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Why Rasmus Dahlin must win 2025-26 Norris Trophy over Cale Makar, Zach Werenski
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- Why Rasmus Dahlin must win 2025-26 Norris Trophy over Cale Makar, Zach Werenski
Why Rasmus Dahlin must win 2025-26 Norris Trophy over Cale Makar, Zach Werenski appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The NHL announced the 2025-26 Norris Trophy finalists on Thursday afternoon, with Rasmus Dahlin , Zach Werenski , and Cale Makar earning the honors. The Norris Trophy was one of the most hotly-contested awards in years this season, as these three, along with Evan Bouchard , Quinn Hughes , Moritz Seider , and even Calder Trophy finalist Matthew Schaefer , earned looks.
Makar is widely regarded as the best defenseman in the world, but others are starting to close the gap on him. While it was another great season for the Colorado Avalanche defenseman, it’s hard to disregard the seasons that Dahlin and Werenski put forward.
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Bouchard led the way in defensemen scoring with 95 points, 14 clear of Werenski in second and 16 clear of Makar in third. Werenski’s offense for the Columbus Blue Jackets was the story all year, and it’s rare for a defenseman to lead the way offensively. If the Blue Jackets had held on for another couple of weeks and made it to the playoffs on Werenski’s back, no one would’ve argued if he won.
The argument now is that he can’t win because his team didn’t even make the playoffs, which is an unwritten rule in award voting by pundits but doesn’t necessarily carry much weight. It is a regular season accolade, and if a defender on a non-playoff team was far and away the best in the league, he should get the award.
The problem for Werenski is that he wasn’t far-and-away the best, which most will likely say is Makar. However, in a group of voters who are starting to value offensive defensemen, Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin isn’t going to get enough love amongst these finalists for the Norris Trophy, even though he should win it.
Why Rasmus Dahlin must win 2025-26 Norris Trophy
The Norris Trophy has become an award strictly for offensive defensemen, and voters should start to move away from that. Dahlin is still technically offensive, but it is his two-way game that makes him such a threat for the Sabres. He can run a powerplay and generate offense from the backend, as demonstrated by his 0.96 points per game, but his tenacious play in the defensive zone, a level of physicality that Makar and Werenski don’t have, and a desire to mix it up make him the perfect blend of new school and old school.
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While Makar has the comfort of playing alongside Devon Toews for the entire season and running the first powerplay, Dahlin has been a jack-of-all-trades for Buffalo, playing extended minutes with nearly every other defenseman on the roster, and his minutes with Bowen Byram , Owen Power , Michael Kesselring , and Zach Metsa all sit near the top of the team’s list in all advanced analytics. Dahlin makes anyone who plays with him better, which helped the Sabres break the league’s longest playoff drought.
Old-school hockey fans don’t like how defensemen are evolving in the league. It makes for an exciting brand of hockey, and everyone loves to tune into Makar or Hughes navigating all areas of the ice to contribute on both offense and defense. However, a defenseman like Dahlin is a bit of a blast from the past for fans who like their defensemen to be more two-way, physical threats . Voters fall in love with point totals, but Dahlin has the best defensive analytics amongst the three finalists, and that should mean something when voting for this award.
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