The reigning Norris Trophy winner got on the ballot again this season even after missing 22 games due to injury.
For the third year in a row, Cale Makar has been nominated for the Norris Trophy.
Makar won the award for best defenseman in the league last season in his Stanley Cup-winning year along with the Conn Smythe Trophy. He was awarded the Calder Trophy his rookie season and won the Hobey Baker in his last collegiate season. He is the first player in NHL history to win all four.
Makar ranked second among defensemen with 1.10 points per game this season. He scored 17 goals and notched 49 assists for 66 points in 60 games.
The 24-year-old became the quickest defenseman in NHL history to reach the 200-point milestone, which he did in 195 games. Makar has 246 career points (65 goals, 181 assists) which is the most by any blueliner through his first 238 career games.
Only three other defensemen in NHL history have been finalists for the Norris Trophy at least three times in their first four seasons. Bobby Orr was a finalist every year in his first four campaigns. Brad Park and Denis Potvin were on the ballot three times in their first four years in the league.
His opponents for the trophy are New York Rangers’ Adam Fox and San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson. Fox notched 72 points in a full 82-game season, while Karlsson hit the 100-point mark for the first time in his career finishing with 101 points in 82 games played.