Pretty straightforward question: Do you think Z will take home another Norris this season? I was just perusing the leaders in defensemen stats and it looks to me like he's deserving.
He's now 2nd in defenseman scoring to Karlsson, albeit by quite a bit.
But he's also far superior to Karlsson in pretty much every other category and everyone knows it. First in d-man +/-, 2nd in points, 2nd in PP goals, plays over 25:00 a night, etc, etc.
I don't need to list all the things Chara is great at to you guys, we all know how much he means. So what do you think? Will he win the Norris or will the league make a joke of the award and give it to Karlsson?
He should win it. He's the best D-man in the league and should have won the last 3 of them. I'm just afraid that the 'media' who get to vote will favour points over playing actual D.
Karlsson is an unbelievable player, but he should not be in Norris contention, though I think he will be.
Karlsson doesn't kill penalties. He averages :32s of SH/TOI per game. That's usually when he gets put on the ice for the final 10s of a PK too.
This is JMO, but any defenseman who doesn't kill penalties should not be eligible to be the "best defenseman" in the league. You can't be the best at something when you flat out don't participate in one of the biggest aspects of being a defenseman.
I worry that since Karlsson so excels at the offensive aspects of being a defenseman that he will end up a finalist, which he shouldn't really be either, but I'm confident that the writers who vote for the awards will "reward" him in the sense that he was a finalist but be smart enough not to actually give it to him.
Chara's the best all-around defenseman in the league right now, and that's the nature of the Norris Trophy. He deserves to win it, and I think he will.
__________________ "The only thing that beats winning [in Toronto] is winning in Montreal.--Aaron Ward
"I've gotta go run some little French guys over."--Shawn Thornton
Chara had his struggles this year, but he is still the best defensemen in the league today.
The biggest knock on him has always been his offensive production and now he brought that with him this year surpassing the gurus like Lidstrom and Weber.
He absolutely should win the award this year. No doubt in my mind.
Karlsson is an unbelievable player, but he should not be in Norris contention, though I think he will be.
Karlsson doesn't kill penalties. He averages :32s of SH/TOI per game. That's usually when he gets put on the ice for the final 10s of a PK too.
This is JMO, but any defenseman who doesn't kill penalties should not be eligible to be the "best defenseman" in the league. You can't be the best at something when you flat out don't participate in one of the biggest aspects of being a defenseman.
I worry that since Karlsson so excels at the offensive aspects of being a defenseman that he will end up a finalist, which he shouldn't really be either, but I'm confident that the writers who vote for the awards will "reward" him in the sense that he was a finalist but be smart enough not to actually give it to him.
Chara's the best all-around defenseman in the league right now, and that's the nature of the Norris Trophy. He deserves to win it, and I think he will.
Agreed. I don't dislike Karlsson, but the award goes to best DEFENSEman. Karlsson may be there someday, but he isn't yet.
Chara will be in the top two, but I have no idea which way the votes will go. Chara is the best all around defencemen this year, but Karlsson is lapping the field offensively with a 34% lead over Chara. I agree that in most cases the Norris should go to the best all around defencemen, but Karlsson’s offensive superiority over his peers might be enough for him to win the Norris in a Coffey-like fashion. Karlsson is tied for 6th in the NHL in scoring and Chara is 87th.
That said, the Norris is similar to the Selke where a player has to build a reputation before they are acknowledged and Chara does have the benefit of the doubt here.
Chara will be in the top two, but I have no idea which way the votes will go. I agree Chara is the best all around defencemen this year, but Karlsson is lapping the field offensively with a 34% lead over Chara. I agree that in most cases the Norris should go to the best all around defencemen, but Karlsson’s offensive superiority over his peers might be enough for him to win the Norris in a Coffey-like fashion. Karlsson is tied for 6th in the NHL in scoring and Chara is 87th.
That said, the Norris is similar to the Selke where a player has to build a reputation before they are acknowledged and Chara does have the benefit of the doubt here.
Karlsson's offense is something to behold this season, that's for sure, but Chara's #2 in D scoring; he's no slouch. Not amongst the league leaders as Karlsson is, but great for a defenseman all the same.
I still harken back to the fact that Karlsson doesn't kill penalties. IIRC Coffey did, which makes him winning based on absurd offense more bearable since he contributed in all aspects of being a defenseman.
We saw the same thing last year with Visnovsky. Lots of people were calling him a leader for the Norris, saying he should win for sure due to his outstanding production. But he has even less SH/TOI than Karlsson, and it played out that he wasn't even a finalist.
I think Karlsson makes the final three, but the fact that he isn't all that good at defense at the current point in time will prevail. I don't think he should even be a finalist because of the fact that he doesn't play PK, but as a young kid on a Canadian team I think he will be.
Karlsson's offense is something to behold this season, that's for sure, but Chara's #2 in D scoring; he's no slouch. Not amongst the league leaders as Karlsson is, but great for a defenseman all the same.
I still harken back to the fact that Karlsson doesn't kill penalties. IIRC Coffey did, which makes him winning based on absurd offense more bearable since he contributed in all aspects of being a defenseman.
We saw the same thing last year with Visnovsky. Lots of people were calling him a leader for the Norris, saying he should win for sure due to his outstanding production. But he has even less SH/TOI than Karlsson, and it played out that he wasn't even a finalist.
I think Karlsson makes the final three, but the fact that he isn't all that good at defense at the current point in time will prevail. I don't think he should even be a finalist because of the fact that he doesn't play PK, but as a young kid on a Canadian team I think he will be.
I agree with you, but I am just trying to look at this situation the same way the media and voters will. I think Chara should win, but I am not convinced he will win.
In other good news many scouts have compared Dougie Hamilton to Alex Pietrangelo and he is probably the other guy I would pick for Norris finalist this year, but he probably hasn't made enough of a repuation yet.
Personally, I think it is hard not to give it to Karlsson after the year he is having. However many will say he is not good in his end so it all depends on how people few the award.
If I had to nominate three:
1. Karlsson
2. Chara
3. Pietrangelo
There is no way Chara shouldn't win this. A d-man that doesn't kill penalties shouldn't even be in the conversation. I don't care how many points he has.
If Lidstrom is handed another one he doesn't deserve, does that tie him with Bobby Orr? Maybe Chara gets 15-20 points in the last 4 games to prevent that, as it would be one of the biggest travesties in the game.
Zdeno Chara is without question the best defenseman in the NHL today. He deserves the Norris, and I expect him to win it. He's going to retire with 2-3 Norris trophies and head into the HHOF as one of the top 20 defensemen to ever lace up skates.
Huge, intimidating, physical defensive stud that plays huge minutes and completely shuts down the best offensive players in the NHL . . . plays both PP and PK . . . 2nd in scoring among NHL D-men . . . Captain of the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.
Pretty straightforward question: Do you think Z will take home another Norris this season? I was just perusing the leaders in defensemen stats and it looks to me like he's deserving.
He's now 2nd in defenseman scoring to Karlsson, albeit by quite a bit.
But he's also far superior to Karlsson in pretty much every other category and everyone knows it. First in d-man +/-, 2nd in points, 2nd in PP goals, plays over 25:00 a night, etc, etc.
I don't need to list all the things Chara is great at to you guys, we all know how much he means. So what do you think? Will he win the Norris or will the league make a joke of the award and give it to Karlsson?
Hater's gonna hate.
Do you know Karlsson @ 21 plays more TOI than Chara? Some good 10-15 sec per that Chara's 25:06 and is +19?
