Erik Karlsson should have won the Norris Trophy last year as the NHL’s outstanding defenceman. I haven’t been particularly quiet on this issue. As I kept saying: Drew Doughty had a great season, but Karlsson had a once-in-a-generation offensive performance.
This year, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Brent Burns is going to run away with the Norris. He’s third in league scoring overall, and 12 points ahead of second-place among defencemen (excluding Thursday night’s games). That’s the biggest gap since 2013-14, when Karlsson finished 13 points ahead of second-place Duncan Keith.