The Norris Trophy was going to Zach Werenski, whether the PWHA tried to stuff the ballot for Cale Makar or not. And, by the looks of it, the esteemed professional writers who cover this game we all know and love actually gave a Columbus Blue Jackets player kudos for once. Stick taps for that. Darren Raddysh isn't the king of this NHL free agency class for no reason, though.
He was a revelation for the Lightning this season, scoring 70 points in 73 games while Victor Hedman missed a significant amount of time. As we all know, the Norris Trophy is more or less just the Art Ross Trophy for blueliners, so it isn't all too surprising that Raddysh finished 11th in voting. What is a bit surprising is that just 14 players received votes from the PWHA, and not a single one of the top hockey writers in the sport thought J. J. Moser deserved even a nod with a fifth-place selection.
J. J. Moser continues to be slept on by national NHL media despite excellent play for Lightning
Erik Karlsson and Jake Sanderson got votes for the best defenseman in the NHL but Moser didn't? That seems a bit on the ridiculous side. It isn't too hard to figure out who would have voted for either player, given that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators are both covered extensively on a national level.
The Lightning are a bit shorter staffed when it comes to how many PHWA-caliber writers *cough* cover the team, though, and it seems like all their extra love went to Raddysh. Which is fine. He was fantastic this season.
We just wanted to use this humble platform to give Moser the flowers he deserves for being a defenseman who is good at... defending. After all, Raddysh had the time and space to do his best Al MacInnis impression because of the space Moser created by playing responsible hockey in all three zones.
We're being playfully hard on the PWHA here, of course, but we did want to take a moment to let Moser supporters know that, had we possessed a vote, we would have at least flipped a fifth-place nod to J.J. for what he was able to establish with the Lightning this season.
Raddysh and Moser weren't penciled in as this dynamic, high-end top pairing for the Lightning heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Yet they were each able to find high enough gears to propel Tampa Bay to another playoff spot--even if the result of the postseason appearance was disappointing. Here's to hoping Lightning fans get at least another few seasons of this dynamic unit on the blue line.
And a sincere congratulations to Werenski, who clearly couldn't contain his excitement upon being surprised with the Norris Trophy at home.
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