The James Norris Memorial Trophy
Origins
James Norris hails from St. Catherines, Ontario, he is best known as the longtime owner of the Detroit Red Wings. He made his fortune in the grain and shipping sector before purchasing the Red Wing franchise in 1932 and subsequently changed the team’s name from Falcons to Red Wings.
The award is given out annually to the National Hockey League’s best defenseman whose overall playing abilities best exemplify the highest level of skill in that position. Since its inception in 1953-54, the hardware has been awarded 61 times to 26 players. Winners are determined by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’ Association who vote at the end of the regular season. Each voter ranks his top five players on a 10-7-5-3-1 point(s) system. Three finalists are selected and the winner is awarded the Trophy at the NHL awards ceremony after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Trophy Design
The Norris Trophy consists of a silver bowl and lid that rests on a two-tiered octagonal wooden base. The lower base is wider than the top base and both are adorned with the same number of elongated silver plaques on which the winners’ names are engraved. Each of the eight sides of the Trophy contains five plaques and will hold the names of eighty years of recipients.
History
Hall of Famer Red Kelly of the Detroit Red Wings was the first player to win James Norris Memorial Trophy. Kelly won four Stanley Cups with the Red Wings in the 1950s as a defenseman and another four as a center with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1960s. Doug Harvey won the Trophy for eight consecutive years from 1954-55 to 1961-62. He was awarded the Trophy in seven consecutive years with the Montreal Canadians and his eighth and final time with the New York Rangers. After Doug Harvey, Pierre Pilote of the Chicago Black Hawks won the honor three times consecutively from 1961-62 until 1964-65. When Harry Howell won the award in 1966-67, he commented: “I’m glad I won it this year. For the next few years, they’ll have to rename it the Bobby Orr award because that young man in Boston will own it.” That statement turned out to be prophetic as Orr would indeed go on to win the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the next eight consecutive years becoming the only man to win as many individual trophies in a row in any sport. The Trophy has a history of being attached to star players of individual eras. After the Bobby Orr era, the Trophy would be won by superstars such as Denis Potvin of the New York Islanders three times, Paul Coffey Edmonton Oilers (2) Detroit Red Wings (1), Ray Bourque Boston Bruins (5), and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings six times.
Nicklas Lidstrom was runner-up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy three years in a row (1997-2000) before winning it three consecutive years from (2001-2003). Rod Langway of the Washington Capitals won the award in two consecutive seasons (1982-83, 1983-84) and is considered to be the last of the true stay-at-home defensemen to have won it. Since then the trophy has belonged mostly to offensive defensemen. Brad Park of the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins was an exceptional defenseman but he played in the Bobby Orr/Denis Potvin era and therefore was runner-up to Orr four times and twice to Potvin setting a record as a runner-up.
No teams players have won the award more than the Boston Bruins, having their players capture the trophy 14 times, with Zdeno Chara winning his first title in 2008-09. P.K. Subban won the award in 2012-13 while with the Montreal Canadians, ranking them second with (12) Norris Trophy recipients in franchise history. The Detroit Red Wings round out the top three with their franchise collecting (9) Norris Trophies, with the last one being won by Nicklas Lidstrom in 2007-08.
Randy Carlyle won the trophy with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1980-81 and remains the only player not to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame that is eligible.
Winners
| Season | Winner | Team | Win # | Team Win # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–54 | Red Kelly | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | 1 |
| 1954–55 | Doug Harvey | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 1 |
| 1955–56 | Doug Harvey | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | 2 |
| 1956–57 | Doug Harvey | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | 3 |
| 1957–58 | Doug Harvey | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | 4 |
| 1958–59 | Tom Johnson | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 5 |
| 1959–60 | Doug Harvey | Montreal Canadiens | 5 | 6 |
| 1960–61 | Doug Harvey | Montreal Canadiens | 6 | 7 |
| 1961–62 | Doug Harvey | New York Rangers | 7 | 1 |
| 1962–63 | Pierre Pilote | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | 1 |
| 1963–64 | Pierre Pilote | Chicago Black Hawks | 2 | 2 |
| 1964–65 | Pierre Pilote | Chicago Black Hawks | 3 | 3 |
| 1965–66 | Jacques Laperriere | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 8 |
| 1966–67 | Harry Howell | New York Rangers | 1 | 2 |
| 1967–68 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 1 | 1 |
| 1968–69 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 2 | 2 |
| 1969–70 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 3 | 3 |
| 1970–71 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 4 | 4 |
| 1971–72 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 5 | 5 |
| 1972–73 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 6 | 6 |
| 1973–74 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 7 | 7 |
| 1974–75 | Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 8 | 8 |
| 1975–76 | Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 1 | 1 |
| 1976–77 | Larry Robinson | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 9 |
| 1977–78 | Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 2 | 2 |
| 1978–79 | Denis Potvin | New York Islanders | 3 | 3 |
| 1979–80 | Larry Robinson | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | 10 |
| 1980–81 | Randy Carlyle | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1 | 1 |
| 1981–82 | Doug Wilson | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 | 4 |
| 1982–83 | Rod Langway | Washington Capitals | 1 | 1 |
| 1983–84 | Rod Langway | Washington Capitals | 2 | 2 |
| 1984–85 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 1 |
| 1985–86 | Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 2 | 2 |
| 1986–87 | Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | 1 | 9 |
| 1987–88 | Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | 2 | 10 |
| 1988–89 | Chris Chelios | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 11 |
| 1989–90 | Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | 3 | 11 |
| 1990–91 | Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | 4 | 12 |
| 1991–92 | Brian Leetch | New York Rangers | 1 | 3 |
| 1992–93 | Chris Chelios | Chicago Blackhawks | 2 | 5 |
| 1993–94 | Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | 5 | 13 |
| 1994–95 | Paul Coffey | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | 2 |
| 1995–96 | Chris Chelios | Chicago Blackhawks | 3 | 6 |
| 1996–97 | Brian Leetch | New York Rangers | 2 | 4 |
| 1997–98 | Rob Blake | Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | Al MacInnis | St. Louis Blues | 1 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | Chris Pronger | St. Louis Blues | 1 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 1 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 2 | 4 |
| 2002–03 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 3 | 5 |
| 2003–04 | Scott Niedermayer | New Jersey Devils | 1 | 1 |
| 2004–05 | 2004–05 NHL lockout – No winner | — | — | |
| 2005–06 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 4 | 6 |
| 2006–07 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 5 | 7 |
| 2007–08 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 6 | 8 |
| 2008–09 | Zdeno Chara | Boston Bruins | 1 | 14 |
| 2009–10 | Duncan Keith | Chicago Blackhawks | 1 | 7 |
| 2010–11 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | 7 | 9 |
| 2011–12 | Erik Karlsson | Ottawa Senators | 1 | 1 |
| 2012–13 | P. K. Subban | Montreal Canadiens | 1 | 12 |
| 2013–14 | Duncan Keith | Chicago Blackhawks | 2 | 8 |
| 2014–15 | Erik Karlsson | Ottawa Senators | 2 | 2 |
| 2015–16 | Drew Doughty | Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 2 |
| 2016–17 | Brent Burns | San Jose Sharks | 1 | 1 |
| 2017–18 | Victor Hedman | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 | 1 |
| 2018–19 | Mark Giordano | Calgary Flames | 1 | 1 |
| 2019–20 | Roman Josi | Nashville Predators | 1 | 1 |
| 2020–21 | Adam Fox | New York Rangers | 1 | 5 |
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