Even though there are about 20 games left to play, the Norris Trophy race is all over. Brent Burns is obviously the best defenseman this season and it’s not near. He’s even getting some recognition in the Hart Trophy dialog and when the Sharks celebrity was to win it, he would become the initial blue-liner to claim the NHL’s MVP trophy since Chris Pronger did it 17 years ago.
BetOnline has pegged him as the huge -1500 favorite, meaning it is highly unlikely anyone rips him off the base on which he resides and the fat lady, also known as Gary Bettman, can start warming up her vocal cords.
So what is Burns doing to earn such high praise and major award thought? Well, for starters, he’s 27 goals to go together with his 39 aids, is a +23 and is averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game. His offensive numbers rival those of their best forward in the league and that he does it without abandoning his place at the defensive end. He’s more power-play points than NHL points leader Connor McDavid and is also tied for first with Drew Doughty along with Ryan Suter with 4.57 defensive point stocks apiece.
Doughty won the award in 2015-16 based mostly on his impressive defensive stage stocks number so if Burns proceeds to look after his duties before Martin Jones, there’s no reason to deny him that the Norris honors.
If Burns doesn’t win the Norris this year, there is something basically wrong with how we decide who wins awards. He’s beard and shoulders above anybody else on the record and Erik Karlsson, who’s second in the odds at +900, ended runner-up to Doughty in Norris voting last year and he had a much better season than he is having this season.
Another element that should not be dismissed is how awesome a man Burns is. The dude is a shining beacon of entertainment in a league which will lack character. Why the NHL is not encouraging the hell out of the man is outside me.Archived Articles
One of the most controversial moves during the NHL offseason was that the trade that sent P.K. Subban to Nashville and Shea Weber north of the border to Montreal. Critics hounded Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens’ front office to the transfer but with all the Habs beginning their year 9-0-1 and Weber being a league-best +14, the complaint is beginning to silence.
The chances have been updated for Norris Trophy futures and Weber has climbed the board and now sits right behind Erik Karlsson in +325. The Habs blue-line bomber not only leads all players in plus/minus, in addition, he sits third in points for defensemen with 10 and has already pounded in four goals — three of these on the power play.
P.K., on the other hand, is -7 via 10 games and is shooting an awful 8.3 percentage. His group sits dead last in the Central Division with only 3 wins and continues to be fighting to place the puck in the net. I think the Predators are a fantastic team and Subban is obviously — a fantastic player. BetOnline is offering a +1400 line for P.K. to acquire the Norris but I believe that you can prevent this one — Subban is too much risk/reward player to ever post the leading defensive amounts required of a Norris winner.
Weber’s plus/minus along with other defensive numbers will be encouraged astronomically by playing in front of Carey Price this season and if the Canadiens keep winning, the significant blue-liner is a complete shoo-in to carry this award even when he does not continue to keep pace with Brent Burns and Karlsson in the points race.
Drew Doughty won the Norris past year despite posting 31 fewer points than Karlsson, who received the second-most votes. He did, however, rate the league in defensive stage shares — a stat Weber currently leads the NHL in.
Read more here: http://new.mollyfletcher.com/?p=3703
