Thanks to the tip from Puck Daddy, we get a glimpse into media madness, as a panel of distinguished scribes have dubbed Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson as their favorite right now to win the 2012 Norris Trophy, presumably due to his gaudy offensive stats. Per USA Today, this is how the latest voting broke down:
Top defenseman ranking: Rank Player (first-place votes) Team Position Statistics (through Feb. 28) Points 1. Erik Karlsson (6) Ottawa Senators D Defense-best 66 points 45 1. Shea Weber (2) Nashville Predators D 40 points, plus-18 rating 44 3. Zdeno Chara (2) Boston Bruins D 35 points, plus-22 rating 32 4. Nicklas Lidstrom (2) Detroit Red Wings D 31 points, plus-25 rating 31 5. Daniel Girardi New York Rangers D Plus 18, 26:59 ice time 5
Yes, they voted for a guy who gets the least amount of PK time on his team among regular defensemen. as the top blueliner in the league right now. I get the fact that he’s piled up a ton of points this year, but Karlsson’s lead in the goal-scoring race is just one (Karlsson 15, Shea Weber 14), and as Tyler Dellow is investigating, assists come in all shapes and sizes.
Just because the point totals give equal credit to goals and assists doesn’t mean that Norris Trophy voters should. Far from it.
The Norris Trophy is supposed to go to “the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position.”
Karlsson is having a fun year racking up assists, but not even his head coach thinks he’s a good defensive player.
Instead, in our latest YouTube entry, let’s talk about the real favorite here: