Zizing 'Em Up: Karlsson sparking Norris Trophy debate with Sharks

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Sunday during the season, he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts to write his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up."

TORONTO -- Should a player from a non-Stanley Cup Playoff team win a major award like the Norris Trophy?
That's the argument going on in hockey circles surrounding Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks, who became the first team eliminated from playoff contention when they lost 6-5 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
What isn't up for debate is the fact that Karlsson is putting together one of the best offensive seasons by a defenseman in recent history, wowing the likes of Cale Makar in the process.
Makar, the ubergifted defenseman with the Colorado Avalanche and the defending winner of the Norris, awarded annually to the NHL's best player at the position, said last week that Karlsson's accomplishments this season are blowing him away.
"It's pretty incredible," said the 24-year-old, who also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs last season while helping Colorado win hockey's Holy Grail.
"For that team right now and the things that he's done, I just feel like they're feeding him the puck and everything's working for him right now. So, it's pretty awesome."
Makar has plenty of reason to be impressed.
Karlsson has 85 points (20 goals, 65 assists) in 70 games this season and needs 15 in his final 12 games to become the first NHL defenseman since to score 100 points in a season since Brian Leetch had 102 points (22 goals, 80 assists) for the New York Rangers in 1991-92. Karlsson is the 13th defenseman in NHL history to have 20 goals and 60 assists in the same season.

Critics point to his minus-14 rating and the struggles of San Jose (19-37-14) this season.
There is precedent for the Norris to be awarded to a player whose team did not qualify for the postseason. The most recent example occurred in 2020-21, when Adam Fox won it after having 47 points (five goals, 42 assists) in 55 games for the Rangers.
It will be fascinating to see if the award, which is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, will go to Karlsson, who won it in 2012 and 2015 with the Ottawa Senators. He's certainly put up worthy numbers.
At the same time, there's no shortage of defensemen around the NHL in the discussion, including Makar, Fox, Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets, Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils, Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators, Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks.
Karlsson was voted the favorite this month by an NHL.com panel as part of the website's Trophy Tracker feature to mark the three-quarter mark of the season. Dahlin was second, followed by Morrissey, Makar, Fox and Hamilton.
Makar, who has missed 13 games this season due to a variety of injuries, including concussion-like symptoms, is averaging more than a point per game with 61 (16 goals, 45 assists) in 55 games. He's attempting to become the first player to win the Norris in back-to-back seasons since Hockey Hall of Fame member Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

In the meantime, Makar says he's a fan of what Karlsson has done this season, let alone continues to do.
"Like I said, it's awesome," Makar said. "And it's cool to see a D-man produce that much for his team."
Coming from a talent like Makar, that's a pretty heady compliment.

TALKING HEADS: PLAYOFF RACE EDITION

With less than a month remaining in the regular season, the races for playoffs are getting hot and heavy. Who gets in? Who doesn't? Which teams will overachieve down the stretch? Which ones will disappoint? In order to get insight into these questions, Zizing 'Em Up solicited the services of two of the best national television analysts in the business: Ray Ferraro of ESPN and Craig Simpson of "Hockey Night in Canada." They are former players who have flourished in broadcasting after their playing careers ended. So without further ado:
Let's start with the team or teams you feel opponents should be wary of in the final four weeks of the regular season.
Ferraro: "It might be obvious, but I would say Colorado. Clearly, they haven't had their full team for most of the year. But I've been really impressed by what I've seen from them lately. Look at the 2-1 win they had against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout Wednesday. We think of Colorado being a high-powered team, and with good reason, but they checked the heck out of a very good offensive team. And I thought, 'They are capable of doing that.' Because I'd thought of them in another way. With Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, you think, 'Score, score, score.' But that's not what they're going to be. I wouldn't be jumping up and down to play those guys. They're kind of a team that some people forgot. And that's dangerous to do."
Simpson:"Teams on the upswing? I might have said Buffalo a couple of weeks ago. I really like their young talent and I think they're going to flourish in the next few years, like Ottawa. But can they string wins together? That's been their issue of late. They've had some blips recently. They've struggled with consistency, which happens with young teams. But they have some legitimate good young players that are star quality and might somehow find a way to lead their team in. In the Western Conference, Calgary has been surging a bit. I can't believe some of the ways they've found to lose games this season. And that's opened the door for Nashville. That's a team that intrigues me. Management sent a message by trading away the likes of defenseman Mattias Ekholm, but they've been playing well. If I'm the Predators, I see an opportunity here I'm not so sure I anticipated."
Conversely, which teams do you have concerns about?
Simpson: "The intriguing one for me, in terms of the wild swings of being down and coming back, or being up and losing, is Pittsburgh. Look at the ages of their core: Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, all well into their 30s. They just seem to be teetering on the edge. They've won a couple of big games to give them some breathing room and they might be fortunate that a team like Florida didn't make more of a push earlier on. They still can. For me, it's a legacy thing with those big three. Hey, they may have done enough to make it, but it's been a really crazy ride for them. Up, down, up, down."
Ferraro: "Pittsburgh. When I watch those guys, I don't know what I'm going to get. I'm sure it's really frustrating and serious for coach Mike Sullivan. I'm sure he's wondering too about 'What are we getting here?' I'm sure he thought they'd have locked up some things by now."
Finally, the Boston Bruins have had a historic season. Can they carry that into the postseason, and what other teams should they be wary of?
Ferraro: "First off, I don't think the Bruins are infallible. I don't think anyone is. But I do think they're really, really well constructed. At some point you're looking for two months of solid play and health, which is a big deal, from two 37-year-old centermen in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. I think their defense is outstanding and they have great depth throughout. If they can keep those two guys healthy at the top, I think they're in really good shape. I really like their team. I like New Jersey too, but they have no playoff experience. Usually that means someone gets kicked in the pants. Somewhere down the line it doesn't go the way you think it's going to go. I don't love what the Rangers did at the deadline because too much surgery never seems to work. The team, well, I have a tough time believing in them but they're pretty good, is Vegas. They've done what they've done with five goalies. But the one team I'm not sleeping on is Edmonton. If they can get just enough goaltending, I think they're going to be really dangerous."
Simpson: "Boston's consistency is the biggest thing. Their goal differential is something like 100 between goals for and goals against, so it's not a situation where they've got some breaks and had these nice little runs … they're full value for everything they've done. They've done it in every sense. They've been great at home, battled on the road, one of the best defensive teams, among the best offensive teams, so they check off all the boxes. I think they deserve all the respect they've received. But playoffs are a different animal. Goalie Linus Ullmark's had an outstanding season, but can he translate that into the postseason? I mean, if you go into a first-round series against, say, the Islanders, now you're the target, the favorite, and the expectations that go with that. And I do think a lot has to do with that first-round matchup. If you come up against a hot goalie, who knows? As you know, the playoffs are the great equalizer. Everyone starts at zero. Even the game's best player, Connor McDavid. And there are so many questions. Can the Hurricanes make up for the loss of Andrei Svechnikov? Are the Devils for real? Is this the year for the Maple Leafs? How much does Tampa have in the tank after all the hockey they've played? Out west, I like the way the Avalanche are playing like, well, the Avalanche."

