2023-24 James Norris Memorial Trophy finalists: Quinn Hughes, Roman Josi, Cale Makar

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I want to see someone win the award for best defenceman for actually being an outstanding defender, rather than for point totals as a defenceman.

Fox already won

 

[Chairman Maouth]

I wont deny this possibility and kudos to him for playing through it. He did show grit and toughness which I did not expect from him.

My issue with Hughes is he is a possession monster but when he doesn't have the puck he struggles to regain it, and he has issues in his own end. Obviously only in the playoffs because you dont see him having these problems as much in the rugular season.

Kid is not built for playoff hockey and with as talented as he is, he is not the guy to put his team on his back and takeover a game like Makar can. I have always had Makar and Heiskanen above him in my D ranking listed, but these playoffs are showing even more that my opinions were justified. Oilers fans will mention Bouchard and on paper he is doing really well but something about him I just cant get behind. Might be bc I just dont watch enough oilers games and really analyze him but I never liked him going back to when he won the Memorial cup and was getting so much praise.


I completely understand that, but playoffs are showing who the best of the best is, and Hughes is not him.

I've watched Quinn Hughes battle and improve his game both defensively and then offensively for three years in a row. He said it in the off-season - that he needed to work on his game - and then he did exactly that. Back then I was unable to convince anyone that Hughes is a warrior whose main goal is to improve as a player. Now, at 24 years old, he's the favourite for the Norris Trophy and I doubt that you will be the first person that I convince.

Hughes has an established record of improving his game every season. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next season.

 

[Rowlet]

Says the guy from BC. I live in Boston I'm not even a Dallas or Avs fan.

All you stat nerds do is look at points. Majority of Hughes assists this year are just a pass back to the point and him passing the puck to the next open guy. He doesn't create the way Makar does in the offensive zone. Also he plays a full 2 minutes on the PP while all other D split with PP2.

I don't care how many secondary assists Hughes gets. When the game is tight and you need a D that you can rely on, Hughes will never be that guy. Proof is in the pudding. He had his chance to show what he was made of this year in the playoffs and he showed that he is not him. How many times did he air mail pucks into the neutral zone bc he was scared of getting hit. Cmon man. YOU take the homer glasses off.

If you think Josi, Dahlin, or Fox would get picked over Heiskanen then there is no helping you. Josi is getting old. Did you see how bad he looked these playoffs? Dahlin has been doing well but he isn't same tier as Heiskanen. Bringing up Fox is a joke, nobody would take him if they already had Makar. Fox is another guy who plays scared in the playoffs.

How about Even Strength possession as per Hockey Reference?

23-24 regular season:

Corsi:
Hughes 57.5%
Heisk 57.1%

Corsi% Relative to Team:
Hughes 10.9
Heiskanen 6.2

Fenwick:
Hughes 54.9
Heiskanen 56.3

Fenwick% Relative to Team:
Hughes 7.2
Heiskanen 5.0

I guess that's pretty close, but Hughes still has the advantage.

What if we look at the 2024 playoffs:

Corsi:
Hughes 59.5%
Heiskanen 47.8%

Corsi% Relative:
Hughes 18.3
Heiskanen -1.4

Fenwick:
Hughes 59.1%
Heiskanen: 47.4%

Fenwick% Relative:
Hughes 18.1
Heiskanen -3.4

It looks like of the two, Hughes is the one who takes his game to the next level while Heiskanen gets folded in the playoffs. Heiskanen's corsi and fenwick aren't just worse than usual, they're worse than team average and net negative.