Karlsson's late surge reopens Norris talk
Not so fast, Brent Burns.
Erik Karlsson is making his case as the league's top defenseman.
The Ottawa Senators blue-liner has been the team's most valuable player this season, and he's now picking up his production through the most crucial part of the calendar.
While Burns has gone ice-cold in his last 10 outings - unable to find the back of the net after scoring 27 through his first 60 - Karlsson's offensive touch has only picked up steam:
| Defenseman | Games | G | A | Points | Pts/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Burns | 1-60 | 27 | 37 | 64 | 1.07 |
| Brent Burns | 61-70 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0.60 |
| Erik Karlsson | 1-60 | 10 | 44 | 54 | 0.90 |
| Erik Karlsson | 61-70 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 1.10 |
The offensive numbers are close - Burns outpaces Karlsson by five points. But the stat line isn't as even in the defensive zone. There, Karlsson ranks as the NHL's best with 187 blocked shots, far ahead of Burns' 119.
But it's truly Karlsson's dominance in the opposition's end that has the two-time Norris winner once again in the conversation for top defenseman honors.
Karlsson, who last captured the trophy in 2015, has at least one former winner in his corner. Edmonton Oilers great Paul Coffey, who twice won it with the Oilers, and then repeated the feat a decade later with the Detroit Red Wings, evidently sees a lot of his own game in the Senators defenseman.
"I'll tell you one thing, a guy like Karlsson, not everybody can do it or they'd be doing it," Coffey told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. "No disrespect to anybody in the game or the way they play but the other side isn't hard. It's just commitment."
Coffey's second Norris with the Oilers came in the 1985-86 campaign, when he finished with a career-high 48 goals and 90 assists.
"Do you want Karlsson to stay back and be defensive or do you want him to play? You want him to play," Coffey added. "That's not easy. That's a talent."