GOLDEN KNIGHTS' GENEROSITY

The Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights are more foes than friends on the ice. That's certainly not the case off of it.
Consider the generosity shown by the Vegas organization during the visiting Flames' 7-2 victory against the Golden Knights on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, Vegas announced that proceeds from the 51/49 Raffle during the game would support the fight against Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in honor of Calgary assistant general manager Chris Snow, who was diagnosed with it in June 2019. More than $40,000 was raised, and the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation will make a donation in his name to the ALS Center at the University of Miami, at Snow's request, to directly fund ALS research and new treatments.
The hockey world can be a tight-knit community at times, even when it comes to opposing teams.
As pointed out in this column several weeks ago, Snow's courage is inspiring.
Nearly four years ago a doctor told him he had 6-12 months to live.
Three months ago he was on life support.
Seventeen days ago he was having difficulty breathing and had to go to the emergency room after the first period of the Flames' home game against the Maple Leafs.
Last week he donned the blades for the first time in a year and skated with daughter, Willa. His wife and outstanding caregiver, Kelsie, via her Twitter account @kelsiewrites, passed along that Chris wanted everyone to know "that he scored on his first shift and had the game-tying assist on his last shift … against 7 and 8 year olds."
He did it, as Kelsie wrote, "with 2 almost useless arms."
The hashtag used in association with Chris' fight and his attempt to raise funds for ALS research is #SnowyStrong.
Now you know why.
Because he is.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

"If it wasn't for Connor McDavid, the whole world would be talking about how great Nathan MacKinnon is."
-- Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau, now an analyst with NHL Network, on the Edmonton Oilers center (and NHL's leading scorer) overshadowing his Avalanche counterpart

THE SUNDAY LIST

With less than four weeks to go in the NHL regular season, The Sunday List is taking a weekly look at some of the most intriguing and influential matchups in the upcoming seven days. Here's this week's version:
-- Monday, Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins, PPG Paints Arena: After facing the Rangers three times in a week, the Penguins are probably glad to be facing anyone else. But be careful what you wish for. The Senators have had some costly hiccups down the stretch, but when this young, talented team is clicking, it's capable of defeating any opponent. The fact that they're chasing the Penguins for a wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference means there will be plenty of incentive for both teams.
-- Tuesday, Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden: Don't look now, but these two teams could be heading toward a date in the Eastern Conference First Round. New York eliminated Carolina in seven games in the second round a season ago. The issue for the Hurricanes is goal-scoring after Svechnikov (55 points; 23 goals, 32 assists in 64 games) was lost for the season with a knee injury sustained March 11. They could have benefitted from acquiring the likes of Patrick Kane or Vladimir Tarasenko prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3, but instead the Rangers added both forwards. Let's see if that costs Carolina in the long run.
-- Wednesday, Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche, Ball Arena: Yes, there are plenty of playoff implications for each team. But let's simplify things. It's the Cole Harbour Bowl between Sidney Crosby and MacKinnon, close friends from the same Nova Scotia community and two of the best players on the planet. Just sit back and enjoy.
-- Thursday, Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators, Bridgestone Arena:The Kraken are a second-year team. The Predators were sellers at the trade deadline. And yet, here they are, Seattle trying to lock down a postseason spot, the Predators pursuing a wild card. This much is certain: the barn will be rocking in Music City. Note: The two teams meet in Nashville again two days later to finish the two-game set that could have a huge impact on the playoff picture.
-- Thursday, Vegas Golden Knights at Calgary Flames, Scotiabank Saddledome: The Flames are making a late push for a wild card, a goal that was helped by their win at the Golden Knights on Thursday. Vegas, meanwhile, is in the hunt for the top seed in the Western Conference.
-- Saturday, Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders, UBS Arena: The Islanders defeated the Sabres 3-2 at home March 7. They're trying to hold on to a wild card with Buffalo, among others, in pursuit. Is there such a thing as a must win for both teams?