James Norris Memorial Trophy

This article is about the National Hockey League award. For the International Hockey League (1945–2001) award, see James Norris Memorial Trophy (IHL).

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Sport	Ice hockey
Awarded for	"defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position" in the National Hockey League [1]
History
First award	1953–54 NHL season
First winner	Red Kelly
Most wins	Bobby Orr (8)
Most recent	Cale Makar Colorado Avalanche

The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". ^[1] It is named after James E. Norris, the longtime owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The James Norris Memorial Trophy has been awarded 62 times to 26 players since its beginnings in 1953–54. At the end of each season, members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote to determine the player who was the best defenseman during the regular season.

History

The trophy is named in honour of James E. Norris, owner of the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings from 1932 to 1952. ^[1] The trophy was first awarded at the conclusion of the 1953–54 NHL season.

Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins won the award for a record eight consecutive seasons (1968–75). Doug Harvey and Nicklas Lidstrom won the award seven times, and Ray Bourque won it five times; Bourque was in the top three vote-getters for the trophy a further ten times. The Boston Bruins have had the most Norris Trophies winners with 14; the Montreal Canadiens have had the second most with 12. ^[2]

Only two players have won both the Norris and Hart Memorial Trophy for the league Most Valuable Player in the same season: Bobby Orr, who won both trophies in the 1969–70, 1970–71 and 1971–72 seasons, and Chris Pronger, who won the Hart and Norris in the 1999–2000 NHL season. ^[3] As of 2025, no defenseman has won the Hart Trophy without also winning the Norris Trophy since the latter was introduced.

Six defensemen won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player before the Norris Trophy's establishment: Herb Gardiner, Eddie Shore (four times), Albert "Babe" Siebert, Ebbie Goodfellow, Tommy Anderson and Babe Pratt. ^[4]

Save for Randy Carlyle and P. K. Subban, every Norris winner eligible to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame has been.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote at the end of the regular season, and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10–7–5–3–1 point(s) system. ^[5] Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL awards ceremony after the conclusion of the playoffs.

Winners

Bobby Orr, eight-time winner.

Nicklas Lidstrom, seven-time winner.

Ray Bourque, five-time winner.

Erik Karlsson, three-time winner.

Brian Leetch, two-time winner.

Cale Makar, two-time winner.

Chris Pronger, one-time winner.

  Player is still active

  Eligible player not yet elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

  Inactive player not yet eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame

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	Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
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
2021–22	Cale Makar	Colorado Avalanche	1	1
2022–23	Erik Karlsson	San Jose Sharks	3	2
2023–24	Quinn Hughes	Vancouver Canucks	1	1
2024–25	Cale Makar	Colorado Avalanche	2	2

See also

• List of National Hockey League awards
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL statistical leaders

References

General

• James Norris Memorial Trophy at NHL.com Archived 2014-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
• James Norris Memorial Trophy history at Legends of Hockey.net

Specific

1. "James Norris Memorial Trophy". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
2. "James Norris Memorial Trophy". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
3. "Blues trade Chris Pronger to Edmonton for three players including Brewer". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
4. "Hart Memorial Trophy history". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
5. Dolezar, Jon (2003-04-20). "Foppa shows the most Hart". SI.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2007-08-17.