Las Vegas, NV – Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson was chosen as the winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy which recognizes the NHL's top defenseman.
Karlsson led all blueliners in scoring with 78 points, posting 19 goals and 59 assists in 81 games. He registered 25 points more than the second-leading scorer among blueliners, the widest margin since Pittsburgh's Paul Coffey had a 38-point differential in 1988-89.
The 22-year-old Swede helped Ottawa to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. He posted a plus-16 rating and became the youngest defenseman with at least 78 points since Coffey scored 96 with Edmonton in 1982-83.
Nashville's Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara of Boston were the other finalists.
Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom won the award for a seventh time last season.
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