The James Norris trophy is one of the most prestigious awards handed out at the end of each NHL regular season, and it’s awarded to the defender who demonstrates the greatest all-around ability in the position throughout the season.
Despite the award being handed out a total of 62 times, just 26 different players have won it.
Let’s look into the coveted award and how it could benefit your NHL betting.
History of the James Norris Trophy
James Norris was the owner of the Detroit Red Wings between 1932-1952 and was first awarded to Red Kelly of the Red Wings in 1953. The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association each season. Each voter picks their top five and dedicates points from 1st (10 points) to 5th (1 point). When the points are tallied up at the end, the winner with the most points receives the trophy.
Barry Orr won the trophy a record 8 times throughout his 13-year career (very impressive) while two other players have won it on several occasions (Doug Harvey and Nicklas Lidstrom). Not only did Orr win it on 8 occasions, every award came consecutively between 1968 and 1975.
Ray Bourque won the trophy on five occasions but was inside the top three a further ten times throughout his 22 years as an NHL player from 1979 to 2001.
The Boston Bruins have seen a player on their roster awarded the trophy a record 14 times, with the Montreal Canadiens coming in with the second most wins having seen one of their players win it on 12 occasions.
What Lessons We Learned From Recent Winners
Early in the trophy’s history, many of the winners came consecutively and most were awarded to the same players, as just 9 players had won the trophy after 27 years. The next 27 years from 1980 up until 2007 saw it diversify a little more, as there were 14 different winners.
The final 16 years have seen NHL defenders get much better at showing off their ability, and it has shown, as we have seen an eye-watering 12 different winners in that period, with last year’s winner Erik Karlsson now topping the list for the most wins since 2007, having been awarded the trophy on three separate occasions (twice for the Ottawa Senators and once for the San Jose Sharks).
Although the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens have seen the most winners of the trophy, each team has only had a winner once in the previous 16 seasons, further proving how diverse the league’s defenders have become.
Defenders don’t have to be on the best teams anymore to become eligible to win the trophy, as San Jose finished with the 4th worst record in the league last season. Cale Makar won it the previous year with the Colorado Avalanche having had the 2nd best record, and Adam Fox won it in 2021 with the NY Rangers failing to make the playoffs, having had the 16th-best record in the league.
Essentially, it’s best to ignore how good a team is, or how many wins they have under their belt when looking at who could potentially win this award each season, especially these days when the award is handed out on individual merit. Not that it wasn’t done so in the past, but these days there are just so many strong players in the league, and not all of them are going to be playing with the best teams.
Who Are the Favorites to Win the Trophy in 2023-24
The favorites to win the trophy this season at BetOnline (check our BetOnline Review) are currently:
- Quinn Hughes (Vancouver) +120
- Cale Makar (Colorado) +150
- Evan Bouchard (Edmonton) +1500
With the Vancouver Canucks on fire this season, it’s easy to see why Quinn Hughes is such a short favorite with the sportsbooks at the minute as he is a major contributor to their success this season and thus far is the top defensive points scorer in the league.
Hot on his tail is the 2021 winner Cale Makar, at just +150 odds he is another short favorite. Both Hughes and Makar currently have 52 points scored this season. The 3rd overall in the market, Evan Bouchard, has scored 42 points but is a massive +1500 as we can see.
It’s unlikely that Bouchard will win the award this season bar something drastic happens, and currently, we believe it’s a toss of a coin between Hughes and Makar.
