Norris trophy winners and the change in D-men handedness

[overpass]

Anyone who has followed the NHL in the last 20 years has noticed the trend to have defencemen playing their strong side as often as possible. I took a look at Norris winners going back to 1959-60 to see if we can find any trends in who is winning Norris trophies and what type of pairings they played on with respect to handedness.

I used the method outlined in the threads below, using game-by-game plus-minus correlation, to identify the primary even-strength partner of each season's Norris trophy winner.

D-partners of the greats

Using the game-by-game plus-minus correlation method I outlined here, I'm going to go through the careers of some of the great defencemen from 1960 to 2000 and identify who their defence partners were. Starting with the great Bobby Orr. I'm bolding anything about 0.7 as more-or-less a full...

forums.hfboards.com

Identifying D-partners with game by game plus-minus

Here's a statistical method for identifying which defencemen played together at even strength, using historical game log plus-minus data which goes back to 1959-60. It's most useful for historical seasons for which we don't have any ice-time data on which players played together. It's...

forums.hfboards.com

For any LHS-RHS pairings, I assumed the LHS is on the left side and the RHS is on the right side. For any LHS-LHS-pairings, I checked some video from those seasons until I was satisfied about which partner played the left side and which played the right.

LHS-LHS
From 1959-60 through 1975-76, 16 of 17 Norris trophies were won by an LHS defenceman playing the right side in an LHS-LHS pairing. These included Bobby Orr x8, Doug Harvey x3, Pierre Pilote x3, Harry Howell, and Denis Potvin. The very best defencemen were deployed on their off side. Was it because it gave them an offensive advantage? Because they could best overcome the defensive handicap of playing on their off side? Or both?

From 1976-77 through 1993-94, 7 of 18 Norris trophies were won by an an LHS defenceman playing the right side in an LHS-LHS pairing. 5 of these went to Ray Bourque, and the other two to Denis Potvin in 77-78 and Robinson in 79-80. Potvin would move to the left side after this season, and Robinson had previously played the left side before playing more on the right side in the 80s.

Chris Pronger (99-00) and Scott Niedermayer (03-04) were the last hurrah for LHS on the right side. Since Niedermayer's 2004 Norris win, no defenceman has won the Norris trophy playing on his off side.

Season	Norris winner	Shoots	Side	Partner	Partner correlation	Partner shoots	Partner side	Partner stats	Partner Accolades
1960​	Doug Harvey	LHS	RD	Junior Langlois	0.73​	LHS	LD	67-1-14-15
1961​	Doug Harvey	LHS	RD	Junior Langlois	0.86​	LHS	LD	61-1-12-13
1962​	Doug Harvey	LHS	RD	Junior Langlois	0.85​	LHS	LD	69-7-18-25
1963​	Pierre Pilote	LHS	RD	Moose Vasko	0.69​	LHS	LD	64-4-9-13	AS-2, Norris-4
1964​	Pierre Pilote	LHS	RD	Moose Vasko	0.74​	LHS	LD	70-2-18-20	AS-2, Norris 3
1965​	Pierre Pilote	LHS	RD	Moose Vasko	0.83​	LHS	LD	69-1-10-11
1967​	Harry Howell	LHS	RD	Arnie Brown	0.92​	LHS	LD	69-2-10-12	Norris-10
1968​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Dallas Smith	0.30​	LHS	LD	74-4-23-27
1969​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Dallas Smith	0.84​	LHS	LD	75-4-24-28
1970​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Don Awrey	0.72​	LHS	LD	73-3-10-13
1971​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Dallas Smith	0.78​	LHS	LD	73-7-38-45
1972​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Rick Smith	0.74​	LHS	LD	78-3-16-19
1973​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Don Awrey	0.54​	LHS	LD	78-2-17-19
1974​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Al Sims	0.75​	LHS	LD	77-3-9-12
1975​	Bobby Orr	LHS	RD	Dallas Smith	0.56​	LHS	LD	79-3-20-23
1976​	Denis Potvin	LHS	RD	Gerry Hart	0.50​	LHS	LD	80-6-18-24
1978​	Denis Potvin	LHS	RD	Dave Lewis	0.57​	LHS	LD	77-3-11-14	AS-16
1980​	Larry Robinson	LHS	RD	Rod Langway	0.41​	LHS	LD	77-7-29-36	AS-9
1987​	Ray Bourque	LHS	RD	Mike Milbury	0.68​	LHS	LD	68-6-16-22
1988​	Ray Bourque	LHS	RD	Gord Kluzak	0.75​	LHS	LD	66-6-31-37
1990​	Ray Bourque	LHS	RD	Glen Wesley	0.36​	LHS	LD	78-9-27-36
1991​	Ray Bourque	LHS	RD	Jim Wiemer	0.40​	LHS	LD	61-4-19-23
1994​	Ray Bourque	LHS	RD	Don Sweeney	0.65​	LHS	LD	75-6-15-21
2000​	Chris Pronger	LHS	RD	Todd Reirden	0.59​	LHS	LD	56-4-21-25
2004​	Scott Niedermayer	LHS	RD	Colin White	0.64​	LHS	LD	75-2-11-13

