Top Candidates for Norris Trophy in 2024-25

Top Candidates for Norris Trophy in 2024-25

The NHL season will get underway in a little over a month so let’s talk about some odds for the individual awards. The Norris Trophy is awarded to the NHL’s top defenseman. Last season, Quinn Hughes from Vancouver won the award.

Let’s take a look at this year’s top candidates with the favorite, my pick and longshot with odds from Draft Kings.

Favorite: Cale Makar, Colorado +250

Makar finished third in the voting last season and is the favorite. He already has won a Norris Trophy in the 2021-23 season. Last season, he scored 21 goals and dished out 60 assists for 90 points. He also had five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in the playoffs.

My pick: Roman Josi, Nashville +1200

The lefty from Nashville had 23 goals and 62 assists for 85 points last season. Josi won his first Norris Trophy in 2019-20 when he scored 16 goals and 49 assists for 65 points in 69 games. He also recorded four assists in four games in the playoffs. Josi is not just a strong offensive player, but he also is tremendous defensively. His 85 points last season ranked third in the NHL for defenseman. He is usually in the thick of things when it comes to scoring by defensemen.

Longshot: Charlie McAvoy, Boston +2000

The 26-year-old has already played in seven full seasons. He hasn’t been a big goal scorer for the Bruins, but last season, had his biggest season in terms of goals with 12 along with 35 assists for 47 points. That was in 74 goals and his issue is that he’s played 74 or more games just twice in seven seasons. In the 2021-22 season, he was finished in the top five in the Norris voting for the second straight season. He had three straight top 10s and then had shoulder surgery in June of 2022 and he missed part of the 2022-23 season. Expect him to be healthy and continue to increase his offensive production. On defense, he's widely considered one of the best in the game.