The last of the defenders ahead of Karlsson is
Cale Makar, last year’s winner. If Makar had played a full season this race wouldn’t be close as his 4.1 wins in 60 games represent a 5.6-win pace which would be a full win ahead of Fox. It would be Hart-worthy, not just Norris-worthy. Makar is a special talent, a generational defenseman that transcends the field. He’s on pace for a 90-point season while posting a defensive plus-minus of plus-29 showing that it is indeed possible to score at that level without sacrificing your entire defensive game. That Makar can do it all is why his value is so high … even after missing 20 games.
The question is whether it’s high enough with all those games missed. Personally, I don’t think it should matter (Bobby Orr won his first Norris trophy playing 46 of 74 games). Makar’s gap over every other defenseman is similar to the gap McDavid has over every other forward. It’s not close. The only thing missing 20 games does is make the Norris race seem more competitive for everyone else with Makar in the middle of it instead of on top.
That Makar is only 0.5 wins away from Fox in 20 fewer games is a reason to vote for Makar not against him. He’s putting up comparative value in 75 percent of the games, all while taking a bigger defensive load for an injury-ravaged
Avalanche team. The Norris Trophy is for the best defenseman and there’s no question who that is. It’s still Makar. And if his missed games are a problem, it’s Fox.
