NHL player calls out the NHL to implement one specific new trophy

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Joshua Deeds
November 25, 2023 (10:23 PM)

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Defenceman is often considered an undervalued position on a roster in the NHL. Yet, many defensemen who fit the standard of old, reliable, at-home defensemen desire recognition.

They want their contributions to be valued the same as those of the defenseman who wins the Norris Trophy every year.

An offensive defenseman, such as Erik Karlsson, is generally more popular than a tough-as-nails defenseman.

"That aspect blows my mind. There's a defensive forward award, but none for the defensemen." - Marc-Édouard Vlasic

"That's really dated. That's something that should be on the table. There are so many defensive defensemen around the league that keep their whole team together, and they don't get enough recognition around the league." - Mattias Ekholm.

An article published by The Athletic discussed the changing roles of defensemen in the NHL today, and several defensemen agreed that the NHL should recognize their contributions with a yearly award.

Marc-Édouard Vlasic thinks it's «illogical» the NHL doesn't have an award to recognize the best defensive defenceman. Mattias Ekholm called it «ludicrous.»

Is it time to start handing out two trophies to blueliners at the end of seasons?

My feature:

As we've discussed, the Norris Trophy already recognizes defensemen, but usually a two-way player. It would be nice to have another trophy for defensive defensemen. The Norris Trophy has been primarily an award for defenseman posting numbers, a forward usually would and no one could accuse Erik Karlsson of being a reliable defenseman, despite posting 101 points last season.

The Penguins are 1 for 20 on the power play in their past eight games.

Their lone goal over that stretch came in a 4-0 home win against the Sabres on Nov. 11.

Erik Karlsson was credited with a goal when Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson tipped a pass attempt into his own net:

In order to recognize these different styles of defensemen, even Barry Trotz believes there should be two awards.

"There almost should be (two awards). The Norris Trophy these days is probably a little more on points and production than it is on guys that can really play a defensive, solid game. Erik Karlsson got 100 points last year, but I don't think anyone would say he's a true defending defenseman. He's a modern offensive defenseman, which is part of (the game)."

With the growing chorus asking for change, it'll be interesting to see how Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors respond to the calls for a new award to honor the best defenders in the league.

As Seen On: houseofhockey.net