UPDATE: Paul MacLean falls just short of the Jack Adams Trophy, bested by Ken Hitchcock of the St. Louis Blues.
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One day after inking a seven-year. $45.5M contract to stay with the Ottawa Senators long-term, Erik Karlsson was announced as the James Norris Memorial Trophy winner for the 2011-2012 season, besting all-world blue liners in Shea Weber(Nashville) and Zdeno Chara(Boston).
As Joe Haggerty of CSSNE eloquently put it: Offensive defensemen, rejoice!
From start to finish, Erik Karlsson was the league's most dynamic rearguard. On every shift, Erik Karlsson had the potential of single-handedly changing the complexion of a game. At the end of his eighty-one game campaign, Karlsson had racked up a jaw-dropping seventy-eight points (19G/59A), twenty-five ahead of the nearest competitors in Dustin Byfuglien(Winnipeg) and Brian Campbell(Florida).
The offensive wizardry of Karlsson has been noted since his selection 15th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft, but it was Paul MacLean's puck-possession system that really let him take off. When Karlsson was on the ice, the game ran through him. And when he was on the ice, the Ottawa Senators were at their best.
It should be noted that Karlsson wasn't just a point-machine, though -- his improvements on the defensive end made him a worthy Norris Trophy candidate. Although not the most physically impressive blue liner, Karlsson terrorized tough competition with his elite speed and brilliant possession play, erasing the doubt once-held about his future as a two-way player.
The dreaded plus/minus measurement isn't the go-to hockey analytic for quality of defensive play, but at the very least, his forty-six point swing (from -30 to +16) has to account for something.
At the end of the day, voters recognized just how dominant Erik Karlsson was -- and for that, they should be commended. Forget his shortage of PK TOI relative to Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara. When Erik Karlsson was on the ice, the team was elite. When he wasn't, the team wasn't. In short-order, Karlsson's changed the face of the position, giving high-end puck movers and scorers some much-deserved recognition.
And, all of it came without sacrificing anything defensively on even strength. The main reason Karlsson was never a liability this season defensively? The other team never had the puck. So, while Shea Weber, Zdeno Chara, and plenty of others were destroying cats at the blue line, Karlsson was already starting the offensive zone cycle, creating scoring opportunities for his team. The best defense, after all, is offense.
In fairness, humor extraordinaire DownGoesBrown drew it up better than I did:
Erik Karlsson is not the guy I would want out there in the final minute defending a lead my team had because of Erik Karlsson.
Did I mention he's twenty-two years old? A fresh twenty-two? Sky is the limit for this kid.
I'll end with this final nugget:
Erik Karlsson is the youngest winner of the award since Denis Potvin won the first of his three Norris Trophies in 1976.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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