On Thursday, the NHL announced the three finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's top defenseman, while Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom, Boston's Zdeno Chara and Washington's Mike Green were the top three vote-getters. Lidstrom has won the award six of the past seven years -- including three in a row -- while he might actually face some competition this time around.
Lidstrom had yet another rock-solid season for the Wings, registering 59 points while also leading the team in ice-time, averaging over 24 minutes per game. The 38-year-old is going for his seventh Norris Trophy, which would tie him for the second most all time with Montreal's Doug Harvey. Boston's Bobby Orr still holds the record with eight.
On The Wings Blog points out that at least one member of the Detroit media doesn't expect Lidstrom to win (Helene St. James predicts him to finish in third) while also saying this: "here's hoping the only other actual defensemen on the list wins it."
That's obviously a call for Green to not take home the hardware. The perception on Washington's dymanic 23-year-old defenseman is that he's all offense and no defense; basically a fourth forward on the ice. As James Mirtle pointed out, Green isn't just another impact player offensively, as his 2008-09 season was one of the best offensive seasons ever by a defenseman. He led all defensemen with 73 points (including 31 goals) despite playing in just 68 games. Meanwhile, Japers' Rink pointed out a few weeks ago that Green's defensive game might actually be underrated.
The remaining finalist is Chara, a massive 6-foot-9 defenseman that set a career-high with 19 goals this year, while also tallying 31 assists. At this year's all-star game in Montreal he set an NHL record in the hardest shot competition, clocking in at 105.4 MPH.
Despite his historic offensive campaign, Green's reputation will probably hurt him in the voting, as it's probably going to come down to Lidstrom and Chara for the top spot. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one. The winner will be announced at the NHL awards show in Las Vegas on June 18, 2009.
On Friday the league will announce the nominees for Lady Byng Trophy.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-23-2009 @ 2:18PM
Matt Saler said...
I dunno, Adam. I think all the hype Green's gotten this year indicates a major media push in his direction.
My pick's obviously Lidstrom, but I could stomach Chara since it'd mean Green didn't get it.
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4-23-2009 @ 11:35PM
Bruce Ciskie said...
If Chara doesn't win it, I'm going to throw something.
This is especially true if both Chara AND Lidstrom fail to win it.
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4-23-2009 @ 11:35PM
cboscout said...
Why not Green? People have a hard time evaluating the unique. You don't like a defenseman because he is outstanding offensively? Sorry, but it is part of the game. Until they come up with a best defensive defenseman award, offense is part of the equation for best all-around.
Green's not a classic shutdown guy, but he kills penalties and matches up for the Caps against top lines. He also has to be defended, which usually means the other isn't trying to score when he is on the ice. He also had a very good plus/minus and a way better offensive season than any active defenseman in the game HAS EVER HAD.
(And don't tell me about some of Lidstrom's awesome offensive years. The guy over at "From The Rink" is calling Green's season the 6th best offensive season for a defenseman ever. Behind four Orr seasons and one Coffey).
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4-24-2009 @ 12:51PM
d said...
So Awful that Chara got picked. Just terrible. If you go by traditional stats, he's not even the best D man on his own team (Wideman has the same points and a higher +/-).
And if you actually try to look at the player's stats through more refined measures, the top 3 come out to Mark Streit, Lidstrom and Mike Green. (Or at least Streit and Green, depends on the measure).
Chara's no where close to the other two guys or Streit. Such a freaking joke.
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