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Columbus Blue Jackets: Can Seth Jones Still Win the Norris?

By William Espy

CLINTON, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets warms up with his teammates before a preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres during the NHL Kraft Hockeyville USA at Clinton Arena on September 25, 2018 in Clinton, New York. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
CLINTON, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Seth Jones #3 of the Columbus Blue Jackets warms up with his teammates before a preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres during the NHL Kraft Hockeyville USA at Clinton Arena on September 25, 2018 in Clinton, New York. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman has missed the first seven games of the season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are getting defenseman Seth Jones back after he missed the start of the season. Last year he was close to contention for the Norris Trophy for best defenseman, however he fell just short of the finalists.

Winning the trophy this season after giving all others in the running a seven game advantage would be difficult. Morgan Rielly currently leads defensemen in scoring with 14 points in nine games, (4-10-14). John Carlson is currently in second with 10 points in seven games, (4-6-10).

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Jones will need to get off to a crazy start and those two would need to slow down significantly, but it’s possibly going to be too much to overcome. It’s possible that when it comes to voting they’ll consider points per game rather than the total stat line.

Reilly will likely top out around 70 points, which will in large be contributed to him having John Tavares and Auston Matthews taking a majority of the defensive attention. 70 points in 82 games would give Reilly a points per game percentage of .85. For Jones to get the same percentage, he’d need to put up 64 points in 75 games.

Not only would 64 points for Jones be a career high, it would also be in less games than previous years. As a result, it’s unlikely he reaches that point but it is possible. There’s a lot of factors that go into the voting, but for Jones to have a chance those at the top need to slow down significantly.

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With Seth Jones returning to the lineup on Tuesday according to the Jackets Insider on Twitter, it seems as if the team is going to be in much better shape going forward.

Will he win the Norris Trophy? Probably not this year, but it’ll happen sooner rather than later.

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