I don't award Norris's to players who enjoyed playing on MULTIPLE of, the most dominant teams of all time. With the all time greatest offensive forwards ever, to boot.
Nor will I consider for beat defensemen, players who stylistically, are nothing more than a 4th F. Ignoring the impact of positive defensive play is a non starter for me.
Coffey is vastly overrated. I've said this for a long time.
I guess I don't really understand this way of thinking at all. The charge that Coffey played on multiple of the most dominant teams of all time being a bad thing... isn't that, like, what players are
supposed to do? Would he impress you more if his teams had been thoroughly average? In any case, it's not really an accurate observation. When Coffey joined the Oilers, they had just finished in 16th place of 21 teams. When he was a rookie, they were .463 (and he was +5 on that team). It's not as if he joined the team and they were already great.
Sure, by 1983-84 they were a great team (though still hadn't won a Cup), but Coffey was
2nd in NHL scoring (to only Gretzky, in arguably his greatest season). He was 22 years old, and second in NHL scoring. I mean, think about that.
In the '84 Canada Cup, Coffey is remembered for a key defensive play in overtime (after a brutal gaffe by his partner, Doug Wilson), and then for the shot that won the game vs. USSR (tipped by Bossy).
In the 1985 playoffs, he hit a ridiculous level that has rarely been matched by any
player, let alone by any defenseman. 37 points in 18 games, while going +23. He was incredibly dominant against Winnipeg and Philadelphia (the latter, the League's best team and probably best defensive team). 11 points in five games in the Finals against a top defensive team? That's insane.
Like in Edmonton, when he joined Pittsburgh they were not a very good team, yet they won the Cup in 1991. I do think that his Pittsburgh years were the weakest of his 1980-1996 prime -- largely because Eddie Johnston and the Pens had no defensive system to speak of, which exacerbated Coffey's weaker points -- but even then, the Mario-led team only made the playoffs after he played his first full season there, and of course they won the Cup (though his contribution wasn't overwhelming).
He was fantastic at the 1991 Canada Cup, both offensively and defensively.
Detroit was the only team he joined (in his prime) when they were already good, but even then they were only 8 games over .500 when he joined, and they were 19 games over at season's end. The three and-and-a-bit seasons he was in Detroit, the team was 159-62-23 (.699). The (almost) three seasons prior to his joining, they were 105-83-25 (.552), and the three seasons after he was traded they were 125-81-40 (.589). They also made the Finals in 1995 for the first time in 30 years.
Next, I also don't understand the attitude that you can't be Norris-worthy if you play like a rover, or have a large offensive game. That's not how the award is defined. It's defined as being awarded to the "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest
all-round ability in the position." Note "all-round ability". It doesn't say "greatest defensive ability". Players should be judged according to their impact on goal-differential to their teams (which is what decides wins and losses), not how good they are in one specific ability. From 1981-82 through 1995-96, Coffey scored the 2nd-most points in the NHL and had the 4th-highest plus/minus. In those 15 consecutive seasons, Coffey was on the ice for 2,670 goals for and 1,703 goals against in 1,080 games, for a positive average of 72 goals per 80-game season, for fifteen consecutive seasons.
So, did that translate to wins? You bet it did. With the possible exception of Mark Messier, I don't think there is another player in those 15 years who had as much team success as Coffey:
1982 - team 2nd overall
1984 - team 1st overall / Stanley Cup
1984 - Canada Cup 1st
1985 - team 2nd overall / Stanley Cup
1986 - team 1st overall
1987 - team 1st overall / Stanley Cup
1987 - Canada Cup 1st
1991 - Stanley Cup
1991 - Canada Cup 1st
1995 - team 1st overall / Conference Champion
1996 - team 1st overall
1996 - World Cup 2nd
Coffey went to the Cup Finals with three different franchises, and his teams finished 1st overall five times with two franchises.
Anyway, I sense I'm arguing with a brick-wall here because you've already stated it's a non-starter unless we isolate defensive acumen in a vacuum. Which doesn't actually exist in hockey, but never mind that...