LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson has won his first Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman at the league’s awards ceremony.
The 22-year-old Swede beat out Boston’s Zdeno Chara and Nashville’s Shea Weber for the first award Wednesday night.
Karlsson led all defensemen with 78 points in his breakout season for the Senators, scoring 25 more points than anybody else at his position. He is the youngest winner of the award since the New York Islanders’ Denis Potvin in 1976.
Karlsson is primarily an offensive defenseman, while Chara and Weber play more defensive games.
Karlsson agreed to a seven-year contract extension worth $45.5 million with the Senators on Tuesday.
