Quinn Hughes, Roman Josi and Cale Makar were named finalists for the Norris Trophy on Wednesday.
The winner of the award, which is given annually to the top defenseman in the NHL as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, will be announced Thursday, June 27 at the 2024 NHL Awards, being held at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN).
Hughes led defensemen with an NHL career-high 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games for the Vancouver Canucks. He had the most even-strength points (54), second-most power-play points (38) and was fourth in plus/minus (plus-38) among defensemen. Hughes was tied for 10th in the NHL in ice time per game (24:41) and led the Canucks in SAT percentage with the team controlling 56.4 percent of shot attempts at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice.
A first-time finalist for the award, Hughes would be the first Canucks player to win it.
Josi played all 82 games for the Nashville Predators and was first in goals (23) and third in points (85) among defensemen. He was first among players at his position in shots on goal (268), second in even-strength points (51), tied for second in game-winning goals (five) 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 tops among its defenseman.
A three-time finalist, Josi won the Norris in 2019-20 and finished second last season.
Makar finished second in points (90), goals (21) and assists (69) among defensemen and was first in points per game (1.17) playing 77 games for the Colorado Avalanche. He was also first in power-play points (39) at the position, tied for first with four short-handed points and third in shots on goal (231). Makar led the Avalanche and was ninth in the NHL averaging 24:46 of ice time per game and was first for Colorado in blocked shots (148) and takeaways (70).
A finalist for the fourth straight season, Makar won the Norris Trophy in 2021-22, finished second in 2020-21 and third last season.
Erik Karlsson, then with the San Jose Sharks, won the Norris Trophy last season.