LHS-LHS

9 of the 63 Norris trophies since 1959-60 have gone to as LHS defenceman playing the left side, with an LHS partner playing the right side. There are relatively spread through history, with 3 of the 9 going to Paul Coffey. Mark Giordano has recently won a Norris trophy in this configuration.

Season	Norris winner	Shoots	Side	Partner	Partner correlation	Partner shoots	Partner side	Partner stats	Partner Accolades
1966​	Jacques Laperriere	LHS	LD	J.C. Tremblay	0.89​	LHS	RD	60-6-29-35	Norris-4
1977​	Larry Robinson	LHS	LD	Serge Savard	0.63​	LHS	RD	78-9-33-42	AS-5, Norris-5
1982​	Doug Wilson	LHS	LD	Dave Hutchison	0.67​	LHS	RD	66-5-18-23
1985​	Paul Coffey	LHS	LD	Charlie Huddy	0.92​	LHS	RD	80-7-44-51	AS-12
1986​	Paul Coffey	LHS	LD	Charlie Huddy	0.82​	LHS	RD	76-6-35-41
1995​	Paul Coffey	LHS	LD	Nicklas Lidstrom	0.74​	LHS	RD	43-10-16-26
2006​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Andreas Lilja	0.59​	LHS	RD	82-2-13-15
2011​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Brad Stuart	59%​	LHS	RD	67-3-17-20
2019​	Mark Giordano	LHS	LD	TJ Brodie	78%​	LHS	RD	64-4-15-19

LHS-RHS

If you've followed along above, you've realized no defenceman won a Norris trophy as part of an LHS-RHS pairing from 1959-60 through 1977-78. Finally, in 1978-79, Al Arbour moved Denis Potvin primarily to the left side at even strength, and he broke this streak while partnered with rookie RHS Bob Lorimer. For the 22 seasons from 78-79 through 99-00, the Norris trophy went to an LHS partnered with an RHS 6 times. Twice to Rod Langway, twice to Brian Leetch, once to Potvin, and once to Randy Carlyle.

Since Nicklas Lidstrom started winning Norris trophies in 2000-01, the Norris has gone to an LHS in an LHS-RHS pairing 10 out of 22 times. 5 times to Lidstrom, Duncan Keith x2, Zdeno Chara, Victor Hedman, and Roman Josi. Quinn Hughes is likely to join this group at the end of the 23-24 season.

