Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi [https://www.nhl.com/player/roman-josi-8474600] has been named a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Wednesday [https://www.nhl.com/news/2024-nhl-norris-trophy-finalists-announced]. This marks the third time in Josi's 13-year NHL career that he has been named a finalist for the award, which is awarded annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association to the NHL's best defenseman "who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position." Nashville Predators defensemen Roman Josi and Alexandre Carrier speak to the media following the team's 2-1 Game 5 win over the Vancouver Canucks during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Josi played in all 82 games for the Predators this season and was first in goals (23) and third in points (85) among all NHL defensemen. He was also first among players at his position in shots on goal (268), second in even-strength points (51), tied for second in game-winning goals (5) and tied for fourth in power-play points (33). Josi led Nashville and ranked 12th in the NHL in ice time per game (24:38) and was first on the Predators with 151 blocked shots. His SAT percentage (53.4) was fourth for Nashville and the highest by a Predators defenseman this season. Josi won the Norris Trophy in 2019-20 and was a finalist in 2021-22. His fellow finalists for this year's award are Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. Hughes is a first-time finalist and has a chance to become the first player in Canucks history to win the award. Makar, meanwhile, has been named a finalist for the fourth straight season, winning the award in 2021-22, finishing second in 2020-21 and third last season. The winner of this year's award will be announced at a later date.
