John Carlson, Victor Hedman and Roman Josi were named finalists for the Norris Trophy on Monday.The award, voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, is given annually to the best defenseman in the NHL. The winner will be announced during the conference finals.
Carlson led defensemen in assists (60) and points (75), each an NHL career high, and tied his high with 15 goals in 69 games for the Washington Capitals before the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He averaged 1.09 points per game to become the first NHL defenseman since Ray Bourque (1.26), Sergei Zubov (1.14) and Al MacInnins (1.09) in 1993-94 to average more than one point per game for a season. Carlson averaged 24:38 of ice time per game, was first among defensemen in game-winning goals with six and second in power-play points with 26, and had 108 blocked shots and a plus-12 rating.
Carlson helped the Capitals to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-20-8, .652 points percentage) and a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons. Washington will play in the round-robin portion of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers against the Boston Bruins (.714), Tampa Bay Lightning (.657) and Philadelphia Flyers (.645) to determine the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Carlson would be the second Capitals player to win the Norris Trophy and first since Rod Langway, who won it in back-to-back seasons (1982-83, 1983-84).
Video: John Carlson staking claim for Norris Trophy Tracker
Hedman finished third among defensemen behind Carlson and Josi with 55 points (11 goals, 44 assists) in 66 games for the Lightning. He was plus-27 (fourth among defensemen) and had 98 blocked shots and 47 takeaways. He averaged 24:04 of ice time per game.
A Norris finalist for the third straight season, Hedman won the award in 2017-18 and finished third last season. Tampa Bay finished 43-21-6 and clinched a playoff berth for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Josi set NHL career highs in goals (16), assists (49) and points (65) for the Nashville Predators, ranking second among defensemen in each category. He was third in the League in average ice time per game (25:47) and had 23 power-play points, 108 blocked shots and a plus-22 rating in 69 games. A first-time Norris finalist, Josi would be the first Predators player to win the award.
Nashville (35-26-8, .565) will enter the Qualifiers as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will play the No. 11 seed, the Arizona Coyotes (33-29-8, .529), in one of eight best-of-5 series, with the winner advancing to the playoffs and the loser having a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery on Aug. 10.
Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano won the Norris Trophy last season.
The 2020 NHL Awards were scheduled for June 18 in Las Vegas but were postponed March 25.
