Once again an award that seemed like a lock for a Nashville Predators player earlier this year was announced with nary a Pred on it.
Norris Trophy finalists announced: Drew Doughty, P.K. Subban and Erik Karlsson
— EJ Hradek (@EJHradek_NHL) April 27, 2015
Shea Weber was the obvious favorite for Nashville, though Roman Josi was garnering a ton of attention as a dark horse that may have surpassed his defensive partner this year. Josi finished with 55 points (5th in the league) and skated an average of 26:28 minutes a night, fourth in the NHL.
Both were tasked with defending the toughest competition the opponent had to offer, though Weber has been under scrutiny the past few seasons because of his numbers in the analytic department. Players like Mark Giordano and Drew Doughty are tasked with the same role, and have more success in it.
At any rate, the line is drawn in the sand, and people are going to be one side of the Erik Karlsson doesn’t play defense debate or the other. Doughty was most likely the best player to play for the Los Angeles Kings, and if Carey Price didn’t play for Montreal, you could say the same thing about Subban.
Now, Weber gets a chance to heal from his gruesome injury he sustained in second game of the Chicago Blackhawks series:
Details on the injury to #Preds Captain Shea Weber —> http://t.co/KiWDdG2Yd7 pic.twitter.com/HPK3xPFlxw
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) April 27, 2015
A subluxed kneecap kept Weber out of the Chicago series, and likely would have kept him out for a while longer. It’s a very strange injury to see, but he should be able to train in a month or so.
Weber: “There’s obviously a protocol I’ve got to follow over the next 4-6 weeks, trying to get my knee back to where it needs to be.”
— Robby Stanley (@RStanley247) April 27, 2015
Weber: “It was a harmless hit. You get hit way harder than that and stuff doesn’t happen. That’s just the flukiness of it I guess.”
— Robby Stanley (@RStanley247) April 27, 2015
Weber: “I’d rather get ran and get hurt than just a fluky little thing where his leg just kind of hit the side of my knee or whatever.”
— Robby Stanley (@RStanley247) April 27, 2015
What are your thoughts on the nominees? How much did you cringe when you heard the word subluxed?