Boston Bruins Defenseman Receives Votes For Norris Trophy
The NHL has begun announcing the award winners for the 2025-26 season.
The latest honor to be announced is the recipient of this year’s James Norris Memorial Trophy which is given to the defenseman that shows the best ability at the position.
Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski won the award with 1,589 points. Werenski was a top five pick on 194 of the 198 ballots and received 113 first-place selections as well as 48 second-place, 16 third-place, 13 fourth-place, and four fifth place selections.
🗣️ ZACH WERENSKI IS A NORRIS TROPHY WINNER
— NHL (@NHL) June 2, 2026
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the defenseman who demonstrates the greatest all-around ability in his position. 👏 #NHLAwards pic.twitter.com/4bdUVRLi4w
Although a Bruin did not win the award, one did pick up points in the voting process.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy came in 13th place in the voting with six points. McAvoy earned one fourth-place selection and three fifth-place selections.
During Boston’s season, McAvoy skated in 69 regular-season games and tallied 11 goals and 50 assists for 61 points, 62 penalty minutes, and a plus-13 rating. In the Bruins’ playoff run, he played in all six of the team’s games and recorded two assists for two points, 19 penalty minutes, and a minus-6 rating.
In total, 14 NHL players earned at least one point in the final tally of votes.
Colorado’s Cale Makar was the runner-up for the award with 1,191 points and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin was a finalist (third place) with 657 points.
As for the remainder of the voting, Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard came in fourth place with 593 points, Detroit’s Moritz Seider came in fifth with 360 points, Montreal’s Lane Hutson came in sixth with 357 points, Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes came in seventh with 282 points, and Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen came in eighth with 52 points.
In the bottom half of the voting, Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson came in ninth with 16 points, Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson came in 10th with 16 points, Tampa Bay’s Darren Raddysh came in 11th with 14 points, New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer came in 12th with 14 points, McAvoy came in 13th, and New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox came in 14th with one vote.
2025-26 James Norris Memorial Trophy Voting:
(Ranking, name, team, points, 1st-5th place selections)
- Zach Werenski, CBJ- 1,589 (113-48-16-13-4)
- Cale Makar, COL- 1,191 (47-62-37-30-12)
- Rasmus Dahlin, BUF- 657 (13-23-50-30-26)
- Evan Bouchard, EDM- 593 (12-22-36-32-43)
- Moritz Seider, DET- 360 (5-21-15-21-25)
- Lane Hutson, MTL- 357 (3-13-20-31-43)
- Quinn Hughes, MIN- 282 (5-6-21-22-19)
- Miro Heiskanen, DAL- 52 (0-3-1-6-8)
- Erik Karlsson, PIT- 16 (0-0-1-3-2)
- Jake Sanderson, OTT- 16 (0-0-0-4-4)
- Darren Raddysh, TBL- 14 (0-0-1-2-3)
- Matthew Schaefer, NYI- 14 (0-0-0-3-5)
- Charlie McAvoy, BOS- 6 (0-0-0-1-3)
- Adam Fox, NYR- 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
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Kim Rankin is one of the lead writers for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.