The NHL regular season is coming to a close, and the playoffs are here.
As the league turns its attention to the playoffs, another topic of discussion is bound to be the NHL Awards Show set for June.
This was the most exciting NHL regular season in recent memory, with dominant teams, a hectic playoff race, and some fantastic individual efforts defining the 2023-2024 season.
The league's top defensemen were no exception this year, and the names on this list are the guys we have come to know as the very best defenders in the league on a yearly basis.
Here are the top three contenders for this year's Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defensemen.
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1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
There's no doubt that Makar deserves the moniker of being the best defenseman in the league. He has every piece of hardware that any defenseman could feasibly win short of the Hart Trophy, and he's shown no signs of slowing down.
Though that's the case, this has probably been the least effective Makar has been in the last three years, and the fact that that's true and that he's still a Norris frontrunner only further drives home how elite he is.
The offensive production you come to expect is there, as he's comfortably surpassed a point-per-game pace and topped the 20-goal mark.
But his underlying numbers aren't quite as fantastic as we're used to them being, and it's not fully explained away by reduced forward depth.
We're willing to chalk it up to a less deep defense behind him this year and accept that his skill set and production make him the best, even in somewhat of a down year.
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2. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
It has not been a down year for Canucks star Quinn Hughes, who has firmly planted himself as a consensus top three defenseman alongside Makar and New York Ranger Adam Fox.
The Canucks weren't playing well in terms of possession and shot quality early this year, but Hughes' rip-roaring production and all-around play helped them win a ton of games anyway.
Then, the Canucks turned things around and became a truly dominant force in every aspect of the game, and they kept winning games but in a more sustainable way.
None of that would be possible without the play of Hughes, who carries this team's defensive unit on his back, makes the power play hum, and helps the team's forward group produce as much as they do.
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3. Noah Dobson, New York Islanders
Pivoting from the offensive dynamos to someone who truly excels in all aspects of the game, Dobson deserves a nomination nod this year because he's maintained his high defensive standards while elevating his offensive production to a whole new level.
The Islanders needed every bit of Dobson's dominance this season, as this team was frankly putrid for most of the year, but Dobson's excellence kept them afloat in many ways.
He does it all for this team, and a 60-plus assist season gave them the offensive lift they needed to help Ilya Sorokin overcome the horrid defense this team played for most of the year with Dobson off the ice.
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