Wednesday was a remarkable night for Mike Green at Verizon Center, and if you caught the NHL Network’s ‘On the Fly’ program afterward you may have listened to him interviewed by in-studio analysts and ex-Caps Gary Green and Larry Murphy. On a historic night for our 23-year-old defender dynamo that struck me as a nice bit of good luck, and both television personalities engaged him like you’d hope members of the Capitals’ family would, with a good deal of warmth and admiration.
It was Murphy who at the segment’s close suggested that right now Green ought to be considered a front-runner for the Norris Trophy. I wondered this myself for the first time in weeks as last night’s third period wound down. Green’s production of late had slipped a good bit, but last night he seemed to reinsert himself into the Norris chatter with all the subtlety of a Megadeath riff — if he ever really exited that discussion to begin with.
Murphy’s assessment shouldn’t be discounted. He knows a thing or two about putting up points from the back end, and his Hall of Fame standing accords him an even loftier status. Green today leads all NHL rearguards in points with 70 — an 8-point lead over Montreal’s Andrei Markov. But Markov is skating a -2. Green is a +24 — a stat both Gary Green and Murphy noted in defending Green’s game in his own end. Can you award the Norris to a minus skater like Markov? Highly doubtful.
Green’s greatest competition for the Norris may well come from reigning holder, Nick Lidstrom, who’s 6th among D-men in scoring with 53 points. Lidstrom is his usual flirting with +30 self (+28). But could the Norris go to someone not in the top 5 of the league’s scoring blueliners . . . and do you give any credence to the whispered about notion of “Lidstrom fatigue” among Norris voters? And: Lidstrom isn’t even the leading scoring defenseman on the Wings; Brian Rafalski has 57 points today and is third overall in scoring among defenders.
I’d be the first to admit that too much of the contemporary criteria for the Norris is seemingly predicated on defenders’ offensive stats. But I fear we’ve seen the last of the Rod Langway-type rearguards win the trophy.
Anyway, I also wondered if Green has a “Norris clause” in his fat new contract. The Caps today told me no, and that such clauses are actually prohibited in the new CBA. There are league bonuses in entry-level pacts, and Green got a bonus last year for leading all D-men in goals, but beginning this year there is no additional reward for his heroics.
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I have to say that I disagree with you on the types of defenseman who can win the Norris Trophy. Yes, Niklas Lidstrom has had a stranglehold on it of late and yes, he is known first for his offense. But there was a complete void of top level talent on defense that could compete with him. This year I think that you are going to see it go to Zdeno Chara. He’s had a huge year, he anchors that team on defense and he also has been a big part of the offense. I hope that that is too much to pass up for voters.
I think he’s got it in the bag.
Also, just to nit-pick, it’s “Megadeth”, not “Megadeath”
Dan,
Now I feel really old.
I also disagree. More and more voters try to insert offense as a criteria to the Norris, when it is a defensive award. Mike green is solid on D and great on O, but is hardly has the best DEFENSE. I would say Chara has that this year. And to #1 how can you say Lidstrom is known first for his offense. His shut down defense is what makes him on one of the best defensman of all time, not his offense. When have you ever seen him lead the rush like Green does. If you’ve ever seen him play you would know he always puts D first.
I also disagree. More and more voters try to insert offense as a criteria to the Norris, when it is a defensive award. Mike green is solid on D and great on O, but is hardly has the best DEFENSE.
Actually the Norris is award to the “defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position”. All around ability encompasses offense too.
As someone who has been a conscientious objecter to the Mike Green for Norris campaign (on the grounds that his defensive play is too poor to merit consideration for an award given out to the best defenseman) since the movement first surfaced earilier in the season and was very surprised to hear Larry Murphy, one of the few participants of NHL on the Fly whose opinion I actually respect, waxing poetic about Green’s performance last night. Did he even watch that game? Because if he had he would have seen that when the Capitals were trailing the Islanders 3-2 in the third period Green turned the puck over on his own blue line – twice. Those are the kinds of crippling errors that have the potential to end a team’s playoff hopes and dreams in an instant, especially against an playoff calibre opponent which the last place Islanders most certainly are not. If Green hadn’t collided awkwardly with the Islander that picked his pocket and drawn the interference penalty he eventually scored the game tying goal on that game could have turned out very differently. And it isn’t like last night was the first time Green has ever made that kind of egregious defensive mistake. Green, Ovechkin, Semin and every other Capital whose name isn’t Sergei Federov have been turning the puck over all season long.
I appreciate DMG’s intervention, as it is helpful, and I also agree that Lidstrom should be acknowledged first and foremost for his work in his own end, irrespective of his impressive offensive numbers (which are amazing and amazingly consistent). Lidstrom’s technical execution in his own end knows perhaps no rival in the history of the sport. And as excited as I would be to see Greener win this year, I can’t in good conscience suggest that today he’s on par with Nick. But he’s also just a kid.
Green over Chara? That has to be a joke. Haha! April Fool!
Of course Murphy would have Green as a front-runner…he’s looking at himself.
I think they’ll try to give it to Chara, but if they do it won’t be for this season, it’ll be for those in the past where he’s been overlooked before. Chara hasn’t been close to the best defensively, he hasn’t even been as good as Green in terms of effectiveness (Green’s got better 5-on-5 goals against numbers, even adjusted for minutes).
Yeah, Chara probably faces (on average) tougher competition, but he’s also got better defensive support, a better system to play in defensively, and better goaltending (on average). It’s not easy him as better than Green defensively, much less Lidstrom, unless you’re going by the ever-nebulous “he just looks better out there” tactic.
Lidstrom probably deserves it again as he’s bounced back in a huge way, at least if you’re trying to favor defense over offense (his GA numbers are good despite the Wings having a terrible defense). Green would deserve it if you’re looking for headlines, probably total impact, etc. But Chara could still get it just because it’s his turn, so to speak.
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