The votes are in, and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has officially been named the winner of the 2022 James Norris Memorial Trophy.
While this season’s Norris race was arguably the tightest in recent memory, Makar is as worthy a recipient of this honor as it comes.
Simply put, Makar is the most dynamic young defenseman in the game, a player who put in quite the campaign of his own at just 23 years old to lead all NHL defensemen in goals while helping land the Avalanche near the top of the league standings.
While Josi flirted with a jaw-dropping points total, Makar did the same when it came to goal-scoring, nearly reaching the 30-goal mark as a defender for the first time since Mike Green’s 31-goal effort in 2008-09.
Makar does everything for the Avalanche. He anchors the power play, logs nearly 26 minutes per night against top competition, and produces more offense than 90 percent of the team’s forward corps.
That resume is the definition of a Norris winner. And now Makar has the hardware to match, with many more certainly set to come.
