2020 Norris Trophy Odds: STOP THE FIGHT
By: Ryan Gilbert
Just give him the Norris Trophy already.
John Carlson’s Norris Trophy odds continue to show why he is going to win the award given to the league’s best defenseman. He is the odds-on favorite with his odds at -450. Only one other defenseman has odds better than +600, and in total (including Carlson), four defensemen have odds better than +1000 (or +1600 even).
Carlson is running away with the Norris Trophy.
Best Sportsbook 2020
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John Carlson (Norris Trophy Odds: -450)
Bet on him right now.
Carlson continues to dominate the field among defensemen this season in the NHL.
He has a 15-point lead on Roman Josi with 72 points, is behind only Zach Werenski (19) with 15 goals and leads all defensemen with 57 assists. 57! That is 14 more than Victor Hedman and Roman Josi. John Carlson has as many assists (57) as Roman Josi has points. That is incredible.
Carlson picked up the pace this past week with points in back-to-back games. He has reached 10 points (two goals, eight assists) for the month of February (11 games). He has secured a double-digit point total in every month so far this season: 23 in 14 October games, 14 in 14 November games, 13 in 13 December games, 12 in 11 January games, and now 10 (and counting) in 11 February games.
Even when he has a “down” month, he is nearly at a point-per-game pace.
He is on pace for nearly 94 points this season as he closes in on his first Norris Trophy. He has already surpassed most of the winners in recent years in terms of points with 72. He is two behind Mark Giordano, who had 74 last season, but has more than Hedman (63) in the 2017-18 season, Drew Doughty (a lowly 51) in the 2015-16 season), and Erik Karlsson (66) in the 2014-15 season.
He will soon pass Giordano and Burns (76 in 2016-17 season) as the most points by a defenseman in recent years.
Carlson plays 24:40 per game for a contending Capitals tem. He has 1.14 points per game so far this season with 47 of his points coming at even strength. That is 10 more than Josi, who has the second most among defensemen.
At this rate, it’ll be shocking to see anyone surpass Carlson. But could someone?
Roman Josi (Norris Trophy Odds: +250)
It’s a long, uphill battle for Josi.
Let’s just say, for instance, that Carlson doesn’t play a game for the rest of the season for whatever reason.
If Carlson’s season ended with 72 points in 63 games, Josi would need 15 points in the Predators’ 20 remaining games to match the Capitals defenseman’s season total. That’s certainly doable as he’s on pace for at least 18 more points this season. But even at that rate, would it be more impressive than Carlson? Probably not.
Josi would need an absolutely incredible March and April for voters to even think about him winning it over Carlson. It’s possible, but not very likely. John Carlson is your 2020 Norris Trophy Winner… something the entire hockey world knew back in November.
(Editor’s Note: We appreciate you reading Ryan’s Weekly updates on the Norris Trophy Odds. However, due to Carlson’s dominance, we will be stopping the weekly article unless there is a drastic change or catastrophic injury. Thank you. -The OddsUSA Team)