Season	Norris winner	Shoots	Side	Partner	Partner correlation	Partner shoots	Partner side	Partner stats	Partner Accolades
1979​	Denis Potvin	LHS	LD	Bob Lorimer	0.64​	RHS	RD	67-3-18-21
1981​	Randy Carlyle	LHS	LD	Mario Faubert	0.80​	RHS	RD	72-8-44-52
1983​	Rod Langway	LHS	LD	Randy Holt	0.53​	RHS	RD	70-0-8-8
1984​	Rod Langway	LHS	LD	Larry Murphy	0.75​	RHS	RD	78-13-36-49
1992​	Brian Leetch	LHS	LD	Jeff Beukeboom	0.70​	RHS	RD	74-1-15-16
1997​	Brian Leetch	LHS	LD	Jeff Beukeboom	0.84​	RHS	RD	80-3-9-12
2001​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Mathieu Dandenault	0.51​	RHS	RD	73-10-15-25
2002​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Fredrik Olausson	0.43​	RHS	RD	47-2-13-15
2003​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Mathieu Dandenault	0.71​	RHS	RD	74-4-15-19
2007​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Danny Markov	0.64​	RHS	RD	66-4-12-16
2008​	Nicklas Lidstrom	LHS	LD	Brian Rafalski	65%​	RHS	RD	73-13-42-55	AS-9, Norris-9
2009​	Zdeno Chara	LHS	LD	Aaron Ward	49%​	RHS	RD	65-3-7-10
2010​	Duncan Keith	LHS	LD	Brent Seabrook	71%​	RHS	RD	78-4-26-30	AS-10, Norris-13
2014​	Duncan Keith	LHS	LD	Brent Seabrook	86%​	RHS	RD	82-7-34-41	AS-17, Norris-18
2018​	Victor Hedman	LHS	LD	Jake Dotchin	35%​	RHS	RD	48-3-8-11
2020​	Roman Josi	LHS	LD	Ryan Ellis	57%​	RHS	RD	49-8-30-38

LHS-RHS
There is one all-but-universal law of defenceman handedness, and it is this: A RHS defenceman will always be paired with an LHS defenceman. The Norris trophy winners have followed this law.

Oddly enough, no RHS defencemen ever won the Norris trophy until Chris Chelios did so for the 88-89 season. And now 8 of the past 12 Norris trophies have gone to RHS, including 3 to Erik Karlsson.

If you go back before the Norris trophy was established, there were great RHS defencemen who might well have won the trophy had it existed, including Eddie Shore (a lock), Earl Seibert, Dit Clapper, and Butch Bouchard.

Season	Norris winner	Shoots	Side	Partner	Partner correlation	Partner shoots	Partner side	Partner stats	Partner Accolades
1989​	Chris Chelios	RHS	RD	Craig Ludwig	0.85​	LHS	LD	74-3-13-16	AS-16, Norris-13
1993​	Chris Chelios	RHS	RD	Steve Smith	0.61​	LHS	LD	78-10-47-57	AS-14
1996​	Chris Chelios	RHS	RD	Keith Carney	0.64​	LHS	LD	82-5-14-19
1998​	Rob Blake	RHS	RD	Mattias Norstrom	0.44​	LHS	LD	73-1-12-13
1999​	Al MacInnis	RHS	RD	Ricard Persson	0.41​	LHS	LD	54-1-12-13
2012​	Erik Karlsson	RHS	RD	Filip Kuba	69%​	LHS	LD	73-6-26-32	AS-21
2013​	PK Subban	RHS	RD	Josh Gorges	49%​	LHS	LD	48-2-7-9
2015​	Erik Karlsson	RHS	RD	Marc Methot	44%​	LHS	LD	45-1-10-11
2016​	Drew Doughty	RHS	RD	Brayden McNabb	62%​	LHS	LD	81-2-12-14
2017​	Brent Burns	RHS	RD	Paul Martin	75%​	LHS	LD	81-4-22-26
2021​	Adam Fox	RHS	RD	Ryan Lindgren	68%​	LHS	LD	51-1-15-16
2022​	Cale Makar	RHS	RD	Devon Toews	56%​	LHS	LD	66-13-44-57	AS-8, Norris-8
2023​	Erik Karlsson	RHS	RD	Jaycob Megna	38%​	LHS	LD	54-1-11-12

Click to read more...

 

[Michael Farkas]

The very best defencemen were deployed on their off side. Was it because it gave them an offensive advantage? Because they could best overcome the defensive handicap of playing on their off side? Or both?

This is really interesting and really good work.

There's a puck carrying advantage that can be gleaned with a stick in the interior. You also have the interior shot - as we know, you need some production to win the Norris, generally. Usually elite, Norris winning defensemen have a combination of skating and smarts that allows them to play a more aggressive style (not to say "aggressive" like Radko Gudas, but someone that dictates the play, as opposed to letting the game play them). So, having to eat pucks/puck battles flat footed on the offensive blue line or having to go off the wall/glass to exit the zone in a tough spot is less likely to happen to these players. They're likely "ahead" of those plays more often than not, which entitles them to more ice, which entitles them to more options.

