The nominees for the Norris Trophy, given annually to the league's best defenceman as determined by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and Erik Karlsson was among the three finalists. This is Karlsson's third nomination, having won the trophy twice previously. The nomination was hardly a surprise, given that Karlsson played the best season of his career this year. The other two finalists were Drew Doughty of the Kings and Brent Burns of the Sharks.
It's not too strong to say that Karlsson had a generational season. There's really not much more that can be said about this year.