NHL Awards: Kings’ Drew Doughty wins Norris Trophy
By Leah Smith
Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman at the 2016 NHL Awards.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to top defenseman every season since 1954. The award is named after James Norris who was the President of the Detroit Red Wings from 1932-1952.
Bobby Orr holds the record for most Norris wins at eight, a feat made even more impressive because he won them consecutively. Orr is also part of an elite club of two that have won both the Norris and the Hart. The other defenseman to accomplish this feat is Chris Pronger.
After Orr, Doug Harvey and Nicklas Lindstrom have won the Norris seven times.
Drew Doughty won his first ever Norris Trophy on Wednesday night. He played in all 82 games for the Los Angeles Kings this season. Doughty scored 14 goals and added 37 assists for 51 points this season. On the defensive end, he was an impressive plus-24 on the season, the best plus/minus rating of the three finalists for the Norris this year.
The other finalists this year were P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens and Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators.
Subban won the Norris in 2013. This season, he scored 51 points in just 68 games, scoring 6 goals and adding 44 assists. He was a plus-4 on the year.
Karlsson gets recognized as the offensive force of this group, and his skill on the offensive side of the ice, is what led to his two previous Norris Trophy wins in 2012 and 2015. This season Karlsson played all 82 games for the Senators, scoring 16 goals and adding 66 assists for 82 points.
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