{"id":9995,"date":"2026-09-10T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/ca\/?page_id=9995"},"modified":"2026-10-22T05:14:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T09:14:02","slug":"norris-trophy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/ca\/nhl\/awards-odds\/norris-trophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Norris Trophy odds 2027: the best defenceman market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Norris Trophy odds reward a specific profile, and the 2026 vote showed how narrow it is. Zach Werenski won as the first Columbus player to take the award, having opened the season at +1100. The defenceman who outscored him by fourteen points, Evan Bouchard, was not one of the three finalists. The 2026-27 board opened in July with Cale Makar favourite and Quinn Hughes, now in Minnesota, close behind. This page carries the opening prices, ten years of winners with the odds they opened at, how the voting works and where the market tends to be wrong. Our awards hub<\/a> covers the other trophies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Detail<\/th>Value<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Award<\/strong><\/td>Best defenceman (James Norris Memorial Trophy)<\/td><\/tr>
Voted by<\/strong><\/td>Professional Hockey Writers Association, end of the regular season<\/td><\/tr>
2026 winner<\/strong><\/td>Zach Werenski (Columbus), first in franchise history<\/td><\/tr>
2026 finalists<\/strong><\/td>Werenski, Cale Makar (Colorado), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo)<\/td><\/tr>
Market status<\/strong><\/td>Open all season. The board below is the opening one, from July<\/td><\/tr>
Opening favourite (13 July 2026)<\/strong><\/td>Cale Makar, +300 at Bet99<\/td><\/tr>
Most wins<\/strong><\/td>Bobby Orr, eight in a row (1968 to 1975)<\/td><\/tr>
Most wins, active<\/strong><\/td>Erik Karlsson, three<\/td><\/tr>
Last back-to-back winner<\/strong><\/td>Nicklas Lidstrom, three straight from 2006 to 2008<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Norris Trophy odds 2026-27<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the opening board: prices from Bet99, taken on 13 July 2026, and they will have moved since. Award futures shift in October once roles and power-play units are set, so read these as the opening shape of the race and check the live price with your sportsbook before you bet. Our NHL scoring leaders<\/a> page ranks the top-scoring defencemen, updated daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Player<\/th>Team<\/th>Odds<\/th>Why he is on the board<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Cale Makar<\/strong><\/td>Colorado Avalanche<\/td>+300<\/td>Two Norris wins; 20 goals and 79 points in 2025-26<\/td><\/tr>
Quinn Hughes<\/strong><\/td>Minnesota Wild<\/td>+400<\/td>2024 winner; traded from Vancouver in December 2025<\/td><\/tr>
Zach Werenski<\/strong><\/td>Columbus Blue Jackets<\/td>+550<\/td>Defending winner; 81 points, 26:37 a night<\/td><\/tr>
Rasmus Dahlin<\/strong><\/td>Buffalo Sabres<\/td>+700<\/td>2026 finalist; career-high 74 points<\/td><\/tr>
Lane Hutson<\/strong><\/td>Montr\u00e9al Canadiens<\/td>+1000<\/td>2025 Calder winner, second full season<\/td><\/tr>
Moritz Seider<\/strong><\/td>Detroit Red Wings<\/td>+1000<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Evan Bouchard<\/strong><\/td>Edmonton Oilers<\/td>+1200<\/td>Led all defencemen with 95 points and was not a finalist<\/td><\/tr>
Matthew Schaefer<\/strong><\/td>New York Islanders<\/td>+2000<\/td>2026 Calder winner at 18<\/td><\/tr>
Miro Heiskanen<\/strong><\/td>Dallas Stars<\/td>+2250<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Charlie McAvoy<\/strong><\/td>Boston Bruins<\/td>+2500<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Adam Fox<\/strong><\/td>New York Rangers<\/td>+3000<\/td>2021 winner<\/td><\/tr>
Jackson LaCombe<\/strong><\/td>Anaheim Ducks<\/td>+3000<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Jake Sanderson<\/strong><\/td>Ottawa Senators<\/td>+3000<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Prices from Bet99, 13 July 2026. American odds; a +400 price returns $400 in profit on a $100 stake if it wins. NHL Norris Trophy odds are offered by the private sportsbooks licensed in Ontario and Alberta, and on a narrower basis by the provincial lottery operators elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Norris race as it stands<\/h2>\n\n\n

Live section, rebuilt 22 October 2026.<\/strong> The prices higher up this page are the opening market and carry their own date.<\/p>\n\n\n

The Norris goes to the defenceman judged best all round, and the voters have leaned heavily on scoring for twenty years. This is the blue line scoring race as it stands.<\/p>\n\n\n