Weaker players almost always have to be put on their strong side for exactly the converse reasons as above. The tendency for coaches in the O6 era to structure defense pairings as 1-4, 2-3 (in terms of d-man quality) factors in here (e.g. Al Langlois-Doug Harvey).

 

[overpass]

I should add that it's not as if the value of having LHS-RHS pairings is a recent innovation. The Leafs knew this for years. 9 of their 10 Stanley Cup winners from 1932 to 1967 had two LHS-RHS pairings, and the one exception was in the war year of 1945. Their great teams of the distant past always had strong RHS defenders like Red Horner, Bob Goldham, Jimmy Thomson, Bill Barilko, Fern Flaman, Tim Horton, and Bob Baun.

But no Toronto player has ever won the Norris trophy, so they don't show up in the tables above.

On the other hand, the Montreal Canadiens won a lot of Stanley Cups with their best LHS defencemen playing the right side, including Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson, J.C. Tremblay, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and Larry Robinson. Some of them started on the left side and moved over to the right as veterans. The Habs' only prominent RHS defenceman between Butch Bouchard and Chris Chelios, over nearly 30 years and 15 Stanley Cup championships, was Terry Harper.

Clearly there's more than one way to success.

 

[Doctor Coffin]

A couple of Chicago-specific minor items. As I recall it, Chris Chelios primary defensive partner in 1995-96 was LH defenseman, Gary Suter, and in 1981-82, Bob Murray (RH) was usually playing with Doug Wilson, when he (Murray) was not injured.

 

[overpass]

A couple of Chicago-specific minor items. As I recall it, Chris Chelios primary defensive partner in 1995-96 was LH defenseman, Gary Suter, and in 1981-82, Bob Murray (RH) was usually playing with Doug Wilson, when he (Murray) was not injured.

I appreciate the feedback and the memories!

Respectfully, in this case, I think the numbers disagree with your recollection about Wilson and Murray. For 81-82, Murray's game-by-game plus-minus tracks very closely with Greg Fox's. And Wilson's tracks with Hutchison's for most of the season, but it looks like Keith Brown also played with Wilson at times.

Bob Murray and Greg Fox, 1981-82

B. Murray	Fox
Game	Date	+/-	+/-
1	1981-10-07	2	2
2	1981-10-10	-4	-3
3	1981-10-11	3	2
4	1981-10-14	-2	-1
5	1981-10-17	-1	-1
6	1981-10-18	3	1
7	1981-10-21	0	0
8	1981-10-23	0	-1
9	1981-10-25	1	1
10	1981-10-28	0	0
11	1981-10-31	0	0
12	1981-11-01	2	1
13	1981-11-04	-2	0
14	1981-11-06	2	2
15	1981-11-08	1	-1
16	1981-11-11	-2	-2
17	1981-11-14	-4	-3
18	1981-11-15	2	1
19	1981-11-18	0	0
20	1981-11-21	2	2
21	1981-11-22	0	0
22	1981-11-25	-2	-3
23	1981-11-27	-3	-4
24	1981-11-28	0	1
25	1981-12-02	0	0
26	1981-12-05	-1	-1
27	1981-12-09	3	5
28	1981-12-12	-1	-1
29	1981-12-13	3	3
30	1981-12-16	-2	-1
31	1981-12-19	3	2
32	1981-12-20	0	-1
68	1982-03-07	0	2
69	1982-03-10	-1	-1
70	1982-03-11	0	-1
71	1982-03-13	-2	-2
72	1982-03-18	1	1
73	1982-03-20	0	-1
75	1982-03-24	2	3
76	1982-03-27	-1	-1
77	1982-03-28	0	0
78	1982-03-31	-2	-1
79	1982-04-03	1	2
80	1982-04-04	1	1

