Should the NHL create an award in honour of Bobby Orr?
The NHL hands out hardware for all different types of season statistics, most notably the Hart Trophy for league MVP, Norris for the top defenseman and Vezina for the top goaltender.
The narrative on qualifications for the Norris Trophy has shifted to mainly the defenseman that gets the most points wins the award while the shut-down d-man of the league are somewhat forgotten about.
The Spittin' Chiclets crew discussed it on one of their latest podcasts, and Paul Bissonette stated:
"I think that the Norris should be the Hart Trophy of defensemen; I just feel like there's so many awards that the forwards are limited to, where it's like highest point-getter it's obviously going to be forward every year ... you don't oftentimes see a defenseman win the Hart Trophy."
Bobby Orr literally changed hockey and how a defenseman can play the game. Before Orr, there wasn't a lot of skill on the backend, as a team's d-core would consist mainly of stay-at-home, tough guys.
With the advanced analytics available today, I can't find a reason why this isn't already a thing. Keep the Norris Trophy for a defenseman that best exemplifies the defensive side of the ice and introduce the Bobby Orr Trophy for the league's leader in points by a defenseman.
Watch the entire clip here:
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