Quote:
Originally Posted by 1qqaaz
But as I said, they’re almost always overlooked for the Ted Lindsay and Hart. They realistically can’t win the Richard or Art Ross, at least not in this era.
This applies even moreso for defensive defenseman.
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How many "defensive forwards" do you imagine could realistically win any of the Hart, Richard or Art Ross?
The problem is not the awards themselves, it is the biases of the selectors, and these do change over time.
*EDIT* Also, I think it is worth pointing out that as important as "defensive defensemen" are to team success, they are never and never will be the best players on their team. It think it is pretty self-evident that the skill-set required to be an effective scoring defenseman is substantially higher than for those needed for preventing goals. To gain the kind of recognition that I think should be required of deserving a NHL award is to be among the best players in the league, and offensively challenged defensemen who are great in their own zone are simply not.
I agree with you, that in recent history the Norris Trophy has not been awarded accordingly, but the solution is not to create another award. The solution is for the selectors to enforce the criteria properly: the best defenseman is the one who excels at both ends of the ice.
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