The NHL Needs Another Award for Defense
For the NHL awards, offense gets almost all of the representation.
Unless you’re a goalie, you’re not winning an award unless you can score a lot of points.
The National Hockey League is a league driven by goals and points. We’ve been especially seeing this since the 2005 lockout.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating offense. Goal scoring is the most important stat in the game. However, the league should do more to prop up its product. You achieve this by showcasing all of your players’ skills, not just on one side of the ice.
For today, we’re going to talk about the other side of the blue line and why one more trophy won’t hurt the NHL.
The Norris Trophy Award is Deceiving
Yes. The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to the best defenseman, as voted by the voters. But this award is only given to defensemen who play offensively. Historically, it’s always been that way, with 37 of 64 total winners leading in points. Over the last eight years, all but one Norris recipient was the points leader amongst blue liners for those respective seasons.
It’s not an award to take too seriously since it’s not awarded to somebody who can put the defense in defenseman. The NHL would look a lot better if they have an award for both offensive and defensive defensemen. Have your Norris recipient go to someone who plays more offense, like Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. Have an award, and name it after (maybe) Detroit Red Wings great Niklas Lidstrom, and give it to somebody who plays a 200-foot game like Heiskanen or strictly defense like Tanev.
Defense is Good – If You’re a Forward
There is an annual award for the best defensive forward, the Frank J Selke trophy. Where forwards are celebrated for playing defense, yet the Norris trophy is never given to defensemen who play great defense. Defensemen like Jacob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes, and of course, Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars, aren’t your award winners.
Not even blue liners who play a straight defense like Chris Tanev of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who’s also a former Star, would ever win the trophy.
Offense Sells
Scoring goals is what drives up ratings and attention. This is why the awards are mostly centered on offensive output, just like what you see on the ice. With the Hart, Art Ross, Maurice Rocket Richard, and Ted Lindsay trophies, they’re usually won by forwards. Sometimes with one forward winning multiple of those awards. Offense brings the ratings on and off the ice.
Still, it’s also a good idea to market your game to its fullest value. Many hockey fans appreciate the sense and blue-collar side of the puck, too. Guys who excel in penalty killing, blocked shots, and hits. Having two awards for the defensive position would make the league appear more competitive.
If you can have two different awards for a forward, then you can have the same for a defenseman.
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Categorized:Stars Unique Column