#KrisLetangForNorris?

Caitlin: #LetangForNorris

Kris Letang, arguably one of the best defenseman in the league today . Letang is a solid defenseman all around, and does not get enough credit from the league as is. Instead he is overlooked in favor of others like Suter or Doughty.

But that’s not why we are here, we are here to examine why Kris Letang deserves this year's Norris trophy.

There are many statistics to back up why Letang deserves the award let's start off with point totals this year alone Letang has recorded 61 points in 67 games 45 of those being assists. Not too shabby and one of the leading scorers on the team.

Letang not only contributes to scoring on a regular basis, something every team should ask of their defenseman but also; he leads the Penguins defenseman on minutes played per game. Just the other Night he broke his own personal record with 35:14 played. This number is astronomical in comparison to other defenseman in the league. For example let’s look at the comparison between Letang and Brent Seabrook defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks. I choice to use him for comparison because both the Blackhawks and the Penguins have relatively high powered offenses. To look at the numbers Seabrook only has 30 assists to Letang's 45 , which is pretty good for Letang when looking at his other seasons.

Both are senior defenseman on their team so they should be putting up relatively similar numbers but Letang has better numbers across the board. To state it lightly Kris Letang is worth more than his 58 million dollar contract over 8 years ,and the Penguins are very lucky to have his caliber of defenseman.

To wrap it all up Kris Letang deserves recognition from the league, and certainly deserves to win the Norris trophy. The real question is will he though? I'd love to see him take home the trophy whether he takes home hardware or not is another question entirely.

Cody: #NoLetangForNorris

If you disagree with the notion that Kris Letang will not win the Norris Trophy, given annually to the league’s best defenseman, stop reading this NOW. I am warning you…Don't say you weren't warned.

Kris Letang will not win the Norris. No, it isn't because he “doesn't get the national attention he deserves”. No it isn't because “the league media hates the Penguins”. It is because he simply wasn't good enough. Penguins fans, as usual, have their “yinzer shades on” (thank you for that one @gregzyhowski). I hate to deflate your hopes and dreams, but he just isn't among the best defenseman this entire season. Don't get lost in the wording, it says entire.

I love Kris Letang. He's a great player and an even better guy. But consistency prevails in the Norris discussion. Yes, Letang has a whopping 43 points over his last 40 games, unreal numbers for a defenseman. Can you really say you don't remember his early season struggles when everybody had been tweeting: “Trade Letang, he sucks!” And these weren't just struggles, they were catastrophes. How about when he was a -17 at one point early this season? During Tuesday night’s game in Buffalo, Kris Letang was able to improve to a +1 on the season. This is the first time all season he has a +/- above even. THE FIRST TIME ALL SEASON.

I will admittedly say that I am not a fan of the +/- statistic, but if you compare it to the likes of Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Drew Doughty (actual deserving candidates of the award), you’ll find something that may lead you to believe that Letang might have a chance. Karlsson has a -2 rating on the year. Yes that is lower than ‘Tanger’, but think about this. The Ottawa Senators are an ugly hot mess. It is actually sad. But Karlsson’s -2 rating and near point per game average on such a pathetic team is impressive. Brent Burns, playing for a hot-and-cold San Jose Sharks roster, is a -4 rating. Again, lower than Letang. But both have consistently hovered around even the entire year. And then there is other-worldly Drew Doughty. Doughty’s +24 rating for the Los Angeles Kings is really unreal, except in a world where +/- doesn’t matter, right?

Well in the history of the NHL, only THREE defenseman have ever had a minus rating and won the Norris Trophy: Randy Carlyle was a staggering -16 in 1980-81’, Rob Blake was only a -3 in 1997-98’, and Nicklas Lidstrom was a -2 in 2010-11’. This would signify that they won the award based on their offensive output, which was the case based on their near point per game totals these years. Letang’s case is no different.

Yes, Letang has refined his game in recent years as far as his defense. If his defensive talent could catch his offensive talent, I have no doubt that Letang would be a lock for the Norris. But as opposed to the seasons of Doughty and Brent Burns...this year will be the same as usual. #NoLetangForNorris