James Norris Memorial Trophy - 06-23-10

We are previewing the seven NHL awards which count this week. (Sorry Lady Byng fans.) This morning, we'll preview the James Norris Memorial Trophy which goes to the NHL's top defenseman.

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Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (16 goals, 43 assists, 59 points, plus-20)

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Mike Green, Washington Capitals (19 goals, 57 assists, 76 points, plus-39)

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Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackahawks (14 goals, 55 assists, 69 points, plus-21

Note: Yes, we know this is a regular season award and the Keith video is from the Stanley Cup final. But it was the only video of Keith we could find from this past season.

Who we'd vote for: Doughty. We'll admit we have a man-crush on Doughty. Watching him play hockey is just a pure joy to us. He just "gets it." He was ready right out of the box and it shows. Once he does gain a little bit more experience and size, we have no doubt he will become the league's best defenseman. As it is now, he's "merely" one of the three best. Capitals fans/flacks can talk all they want about how Mike Green has an amazing total of goals allowed in five-on-five situations and everything else until they're blue in the face. But we simply see a better all-around player in Doughty. Watching Doughty defend a two-on-one perfectly and making an end-to-end rush on the opposing team's net is breathtaking for any hockey fan. We don't deny Green's dazzling offensive abilities. We'll be the first to make the arguement he's the best offensive blue-liner in the NHL. But he's still a very flawed player in terms of fundamentals. There's that who "defense" part of "defenseman" which he still needs improvement. And don't take our word for it. Just ask any NHL scout. We have.

Who will win: Green. With some perrenial contenders such as Nicklas Lidstrom and Zdeno Chara out of the mix, we fully expect Green's impressive totals to win this award for him. He plays for a very visible team on the East Coast. Most of Doughty's games are played at 10 p.m. in this part of the continent. And frankly, we suspect much of Duncan Keith's individual success is based on the tremendous chemistry he has with defensive partner Brent Seabrook.