One of the biggest controversies surrounding the 2023 National Hockey League Awards on Monday from Nashville, Tennessee was the fact that San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson of Landsbro, Sweden won the Norris Trophy. There is no debating Karlsson’s phenomenal offensive statistics. He became only the fifth Norris Trophy winner of all-time to record a minimum of 100 points in a season. Karlsson had 25 goals and 76 assists for 101 points.
Where the debate lies is Karlsson’s overall defensive play, which was simply awful. Karlsson was a -26 and had 101 giveaways. He had the same number of giveaways as he had points, which should have significantly decreased the value of Karlsson’s offensive numbers. However, that was not the case for the Norris Trophy voters, who chose Karlsson over previous Norris Trophy winners, Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, and Adam Fox of the New York Rangers.
Who had the previous worst plus/minus for a Norris Trophy Winner?
Randy Carlyle of Sudbury, Ontario had the previous worst plus/minus for a Norris Trophy winner. He was a -16 with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he received the honour in 1980-81.
Who were the other four Norris Trophy winners with 100 points in a season?
The four Norris Trophy winners in NHL history with 100 points in a season were Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins, Denis Potvin of the New York Islanders, Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers, and Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers. Orr of Parry Sound, Ontario had 120 points in 1969-70, 139 points in 1970-71, 117 points in 1971-72, 101 points in 1972-73, 122 points in 1973-74, and 135 points in 1974-75. Potvin of Ottawa, Ontario had 101 points in 1978-79. Coffey of Weston, Ontario had 121 points in 1984-85, and 138 points in 1985-86. Leetch of Corpus Christi, Texas had 102 points in 1991-92.
Was Anze Kopitar also not deserving?
When it came to the Lady Byng Trophy, the fact that Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings won the award was a surprise. That is because Brayden Point of Calgary, Alberta only took one minor penalty (compared to 20 penalty minutes for Kopitar), and had 21 more points than Kopitar. Point simply deserved the Lady Byng Trophy more.
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