Doug Wilson and Dave Hutchison, 1981-82

D. Wilson	Hutchison
Game	Date	+/-	+/-
5	1981-10-17	-1	-1
7	1981-10-21	-1	0
11	1981-10-31	0	-1
12	1981-11-01	0	0
13	1981-11-04	3	2
14	1981-11-06	-1	-1
15	1981-11-08	4	3
16	1981-11-11	0	0
17	1981-11-14	1	2
18	1981-11-15	3	2
19	1981-11-18	0	1
20	1981-11-21	2	1
21	1981-11-22	0	0
22	1981-11-25	-2	-3
31	1981-12-19	-1	0
32	1981-12-20	-1	1
34	1981-12-26	2	1
35	1981-12-27	1	2
36	1981-12-29	-2	-2
37	1981-12-30	-2	-2
38	1982-01-02	-1	0
39	1982-01-03	2	-1
40	1982-01-06	0	5
41	1982-01-09	1	3
42	1982-01-10	0	-1
43	1982-01-13	1	0
44	1982-01-16	-2	-2
45	1982-01-17	0	0
46	1982-01-20	1	-1
47	1982-01-22	2	0
48	1982-01-23	-1	-1
49	1982-01-25	0	3
50	1982-01-27	0	0
51	1982-01-30	1	-1
52	1982-01-31	-1	0
53	1982-02-03	5	2
54	1982-02-04	0	-1
55	1982-02-06	0	0
56	1982-02-07	2	4
57	1982-02-11	-2	-1
58	1982-02-13	-1	-1
59	1982-02-15	-2	-1
60	1982-02-17	0	-1
61	1982-02-21	1	0
62	1982-02-23	0	0
63	1982-02-24	-3	-1
64	1982-02-27	1	1
65	1982-02-28	0	0
66	1982-03-03	-1	-2
67	1982-03-06	1	2
68	1982-03-07	1	1
69	1982-03-10	-1	-1
70	1982-03-11	-1	0
71	1982-03-13	-1	-1
72	1982-03-18	-3	-3
73	1982-03-20	1	0
74	1982-03-22	-2	-1
75	1982-03-24	-1	-1
76	1982-03-27	0	0
77	1982-03-28	-3	-3
79	1982-04-03	0	-1
80	1982-04-04	2	1

This is just looking at even-strength play - I know Wilson and Murray played together on the power play, and maybe also while shorthanded. And I have Wilson and Murray as full-season regular partners in 82-83 and 83-84, and in 84-85 and 85-86 Murray and Jack O'Callahan both spent time playing with Wilson.

The scoring logs also show that Wilson combined on 8 EV points with Hutchison that season, and 0 with Murray.

Date	Tm	Opp	P	Time	▼	Description
1981-11-04	CBH	LAK	2	0:53	EV	Goal by Doug Wilson, assisted by Rich Preston and Dave Hutchison
1981-11-04	CBH	LAK	3	6:23	EV	Goal by Denis Savard, assisted by Doug Wilson and Dave Hutchison
1982-02-03	CBH	STL	1	10:31	EV	Goal by Doug Wilson, assisted by Grant Mulvey and Dave Hutchison
1982-02-03	CBH	STL	2	18:10	EV	Goal by Dave Hutchison, assisted by Denis Savard and Doug Wilson
1982-02-17	CBH	BUF	1	7:39	EV	Goal by Dave Hutchison, assisted by Doug Wilson and Reg Kerr
1982-02-28	CBH	@	CLR	2	14:28	EV	Goal by Tom Lysiak, assisted by Doug Wilson and Dave Hutchison
1982-03-10	CBH	@	TOR	1	9:19	EV	Goal by Doug Wilson, assisted by Tim Higgins and Dave Hutchison
1982-03-13	CBH	@	QUE	3	2:19	EV	Goal by Doug Wilson, assisted by Tom Lysiak and Dave Hutchison

For Chelios in 95-96, I agree that Suter and Chelios played together at even strength, but give Carney the slight edge for the full season as the EV partner for Chelios. Based on the game-by game plus-minus numbers, I have Chelios and Suter as regular partners from the beginning of the season through about December 17.

