Ranking the Top Candidates for the Norris Trophy in the 2014-15 NHL Season

The 2014-15 Norris Trophy landscape has changed considerably the past couple of months.

In fact, since colleague Carol Schram last looked at the race in December, injuries to a couple of front-runners have taken them out of the mix for most writers who want to see as close to a full season of impact as possible in order to fairly compare the stats with the inclusion of games played at the most intense time of the year.

So for the Calgary Flames' Mark Giordano—out for the year with a torn biceps—and Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues—who had abdominal surgery in early February and may only get a few more games in over the final couple of weeks of the regular season—the chances of becoming finalists are slim to none.

They were both right at the top of the race when they went down.

But there are plenty of big names still remaining, with four players within one point of the scoring lead for blueliners and a whopping 14 or 15 defensemen capable of finishing with 50-point seasons, a mark only nine reached last year.

Factoring in two-way play, special teams performances, ice time and importance to their teams, and there are arguments to be made for a couple of dozen guys to get votes this year.

We narrow it down to the elite eight with a few honorable mentions here. Click ahead to see where your favorites rank, and don't forget to weigh in with comments.

Please note that Schram did the previous rankings.

Honorable Mentions

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Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild: Averaging more than 29 minutes per game, second only to Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Suter is still somewhat quietly one of the best in the league.

John Klingberg, Dallas Stars: When the Stars traded away Sergei Gonchar and brought up Klingberg, they discovered they already have a franchise defenseman in the system. Prorating his numbers over a full season, he'd have a 55-point season.

T.J. Brodie, Calgary Flames: Mark Giordano was a front-runner for the trophy when healthy, but his defense partner, Brodie, has had a stellar season as well. He is top-10 among D-men in average ice time with 25:14 per game, tied for fourth in plus-minus, eighth in blocked shots and second in takeaways.

8. John Carlson, Washington Capitals

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Previous ranking: N/A

By the numbers: 67 games, 10 goals, 36 assists, 46 points, plus-12, 154 shots, 50.2 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: Carlson is an under-the-radar candidate, but his numbers are worthy of mention among the top contenders this season. The 25-year-old is on pace for a dozen goals and 56 points—within striking distance of the lead.

Eliminating second assists, Carlson is tied for fourth in scoring among defensemen with 29 behind only Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Roman Josi. Carlson is also fourth in blocked shots on the blue line with 163.

7. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

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Previous ranking: N/A

By the numbers: 67 games, 11 goals, 36 assists, 47 points, plus-14, 161 shots, 50.1 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: Josi has played well enough this season that people no longer question whether he is just capitalizing on being Shea Weber's partner as opposed to being an elite talent in his own right. A great fit for new coach Peter Laviolette's offensive system, Josi is obliterating career highs in assists and points and is second among all defensemen with 20 first assists.

Josi plays a solid defensive game as well, blocking the second most shots of all the league's blueliners with 180 to his credit.

6. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators

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Previous ranking: N/A

By the numbers: 64 games, 16 goals, 34 assists, 50 points, plus-one, 229 shots, 52.4 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: As usual, Karlsson is right at the top of the pack in the rearguard-scoring race with a 65-point season within reach. With four goals and 15 points in the last 13 games, the Senators captain has helped put his team back in the playoff hunt—although still a long shot with a five-point deficit prior to Monday's games.

The 24-year-old has improved his defensive game and has seen his plus-minus rise after a minus-15 last year.

5. Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks

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Previous ranking: First

By the numbers: 65 games, seven goals, 30 assists, 37 points, plus-16, 137 shots, 56.8 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: Last year's winner is having a down year offensively—at least by comparison to his own lofty two-time Norris Trophy-winning standards. His "average" pace puts him at eight goals and 46 points. That's well shy of his two 60-point campaigns but nothing to sneeze at in the big picture.

He's eighth in average ice time, second in Corsi among defensemen who've played 500 minutes or more and is just outside an unofficial top four in the all-around distribution of minutes with 19:51 at even strength, 2:22 short-handed and 3:27 on the power play. 

4. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

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Previous ranking: Second

By the numbers: 67 games, 15 goals, 28 assists, 43 points, plus-13, 197 shots, 50.4 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: Weber seems to be the Norris Trophy bridesmaid on an annual basis. Making this year even more complicated is the performance of his blue-line partner, Roman Josi, who along with Weber is one of four NHL defensemen to average at least 19 even-strength minutes, 2:30 on the penalty kill and three on the power play, according to NHL.com's Evan Sporer (the others being Drew Doughty and Kris Letang).

Among the top five minute-munchers in the league, Weber has fired the fourth most shots on goal as a defenseman. He's two off the lead in goals.

3. P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens

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Previous ranking: Fourth

By the numbers: 66 games, 12 goals, 37 assists, 49 points, plus-15, 131 shots, 52.6 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: The 2013 Norris Trophy winner is proving that his victory in the lockout-shortened season wasn't a fluke. He's averaging almost three minutes more per game than in 2013, and although his average numbers aren't as impressive as the pace in that season, he's become a more well-rounded player who takes more calculated risks.

He's still on pace for career highs in goals, assists and points and is one of the bright spots in the possession game for a team that doesn't have strong numbers in that regard.

2. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

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Previous ranking: N/A

By the numbers: 65 games, five goals, 33 assists, 38 points, plus-five, 176 shots, 56.7 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: Doughty has long been a darling of the advanced-stats types and again is among the most impressive possession defensemen just behind Duncan Keith and Los Angeles Kings partner Jake Muzzin. Thanks to the suspension of Slava Voynov, Los Angeles relies on Doughty to play even more, and he leads the league in average ice time with nearly 30 minutes per game.

He's on pace for just a half-dozen goals but a total 48 points, which combined with his possession numbers and big minutes makes him a top contender.

1. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Previous ranking: Sixth

By the numbers: 59 games, 10 goals, 40 assists, 50 points, plus-13, 167 shots, 56 Corsi percentage

Bottom line: Letang is battling Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson, San Jose Shark Brent Burns and Montreal Canadiens star P.K. Subban for the scoring lead among defensemen. He's also top-10 in minutes per game and in Corsi among those who have played at least 500 minutes.

Impressive possession numbers aside, he's developed a much better overall game than his reputation would indicate. 

All statistics via NHL.com unless otherwise indicated and are current through March 8. Advanced stats via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com. 

Steve Macfarlane has been covering the NHL for more than a decade, including seven seasons as a beat writer for the Calgary Sun. You can follow him on Twitter: @MacfarlaneHKY