At least both guys are more well-rounded than some previous candidates. I really wish they'd split this award though, keep the Norris and create a new trophy for the best offensive defenseman. Anytime you're giving an award to Erik Karlsson for being the best at defense something is wrong, I don't care how many points he puts up. It's like awarding a pitcher in baseball the Cy Young for having the highest batting average. The NHL gives out an award for the best defensive forward, but nobody cares about d-men who are actually good at defense.
- Squatchy
The Norris trophy is not for being the best at defense. Your analogy is a bad one. The Norris is for the player who demonstrates the best overall ability at the position. Your post assumes that playing the defense position has nothing to do with the offensive side of the puck. That a defenseman just stays on his side of the blueline and waits for the play to come back his way so he can defend. The NHL game is now about attacking and playing with the puck. Defenseman who do that more and defend less are the best defenseman. They are better at defending simply because they do it far less. If you're defending, no matter how well you do it, you're losing.