Chris Chelios and Gary Suter, 1995-96

Chelios	Suter
Game	Date	+/-	+/-
1	1995-10-07	1	1
2	1995-10-10	-2	-2
3	1995-10-12	1	1
4	1995-10-14	1	0
5	1995-10-15	1	1
6	1995-10-17	3	2
7	1995-10-19	-2	-2
8	1995-10-21	1	1
9	1995-10-22	1	1
10	1995-10-26	0	0
11	1995-10-28	-1	-2
12	1995-10-29	2	1
13	1995-11-01	1	1
14	1995-11-05	-3	-3
15	1995-11-09	0	1
16	1995-11-11	1	1
17	1995-11-12	0	0
18	1995-11-14	-2	-1
19	1995-11-16	2	2
20	1995-11-19	-1	0
21	1995-11-22	0	1
22	1995-11-24	2	1
23	1995-11-26	2	1
24	1995-11-28	2	0
25	1995-11-29	0	1
26	1995-12-02	0	0
27	1995-12-06	1	1
28	1995-12-07	-2	-2
29	1995-12-10	1	0
30	1995-12-13	-2	-2
31	1995-12-15	-2	-2
32	1995-12-17	0	0

Then he played a few games with his old partner Steve Smith for a brief period while Smith was in the lineup.

Chris Chelios and Steve Smith, 1995-96

Chelios	S. Smith
Game	Date	+/-	+/-
33	1995-12-20	0	0
34	1995-12-21	0	-1
35	1995-12-23	0	0
36	1995-12-26	3	4
37	1995-12-28	1	0
38	1995-12-29	-1	-1
39	1995-12-31	2	1

And for the second half of the season, Carney-Chelios was the main pairing. With occasional exceptions, like the March 11 game against Florida when Chelios and Cam Russell were both +4 and likely played together. Or March 31, when Steve Smith was back in the lineup and was +2 to go with Chelios' +3.

Chris Chelios and Keith Carney, 1995-96

Chelios	Carney
Game	Date	+/-	+/-
40	1996-01-02	2	3
41	1996-01-04	-2	-2
42	1996-01-06	-2	-1
43	1996-01-07	3	4
44	1996-01-09	-1	0
45	1996-01-12	0	0
46	1996-01-14	2	1
47	1996-01-17	0	-1
48	1996-01-22	3	3
49	1996-01-24	0	0
50	1996-01-25	0	0
51	1996-01-27	1	0
52	1996-01-31	2	2
53	1996-02-03	1	1
54	1996-02-04	1	2
55	1996-02-06	1	0
56	1996-02-08	4	4
57	1996-02-10	-2	1
58	1996-02-15	1	1
59	1996-02-18	1	0
60	1996-02-22	0	0
61	1996-02-23	-1	-1
62	1996-02-25	-2	-2
63	1996-02-29	0	-1
64	1996-03-01	-2	-1
65	1996-03-03	-3	-1
66	1996-03-05	-1	-1
67	1996-03-08	-2	0
68	1996-03-11	4	0
69	1996-03-14	4	3
70	1996-03-17	-1	1
71	1996-03-20	0	0
72	1996-03-22	1	1
73	1996-03-24	-1	0
74	1996-03-27	0	0
75	1996-03-29	0	0
76	1996-03-31	3	0
77	1996-04-03	1	1
78	1996-04-05	-1	-1
79	1996-04-07	0	1
80	1996-04-11	0	1
81	1996-04-12	1
82	1996-04-14	0	0

Overall, I have Suter close behind Carney as Chelios's EV partner for 95-96, certainly within the margin of error. And Steve Smith was in the mix too. One of the closest calls, but I'm keeping it simple and only listing one partner per season.

 

[Staniowski]

It's generally more comfortable for a left-handed shot to play on the right side. But it varies, by player and by situation.

Playing on the right side gives you better angles for most play. It puts your stick into play more than if playing on the left side. And it's more comfortable shooting off the boards, etc.

Also, the vast majority of left-handed shots are right-handed (i.e. right hand dominant), so it's usually an advantage defensively to play on the right side. It's easier for a right handed person to pivot left, turn left, cross over leftward, etc., which would be advantageous most of the time, turning towards the centre of the ice. I suspect it would be different for a left-handed shot who is left-handed.