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Nobody moves the record like Roman Josi. Image: www.imago-images.de
NHL expert explains why Roman Josi absolutely deserves the Norris Trophy
He did it: Roman Josi was awarded the Norris Trophy for the NHL’s best defender of the regular season on Tuesday night. The verdict of the members of the Association of Professional Hockey Writers was clear: The 30-year-old Bernese won clearly ahead of John Carlson of the Washington Capitals and Viktor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. 109 of the 170 hockey journalists placed Josi at the top, 52 in second place and only 9. In third place, competitor Carlson, meanwhile, saw only 56 experts as the best defenders of the season, Hedman only a Four.
The results in the summary. image: nhl
In the regular season, which was canceled in mid-March due to the crown pandemic, Josi racked up 65 points (16 goals / 49 assists) in 69 games. That made him the second-most productive defender behind Carlson. With an average ice time of 25:47 minutes per game, it was also one of the absolute bestsellers, only Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators, 26:00) and Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings, 25:49) were used more frequently. .
Josi in an exclusive circle. image: twitter / state centers
However, Josi was not considered an absolute favorite for the award beforehand. Carlson is much more productive on offense and Hedman is considered a bit more reliable on defense. However, on the NHL network, expert Mike Kelly clearly shows why there was no other winner than Josi.
“I think Hedman is generally the best defender in the league,” Kelly begins with his analysis. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be the best every year.” Roman Josi definitely deserved the award this year, mainly for his strong transition play. He is an incredible pilot. It’s not often that you see a defender dictate a team’s play like Roman does. Put the puck on the offensive. Take him out of the defensive zone, take him into the offensive zone, get the puck in front of the goal, create opportunities: he is number 1 everywhere.
bild: nhl networks screenshot
Especially the number of innings in the offensive zone makes Kelly excited. “At 369, he was over 170 ahead of the next best defender. This shows his great strength in the game of transition. Roman is the league’s best defender on puck movement and always takes the puck into the danger zone in front of goal. This is how he creates opportunities for himself and his peers. That inevitably leads to points. “
Even Conor McDavid lags behind in the transition game against Josi. bild: twitter / thepointhockey
The fact that Josi has 10 fewer scoring points than John Carlson doesn’t matter to Kelly. “Carlson has to do less than Josi for her points. The Capitals are more reliant on passes from their own zone, while Roman drives the puck forward. “That’s why Josi is ‘my boy’. The Swiss worked very hard this season and did a lot for the Predators,” that’s why he was the best defender in the league. “
