The Sabres win! Howden almost back and Kravtsov sits

Norris trophy talk

What happens when a defenseman totals 15 points in eight games and wins Player of the Week honors?   Add in the fact that the defenseman is now three points off the league lead in points with 30 (despite playing fewer games) and is one point off the league lead in assists (26) and second in the league in power play points (17) while leading his team in ice time.   What happens is your name starts getting mentioned along with the Norris Trophy.  Of course, we re talking about Adam Fox .

There has been a lot of chatter on NHL Radio about Fox and his potential as a Norris Trophy candidate.   The chatter is well deserved.

David Quinn gave his definition of a Norris Trophy candidate. “A guy that impacts the game every shift, whether it be offensively or defensively, it’s usually a guy that does both.   It’s a guy when the game ends, the other team starts talking about the guy…someone that they recognize and have a lot of respect for and want to play with or don’t want to play against.”

That sounds an awful lot like Adam Fox, doesn’t it?

Ironically, his competitors for the Calder Trophy last year are not having his kind of season.  Cale Makar has been held to 22 games due to injuries and has been scoring at a point a game pace, just behind Fox.   Quinn Hughes is right behind Fox in terms of offensive stats, but his plus/minus is -17 compared to Fox at +11.

We are one month away from the day that Jeff Gorton acquired Fox from Carolina for two second round draft picks.  There were some who complained at the time that the price was too high.  Now, that deal may turn out to be the best deal ever for the New York Rangers.

COVID curiosity

Late Wednesday, this came over the transom from the NHL.

"The National Hockey League announced today that, as a result of two Vancouver Canucks Players (including one Player who was added to the COVID Protocol List after it was released at 5:00 p.m. ET today) as well as a member of their coaching staff entering the NHL’s COVID Protocols, the team’s game tonight against the Calgary Flames will be postponed. The decision was made by the League’s, NHLPA’s and Club’s medical groups. The League will provide a further update tomorrow."

Last week, the Montreal Canadiens had four games postponed when Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia were added to the protocol list.

It brings to mind last February 24, the day that Adam Fox and Pavel Buchnevich were added to COVID Protocol List just hours before the team was to play the Philadelphia Flyers.  The Flyers won a crucial match 4-3, scoring two power play goals.  Never mind that the Rangers were without two of their best penalty killers, not to mention two of their best players.

Not knowing the nature of the decision to postpone games, it is curious that both Montreal and Vancouver were able to stay off the ice when they each lost two players, while the Rangers played and lost when they lost the same number of players.

In a season when every game is crucial to a team’s playoff hopes, it just seems curious and it’s something that the league should do a better job of explaining, within the constraints of health privacy issues.