New York, NY – Pittsburgh's Kris Letang, Montreal's P.K. Subban and Minnesota's Ryan Suter have been named finalists for the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman.
All three are finalists for the first time.
Letang notched five goals and 33 assists for 38 points despite missing 13 games because of injury. He led all defensemen in assists, tied for the league lead among blueliners in scoring and was the only rearguard to register at least a point per game.
The 26-year-old Montreal native led the Penguins in average ice time per game at 25:38, and his plus-16 rating is the best among the three finalists.
Subban also notched 38 points, tying the career high he set during his rookie campaign two years ago. However, he took 77 games to reach that figure during the 2010-11 season and needed only 42 games in this truncated season.
The 23-year-old Toronto native posted 11 goals, and his seven power-play goals were second-most among defensemen.
Suter, one of Minnesota's prized free-agent acquisitions last summer, posted four goals and 28 assists for 32 points in playing all 48 games. He was the third-leading scorer among blueliners and led all defensemen in average time on the ice at 27:16.
The 28-year-old Wisconsin native helped the Wild to their first playoff appearance since 2008.
Last year's Norris winner, Erik Karlsson of Ottawa, played just 17 games this season because of an Achilles injury.
The 2013 winner will be announced during the Stanley Cup Finals.
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