Player<\/th>Club<\/th>Pos<\/th>GP<\/th>G<\/th>A<\/th>Pts<\/th>+\/-<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Evan Bouchard<\/strong><\/td>EDM<\/td>D<\/td>9<\/td>7<\/td>11<\/td>18<\/strong><\/td>+16<\/td><\/tr>
Quinn Hughes<\/strong><\/td>MIN<\/td>D<\/td>10<\/td>2<\/td>11<\/td>13<\/strong><\/td>+5<\/td><\/tr>
Erik Karlsson<\/strong><\/td>PIT<\/td>D<\/td>10<\/td>1<\/td>10<\/td>11<\/strong><\/td>-4<\/td><\/tr>
Seth Jones<\/strong><\/td>FLA<\/td>D<\/td>10<\/td>1<\/td>10<\/td>11<\/strong><\/td>+1<\/td><\/tr>
Mikhail Sergachev<\/strong><\/td>UTA<\/td>D<\/td>10<\/td>3<\/td>8<\/td>11<\/strong><\/td>+4<\/td><\/tr>
Cale Makar<\/strong><\/td>COL<\/td>D<\/td>9<\/td>3<\/td>8<\/td>11<\/strong><\/td>+2<\/td><\/tr>
Adam Fox<\/strong><\/td>NYR<\/td>D<\/td>11<\/td>0<\/td>10<\/td>10<\/strong><\/td>+0<\/td><\/tr>
Roman Josi<\/strong><\/td>NSH<\/td>D<\/td>8<\/td>1<\/td>8<\/td>9<\/strong><\/td>+6<\/td><\/tr>
Lane Hutson<\/strong><\/td>MTL<\/td>D<\/td>9<\/td>2<\/td>7<\/td>9<\/strong><\/td>+2<\/td><\/tr>
Owen Power<\/strong><\/td>BUF<\/td>D<\/td>10<\/td>2<\/td>6<\/td>8<\/strong><\/td>+4<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div>\n\n\n

Evan Bouchard leads the defencemen on 18 points from 9 games at +16. Points are the signal the vote has historically followed, though the shot-suppression case is the one that wins arguments and loses ballots. The norris trophy odds above price reputation as much as production.<\/p>\n\n\n

Odds movement: what the opening board says<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Makar is the default favourite, as he has been for most of five years. Hughes at +400 is the interesting price. He won the trophy in 2024 with Vancouver, was traded to Minnesota in December 2025, and now runs a power play on a team that expects to contend. Werenski sits third as the defending winner, which is where defending winners usually sit: nobody has won consecutive Norris Trophies since Lidstrom in 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two names further down matter to Canadian bettors. Lane Hutson at +1000 gives Montr\u00e9al a live candidate in his second full season. And Evan Bouchard at +1200 is the market pricing in the 2026 snub. He led every defenceman in the league with 95 points, on 21 goals and 74 assists across all 82 games, and did not make the final three. If the voters would not reward that, the price says, what would he have to do? Jake Sanderson at +3000 is Ottawa’s entry, and Matthew Schaefer at +2000 is the Calder winner trying to become the first player since Bobby Orr to win both awards in consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten years of Norris Trophy winners and their pre-season prices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pre-season prices are the numbers each winner was available at before opening night, as recorded by odds-history archives. The 2018-19 opener is not on record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Season<\/th>Winner<\/th>Team<\/th>Pre-season odds<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
2025-26<\/strong><\/td>Zach Werenski<\/td>Columbus Blue Jackets<\/td>+1100<\/td><\/tr>
2024-25<\/strong><\/td>Cale Makar<\/td>Colorado Avalanche<\/td>+250<\/td><\/tr>
2023-24<\/strong><\/td>Quinn Hughes<\/td>Vancouver Canucks<\/td>+1000<\/td><\/tr>
2022-23<\/strong><\/td>Erik Karlsson<\/td>San Jose Sharks<\/td>+8000<\/td><\/tr>
2021-22<\/strong><\/td>Cale Makar<\/td>Colorado Avalanche<\/td>+400<\/td><\/tr>
2020-21<\/strong><\/td>Adam Fox<\/td>New York Rangers<\/td>+3500<\/td><\/tr>
2019-20<\/strong><\/td>Roman Josi<\/td>Nashville Predators<\/td>+1600<\/td><\/tr>
2018-19<\/strong><\/td>Mark Giordano<\/td>Calgary Flames<\/td>not recorded<\/td><\/tr>
2017-18<\/strong><\/td>Victor Hedman<\/td>Tampa Bay Lightning<\/td>+650<\/td><\/tr>
2016-17<\/strong><\/td>Brent Burns<\/td>San Jose Sharks<\/td>+700<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One winner in ten opened as the favourite: Makar in 2025 at +250. Five of the other nine were available at +1000 or longer in September, and two of those were enormous. Karlsson won at +8000 in 2023 on a San Jose team that finished near the bottom, and Fox won at +3500 in 2021 in his second NHL season. The defending champion has lost every year for a decade. Both facts point the same way: this market rewards the second and third names on the board far more often than the first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 vote: Werenski, Makar and Dahlin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The three 2026 nominees show what a Norris case looks like when it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n