, when he finished seventh in voting. He scored 73 points in 79 games that season. Last year, he didn’t receive a vote as he was forced to play just 50 games because of a knee injury and scored 25 points.
Heiskanen, 26, has already recorded three goals and 14 assists for 17 points this campaign, nearing last season’s point totals in much fewer games.
The Finnish D-man is not far removed from a six-game point streak, where he put up a goal and 11 assists.
Additionally, Heiskanen is fifth in the NHL among all skaters in average ice time at 25:18.
BetMGM Norris Trophy odds: 26.00/+2500
2. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
Despite the Vancouver Canucks sitting sixth in the Pacific Division, Quinn Hughes has been a breath of fresh air for them.
With one goal and 19 assists, he’s second in scoring among D-men, totalling 20 points. He’s also tied with Makar for the most assists by a blueliner this season.
Among defensemen who have played a minimum of 50 minutes this season, Hughes has a 58-percent on-ice expected goals percentage, according to moneypuck.com. When he’s off the ice, the Canucks’ expected goals percentage decreases to 34.6 percent, the lowest among all D-men.
In English, the Canucks captain is vital to the team’s success offensively, even from the back end.
Furthermore, Hughes averages the most time on ice among all NHL blueliners, at 26:58 per game.
BetMGM Norris Trophy odds: 4.00/+300
NHL Hart Trophy Rankings: Bedard And Celebrini Crack A Surprising Top FiveAre the kids taking over? Bedard and Celebrini are among our top five NHL Hart Trophy front-runners so far, but there's no doubt two Avalanche superstars are crucial to their team's success.1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
It should surprise no one to see Cale Makar leading the way in these Norris Trophy rankings. He leads in enough categories that make his case to be named defenseman of the year in back-to-back seasons stronger than anyone else.
For starters, he leads all D-men in points with 25 in 19 appearances. The 27-year-old has six goals and 19 assists, leading the league with 12 primary helpers.
Makar also leads defensemen in plus-minus at plus-17, even-strength goals (six) and points (18). Incredibly enough, even with how much he does offensively, he only has 19 giveaways, according to moneypuck.com. For reference, Zach Werenski and Morgan Rielly lead in that category with 38 giveaways each.
Based on the start he’s had to this season, Makar is a candidate not just for the Norris Trophy but the Hart Trophy as well.
BetMGM Norris Trophy odds: 1.30/-333
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