By Donny Black
We’ve finally arrived at the All-Star break in the NHL.
The first half of the season has been full of surprises, but as many avid NHL fans know, this is nothing new. As we look toward the playoffs, this is when players and teams really start to reveal themselves as contenders or pretenders. Now is the perfect time to check in on awards markets and look to uncover value.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is the annual award given to the best all-around defenseman in the NHL. Currently, oddsmakers see this as an extremely tight race between five contenders.
Here are the odds according to FanDuel:
Erik Karlsson: +240
Cale Makar: +320
Adam Fox: +450
Rasmus Dahlin: +500
Josh Morrissey: +900
I do not see this as close a race as the odds indicate. Karlsson should far and away be the favorite. Karlsson +240 is an absolute must-bet and is in the midst of one of the greatest offensive seasons by an NHL defenseman ever — he’s first in goals (16), first in assists (50), first in points (66), first in ESG (13), second in GWG (4), fifth in TOI (25:27), and has only served TEN minutes in the penalty box so far this season. With 66 points through 51 games, Karlsson has an average of 1.29 points per game and if he continues his hot play over the rest of the 82-game season, he will have an astounding 106 points.
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | SEASON | GP | G | A | P |
| 1 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 1970-71 | 78 | 37 | 102 | 139 |
| 2 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1985-86 | 79 | 48 | 90 | 138 |
| 3 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 1974-75 | 80 | 46 | 89 | 135 |
| 4 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1983-84 | 80 | 40 | 86 | 126 |
| 5 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 1973-74 | 74 | 32 | 90 | 122 |
| 6 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1984-85 | 80 | 37 | 84 | 121 |
| 7 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 1969-70 | 76 | 33 | 87 | 120 |
| 8 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 1971-72 | 76 | 37 | 80 | 117 |
| 9 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1988-89 | 75 | 30 | 83 | 113 |
| 10 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1989-90 | 80 | 29 | 74 | 103 |
Karlsson is on pace to enter into the forbidden territory of the great Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey— the top 10 point-scoring seasons in NHL History by defensemen only consist of those two names. Orr has the greatest season ever with 139 points and the tenth best is Coffey with 103. If Karlsson continues this streak he is on, eclipses the magic number of 103, and etches his name in the record books next to Orr and Coffey, he locks up this award with no questions asked.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
