Norris Trophy Candidates

On Tuesday, it was the Norris Trophy candidates that were announced and I don't think this one will take much for brain surgery to figure out. So we'll run through this like I did the Vezina Trophy... least likely to the Sherpa's favourite.

Now, I'm a tad surprised to see this name on the list, but it could very well be more of a marketing move than an actual award nomination. Dion Phaneuf has been nominated for the first time for the award and probably won't be the last time either. This one just may be a tad premature. Phaneuf finished fifth in defenseman scoring with 60 points (17G, 43A), which doesn't quite rank with the top three. He finished tied for 24th in defenseman plus/minus at +12. He did, however, finish first in defenseman penalty minutes with 182. So, I guess he does have that going for him.

One of the better defensive defensemen gets his dues with his nomination. Zdeno Chara was nominated once before in 2004, but lost in the end, but it doesn't look good for the big man this year either. Chara finished tenth in defensemen scoring with 51 points (17G, 34A), 18th in plus/minus at +14 and eighth in penalty minutes with 114. It's just not going to be his year, despite being on a lesser team than his other two counterparts.

Guess who's back!?! You got that right. It's Nicklas Lidstrom. This one isn't even close when it comes to an easy choice for this trophy. First in defenseman scoring, 70 points. First in plus/minus, +40. And he only took 40 minutes in penalties. That means a lot more ice-time... 26:43 on average per game. On the power play, on the penalty kill and doesn't take many shifts off 5-on-5. He is far and away the best choice for this award and there shouldn't be much argument about it.