Awards season is upon us in the NHL.
While teams are battling it out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL is also announcing nominees for the end-of-year awards. On Tuesday, the league named Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar and Zach Werenski as finalists for the Norris Trophy, given to the top defenseman in the NHL.
Hughes and Makar are no strangers to the award, having won it in 2024 and 2022, respectively. This is Werenski’s first time being named a finalist.
All three players had exceptional seasons, so who will come out on top?
Cale Makar | Colorado Avalanche
Makar finished the regular season with 92 points, the most among all defensemen. He scored 30 goals, making him just the ninth defenseman in the NHL to score at least 30 goals in a season. He also posted multiple career highs this season, including shots on goal (246), power-play goals (12) and short-handed goals (two).
This is the fifth season that Makar has been a finalist for the Norris Trophy, winning it in 2022 alongside winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche.
As of April 9, BetMGM has Makar as a heavy favorite to claim the award with -2500 odds.
Zach Werenski | Columbus Blue Jackets
Werenski is new to the Norris finalists this year, but he comes with an impressive resume. Even though the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs, Werenski did everything he could to help push the team in the right direction. He finished the season with 82 points. He averaged 26:45 of ice time and was third in shots on goal (298).
This is just the second award that Werenski has been named an award finalist. He was voted third for the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2017.
BetMGM has Werenski as the second-best odds (+900) for the Norris Trophy.
Quinn Hughes | Vancouver Canucks
Hughes won the 2024 Norris Trophy and is coming in as a second-time finalist with 76 points on the season. A variety of injuries may have slowed his progress compared to Makar and Werenski. Even with injuries, he held an average of 1.12 points per game, and is just the second defenseman in Canucks history to reach his 400th NHL point, according to NHL.com.
An injury-free Hughes may have been able to win the award for a second year in a row.
BetMGM lists Hughes as a significant underdog to claim the award (+8000).
This award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and will be announced at a later time.
