Hedman favorite for Norris Trophy

To mark the three-quarters point of the 2017-18 season, NHL.com is running its fourth installment of the Trophy Tracker series this week. Today, we look at the race for the Norris Trophy.
Victor Hedman may not get as much attention as Tampa Bay Lightning forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, but the defenseman has had an excellent season and his teammates have noticed.

Hedman, 27, has 44 points (nine goals, 35 assists), is plus-25, and is averaging 25:47 of ice time in 58 games this season. He is sixth among NHL defensemen in points, tied for first in plus-minus, fifth in average ice time per game and tied for fifth in power-play points (19).
"There's no secret he is a really big part of our team," defenseman Dan Girardi said. "He plays almost 30 minutes a night, power play, penalty kill, every 5-on-5 situation. ... There is no other Victor Hedman on this team."

A panel of 19 NHL.com staff members agreed, choosing Hedman as the Norris Trophy winner at the quarter pole of the season. Hedman received 67 points (seven first-place votes), finishing ahead of John Klingberg of the Dallas Stars (one first-place vote) and P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators (six first-place votes), who each received 51 points. Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings (50 points) received the other five first-place votes.
After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, the Lightning (43-17-3) lead the League with 89 points, and Hedman is a big reason. He was voted to his second straight NHL All-Star Game, although a knee injury sustained Jan. 11 prevented him from playing. He was expected to miss 3-6 weeks but missed five games (Jan. 18-25).
"Let's be honest, nobody in that room is Victor Hedman," coach Jon Cooper told the Lightning website following the injury. "You can sit here and say, 'Well, everybody's got to chip in.' I guess they do, but it's not just the defensemen, our forwards, everybody because he's a big part of our offense."
In his first game back, Hedman played 25 minutes but was unhappy with his performance in a 3-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 30.
"I want to be out there and contribute," he said. "It wasn't the quality minutes tonight but I think it was good to get those minutes under my legs. I expected better of myself. I have high expectations and put pressure on myself to be good every night, so wasn't up to my standard tonight."

The Lightning are 9-5-0 in 14 games since Hedman returned. He has 11 points (three goals, eight assists), is plus-1, and is averaging 26:19 of ice time.
When the regular season ends, Hedman could win his first Norris Trophy.
"I try to play my best in every game regardless and let the chips fall where they may," Hedman said.
Voting totals (points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis):Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, 67 points (seven first-place votes); John Klingberg, Dallas Stars, 51 points (one first-place vote); P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators, 51 points (six first-place votes); Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, 50 points, (five first-place votes); Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks, 16 points; John Carlson, Washington Capitals, 11 points; Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers, 10 points; Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues, 9 points; Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild, 7 points; Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators; 6 points; Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, 2 points; Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets, 2 points; Josh Manson, Anaheim Ducks, 2 points; Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames, 1 point