The top 10 Norris Trophy candidates for 2026-27
It truly is a glorious era for superstar defensemen around whom entire NHL teams are built. Between 2000 and 2020-21, we saw three defensemen eclipse 80 points in a season, once each across 20 campaigns. In the past five seasons alone, we’ve been treated to 12 defenseman seasons of 80-plus points, including six of 90 or more and one eclipsing 100.
With so many D-men emerging as their teams’ most important offensive players and many of them mixing in excellent play in their own zones to boot, the Norris race is hyper-competitive these days. Trust me, a PHWA voter: filling out the Norris ballot has become incredibly challenging of late, as there are simply more than five all-world defensemen right now – maybe even more than 10.
Since Nicklas Lidstrom took home six Norrises in a span of seven seasons between 2000-01 and 2007-08, the past 18 votes have not produced the same winner in consecutive seasons. It’s very hard to stay atop the mountain among NHL defensemen, making the Norris a fun race every year.
Here are my top 10 Norris Trophy candidates for 2026-27, with bet365 Sportsbook odds included.
10. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars (+2500)
Heiskanen remains a total-package defenseman. He’s a workhorse who sat in the 98th percentile in miles skated last season, and he did so with 80th percentile top skating speed. He’s a 97th percentile defensive player despite playing some of the toughest minutes in the league against elite competition. The only reason Heiskanen hasn’t finished higher than seventh in the Norris vote: he doesn’t have the supernova offensive ceiling of the recent winners. As much as we like to pretend the voting populace values all-around play over pure offense, we haven’t seen a Norris winner average less than a point per game since Adam Fox in 2020-21. For Heiskanen to truly threaten, he’ll need to beat his personal best of 73 points. At 27, he’s still young enough to deliver a career year.
9. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators (+3300)
Sanderson may be my favorite defenseman in the league to watch. He’s a breathtaking skater, leading all defensemen in top speed last season. He’s a smothering defender; among 146 “horse” blueliners who played at least 1,000 minutes at 5-on-5 last season, only three allowed fewer scoring chances when they were on the ice, a stat that impresses even more considering Sanderson has to face every opponent’s best players. Sanderson is already one of the top all-around defensemen in the game. Like Heiskanen, Sanderson will need to puff up the offensive totals if he wants to become a serious Norris threat. He is showing improvement in that regard, however, having picked up 54 points and a career-best 14 goals in just 67 games last season. Sanderson is so good as a play driver that he could win the Norris if he can even get to 70 points.
8. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings (+1100)
The biggest case against Seider ever winning the Norris is last season, when he was as good as any D-man on the planet and it still wasn’t enough. Seider was a monster in every facet of the game, chewing up almost 26 minutes per contest and thwarting other teams’ top players. He graded out as a 100th-percentile defensive player and a 95th-percentile offensive player. And yet: that sublime season only landed him fifth in the Norris vote. Having compiled 60 points and possessing more of an all-around skill set than that of a pure scoring weapon, Seider lacks the ceiling of the other perennial contenders, which makes him more of a fringe Norris threat, as amazing as he is.
7. Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders (+1500)
Consider what Schaefer did as an 18-year-old, and it sure feels like he’ll have multiple Norrises to his name someday. His 23 goals tied Brian Leetch’s single-season NHL rookie record for defensemen. Schaefer was an elite offensive play driver, and he was actually above average on the defensive side of the puck despite facing some of the highest quality of competition in the league – again, as a teenager. This kid is superhuman, and he’s only just embarking on his NHL journey. With his smarts, speed, goal-scoring ability and leadership, he’s already the Isles’ franchise player. We can never rule out a sophomore slump, but Schaefer is more likely to break the other way and push to be a Norris finalist with a massive second season.
6. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers (+1100)
The drunk uncles playing five-second clips of Bouchard’s defensive miscues on their phones will never stop smearing his Norris credentials. I care not. I will keep fighting for him. We already know he meets the top end of the offensive benchmarks that get Norris attention these days; his career-high 95 points led all defensemen last season and were 14 more than the next-highest scorer at the position. But Bouchard is also a much better actual defender than the cherrypicked lowlights suggest. Did you know the other team only got 43.75 percent of the scoring chances with Bouchard on the ice at 5-on-5 last season? And before you mention Connor McDavid: Bouchard’s on-ice chance differential was still positive with McJesus off the ice last season. Bouchard is an elite all-around defender. But he will still have a tough time finishing higher than last season’s fourth in the Norris vote as long as he keeps producing the odd embarrassing highlight. He apparently wasn’t even one of the eight best defensemen in Canada last season, according to the Olympic team brass. Sigh.
5. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres (+700)
More than most awards, the Norris has a history of going to a long-respected defenseman who is “due” from time to time. Think 2015-16 Drew Doughty or 2016-17 Brent Burns. Could Dahlin be the next first-time winner, coming off a third-place finish last season? He meets almost all the criteria desired from a Norris winner. He’s dominant at both ends of the ice, he plays massive minutes, he possesses a high ceiling as an offensive player and might not have peaked in that regard and, now, he’s the leader of a playoff team. With the Sabres finally competitive, Dahlin’s annual Norris chances are the best they’ve ever been. The only thing missing from his profile is a major role on the penalty kill. He averaged the eighth-most shorthanded minutes among Sabres blueliners last season.
4. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets (+550)
We can only place the reigning winner so low. Werenski was a deserving Norris recipient last season – he was first on my ballot – because he was more than just a dominant offensive player. Yes, he’s an absolute weapon on the attack, rating among the most prolific shooters and goal scorers at his position, but he’s matured in his own end, too. When playing together, he and Damon Severson had the highest 5-on-5 expected goal share of any pair in the NHL last season. The knocks on Werenski’s 2026-27 Norris chances: the fact the voters don’t give the award to the same guy in consecutive seasons anymore and the uncertainty of Werenski’s future in Columbus.
3. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens (+1000)
Few players in the NHL polarize fan bases like Hutson, but the idea that he’s a one-dimensional defenseman who will have his champions and detractors warring online in perpetuity is silly and reflects a bias against his lack of size. Hutson is not a nifty waterbug who lights up the scoresheet and does little in his own end. Hutson is an elite offensive player but was also an elite defensive player last season. He doesn’t halt opposing attackers with muscle, it’s true, but teams don’t get many chances when he’s on the ice. He ranked fourth among all defensemen in takeaways at 5-on-5 last season. Hutson already has a 66- and 78-point season to his name in his first two full years in the NHL. If he grows that point total again into the mid-80s and continues playing high-end defense, his Norris case will be undeniable.
2. Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild (+400)
Hughes has a Norris win, a runner-up finish and four top-10s so far in his career. If we look at what he did after his trade to the Wild last season: 53 points in 48 games, more than 27 minutes in average TOI, and his 55.39 percent 5-on-5 on-ice expected goal share post-trade was the highest of his career. He and Brock Faber are a dynamite pair. Playing on a Stanley Cup contender and with perhaps the most talented partner he’s had to date, Hughes is primed for a monster season, especially if he doesn’t sign an extension before it begins and has contract-year motivation – an outcome that seems likelier by the day based on GM Bill Guerin’s recent comments.
1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (+275)
We don’t need to overthink Makar. He’s a two-time Norris winner, the most gifted defenseman of the past 25 years. He could retire today at 27 and he’d be a Hall of Famer: Stanley Cup, two Norrises, Conn Smythe Trophy, Calder Trophy, four-time first-team All-Star. The quality of his defensive play fluctuates a bit from year to year, but his god-tier offense alone will always keep him in the Norris discussion. Basically: when Makar has a solid defensive season, he wins the Norris, because the scoring never goes away. He has won it or finished as a finalist in six of his seven NHL seasons.
Other 2026-27 Norris Trophy candidates to consider
Jackson LaCombe (Ana)
Jakob Chychrun (Wsh)
Charlie McAvoy (Bos)
Adam Fox (NYR)
Josh Morrissey (Wpg)
Shea Theodore (VGK)
Mikhail Sergachev (Uta)
John Carlson (TB)
Brock Faber (Min)
Darren Raddysh (Tor)
Roman Josi (Nsh)
Victor Hedman (TB)
Brandt Clarke (LA)
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