LI's Adam Fox named a finalist for Norris Trophy as NHL's top defenseman
Rangers defenseman Adam Fox sets before a faceoff against the Golden Knights in the first period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 27. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Rangers defenseman Adam Fox was named Thursday night as one of three finalists for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman, for the 2022-23 season. Fox, the Jericho native who won the Norris in 2021, joins 2022 winner Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and two-time winner Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks as finalists.
The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards dinner on June 26.
Fox, 25, played in all 82 games for the Rangers and had 12 goals, 60 assists and 72 points, making him the eighth-highest scoring defenseman in the league. He is the second Rangers defenseman to record 70 or more points in consecutive seasons — the first being Brian Leetch — and played in his first NHL All-Star Game this season.
Karlsson, 32, became the sixth defenseman in league history, and first since Leetch, in 1991-92, to record 100 points. He had 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists), and is bidding to be the fourth defenseman to win the award for two different franchises. He previously won it in 2012 and 2015 with Ottawa.
Makar, 24, had 66 points (17 goals, 49 assists) in 60 games, and this season became the fastest defenseman in league history to get to 200 points in his career, getting there in his 195th game.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
