Morgan Rielly Finally Given Odds to Win 2019 Norris Trophy, Trails Burns & Giordano
By Chris Amberley in NHL Hockey
Updated: April 6, 2020 at 1:15 pm EDTPublished:
- The Norris Trophy is a three-horse race between Moran Rielly, Brent Burns and Mark Giordano
- Rielly is having one of the best seasons by a defenseman in Leafs history, but Giordano is a more complete player
- Who’s the best bet on the board?
The Toronto Maple Leafs are on pace to equal their best regular season in franchise history, and while most of the credit typically goes to their elite forwards, no player has been more valuable than defenseman Morgan Rielly.
MORGAN RIELLY ?
Rielly starts the breakout and finishes it by burying a nice cross-crease by Hyman. 5-4. pic.twitter.com/X16VFqMR89
— Flintor (@TheFlintor) February 7, 2019
Rielly is producing offensively like no Leafs blueliner since Hall of Famer Borje Salming, and is in a tightly contested race to win the Norris Trophy.
2019 Norris Trophy Odds
| Player | Team | Odds to Win Norris Trophy |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Burns | SJ | +100 |
| Mark Giordano | CGY | +200 |
| Morgan Rielly | TOR | +250 |
| Kris Letang | PIT | +800 |
| John Carlson | WAS | +1200 |
| Roman Josi | NAS | +3300 |
*Odds taken 3/1
He has the third-shortest Norris Trophy odds and a realistic shot of becoming just the third defenseman in the last 20 years to register an 80-point season.
What’s truly surprising is this is the first time Reilly has been given odds to win the award.
Rielly is Playing the Best Hockey of his Career
Rielly started the season on fire, recording 13 points in his first six games. His stellar play continued through November and December, and into January where he was named the midseason top defenseman by an NHL.com panel.
We’re headed to the third all tied up thanks to this goal from Morgan Rielly.#TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/LwxAUSRjJ6
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 10, 2017
It took him just 53 games to set a new career high in points and the Leafs are 12-2-0 in games where he’s scored.
He ranks first in the NHL among defensemen in goals and game-winning goals, second in points, and third in assists.
As good as he’s been on offense, he’s been equally as impressive in his own end. His +28 rating ranks third among blueliners, and represents a big change after finishing the first five seasons of his career with a negative rating.
There’s no doubt he belongs in the Norris Trophy conversation, but he falls just a notch below Giordano and Burns.
Make Way for Mark Giordano
While Burns is having the better season offensively, Giordano is the more complete player, excelling at both ends of the ice.
He matches-up against the opposing teams top line every night, yet still finds a way to average almost a point a game (0.97).
Mark Giordano can add this goal to his Norris Trophy highlight reel ?? #Flames #CGYvsNYI pic.twitter.com/Z0JX4zIb33
— Sportsnet 960 (@Sportsnet960) February 28, 2019
He leads all defensemen with seven three-point games and is the biggest reason why the Flames have the Western Conference’s best goal differential. Calgary is +47 with him on the ice, compared to only +5 when he’s on the bench.
His +31 rating is the second best among defensemen, and is significantly better than Burns, who plays most of his minutes against opposing teams second unit.
My Norris Trophy votes at the three-quarters point of the season:
Mark Giordano, #Flames
Brent Burns, #SJSharks
Morgan Rielly, #LeafsForever
Kris Letang, #LetsGoPens
John Carlson, #ALLCAPSMore from @davidsatriano https://t.co/hB6pOgeEh3
— Jon Lane (@JonLaneNHL) February 26, 2019
He logs 25 minutes a game, while maintaining a phenomenal 56.2% Corsi, and it won’t be long before he’s awarded his first Norris Trophy.
Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
