Who will win the NHL’s Norris Trophy in 2024?

The debate about the Norris Trophy seems to take place every year. Does the trophy for the NHL’s best defenseman go to an offensive superstar or a defensive stalwart?

The facts are fairly simple. Throughout the years, the award has regularly gone to the game’s offensive stars. It’s much easier to look at the goal, assist and much-maligned plus-minus totals and deliver the award to those that excel on the offensive side of the equation.

There is no shortage of candidates this year, and the four best have been Noah Dobson of the New York Islanders, Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators, Cale Makar of the of Colorado Avalanche andQuinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks.

Noah Dobson, Islanders

The Islanders have had a strange year and they are fighting to secure a playoff spot. After quite a bit of indifferent play through the majority of the season, the Islanders are in third place in the Metropolitan Division, and that would give them a first-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes if they can hold the position.

Many of the Islanders have struggled with their consistency, but Dobson has been solid throughout the 2023-24 season. He has one of the best shots from the blue line in the NHL and he has scored 10 goals and 60 assists in 78 games. Dobson is also plus-12 on the season and he appears much improved from a defensive perspective this season.

That had been a weakness, but it is no longer the case.

Roman Josi, Predators

The Predators went on a hot streak in the second half of the season after management refused to allow the Nashville players to attend a concert in Las Vegas.

General manager Barry Trotz wanted to see the team concentrate on game play and not leisure time, and while the players were not happy, the overall play improved significantly as the Preds went on a 16-0-2 run.

Throughout that hot streak, no player did more to help the team than Roman Josi. He has been capable of taking over games with his skating, all-around play and explosive scoring for years. Josi has blasted home 21 goals and added 59 assists and is also plus-11 on the season.

The Predators are currently holding on to the top Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, and Josi is one of the primary reasons.

Cale Makar, Avalanche

Starting with Bobby Orr, there have been a number of brilliant offensive defenseman in the NHL. While nobody has been able to top Boston’s legendary star and the team’s all-time greatest players, players like Larry Robinson, Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Brent Burns have all been game-changing players.

Makar is likely to join the group of all-time greats at the position. He is a brilliant skater with eye-catching instincts and terrific on-ice ability.

Makar is capable of taking over any game at the biggest moments. So far this season he has scored 20 goals and 67 assists with a plus-16 rating.

The Avs are led by their superstars, and Makar belongs with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Quinn Hughes, Canucks

The Canucks have been one of the NHL’s biggest stories since the start of the season. They were thought of as a team that could be fighting for a Wild Card spot, but they have been in first place in the Pacific Division and it is quite likely that they will hold on to the position.

Hughes has been dynamic throughout the season and he is second on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 74 assists. More than the scoring, he has simply controlled play in nearly every game he has played. He has a remarkable +40 rating, and that eye-opening total should be enough to sway Norris Trophy voters throughout the league.

Prediction

Cale Makar is probably one of the two or three most talented players in the league, and the belief is that he will end up with at least 5 Norris Trophies throughout his career.

However, this is not Makar’s year. Hughes has been the best player on the Canucks and the best defenseman in the league. He has earned the Norris Trophy and he will pick up that award at the end of the year.